And that's a Virginia legislator named Abraham as some Euro protesting Trump's speech in Jamestown the event commemorating 400 years of American democracy had been planned for years but crumbs participation was announced at the last minute angering African-American leaders who pledged to boycott the event in response the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus released a statement saying the commemoration of the birth of this nation and its democracy will be tarnished unduly with the participation of the president who continues to make degrading comments towards minority leaders promulgated policies that harm marginalized communities and use racist and xenophobic rhetoric. The Wall Street Journal is reporting yet another means by which wealthy parents exploit loopholes to offer their children advantages in Higher Education the Department of Education is apparently investigating how some parents in Chicago Illinois I transferring guardianship of their children to relatives or friends in order to qualify for financial aid meant for students from working class families the practice is technically illegal by transferring guardianship only to students income is considered when awarding financial aid not family income according to The Journal the parents quote followed the strategy laid out by a college consultant company called Destination college based in Lincoln Lincolnshire Illinois. And other news one tonne of more detainee Khalid Sheikh Muhammad has said that he is open to testifying against the Saudi government in a lawsuit brought by victims of the 911 attacks if he is spared the death penalty and in Afghanistan where the u.s. Launched a war of retaliation after $911.00 the United Nations is reporting that nearly $4000.00 Afghan civilians were killed or wounded in the 1st part of this year alone Gay Pacifica Radio this is rising up with Sonali and I'm your host so not legal What are you can watch this program on free speech t.v. And listen to it on Pacifica Radio stations under fillets nationwide the perpetrator in Sunday's shooting in Gilroy California at the annual Garlic Festival has been identified as 19 year olds and Tino William leg down the shooting spree that killed 2 children and one adult was conducted with an assault style rifle police shot and killed the shooter news media reported that shortly before the shooting Le Guen posted a caption on Instagram saying read might is right by rag nor red beard according to c.n.n. Right is might 1st published in the late 1900 s. Been described as a white supremacist text that promotes anarchy while vilifying Christianity Meanwhile President Trump has decided that rather than study why young white men with white supremacist views are a danger to society it's more important to focus on empty from the banner under which anti fascist activists organize my guest as Figaro Usher is a Ph d. Candidate in geography at u.c. Berkeley She is also a faculty owner at the cooperative new school for urban studies and environmental justice she's been a longtime political educator and organizer involved in a wide range of movements for social and environmental justice in California and she's also a regular correspondent for our show Welcome back Melissa. Thank you Sonali So you are a resident of Northern California you are in life from California Gilroy Texas for anyone who's driven up. The 5 to where to California can smell it before they see it Gilroy is the garlic capital of California at least if not the nation How terrifying was this shooting in this quite small community. I mean yeah it's it was shocking I mean which you know given the rash of you know shootings that happen with such frequency nowadays you know being shocking in that context is especially shocking I mean you know that something like that Gilroy Garlic Festival is a family friendly event it is like it was like ice cream and kittens it's you know it's not I mean it's like you know it's a place where you know that people associate with like happiness and who they didn't like you know enjoying the ritual as a summer ritual for a lot of people and so you know to see this kind of invade that spaces you know is you know saddening and also you know an indicator of this kind of slow protracted decline that we're seeing in American society of course gun violence is someone Demick to the United States that 123 people killed here of error is almost normalized but what is quite significant in this particular shooting are the likely motives off the shooter mentioned at the Instagram post that he made and news media are sort of trying to attempt to piece together a motive for a 19 year old you know a teenager to do this it does seem to be that he espoused views that a lot of shooters white to me young white male shooters espouse that he might have very well been a white supremacist What do you know about what the media has said so far but him. Well you know in this case. It's interesting to see a little bit of difference in how the media has been. Have been portraying the shooters you know you know we're get we get so used to this narrative of like the lone wolf or like you know the troubled teenager who those. And you know mental illness we have all these different kinds of you know narratives that are deployed that kind of isolate the you know the perpetrator in a kind of box and so you know this pattern of seemingly random events. You know becomes a little bit it stretches the imagination to think that you know this is just kind of like this isolated popping up of of things that are going on and the fact that the media has indeed kind of foregrounded the white supremacist views and of the shooter I think is a little bit of a change in in the coverage that we're seeing and kind of a welcome one you know it's. Again doesn't stretch the imagination to think about how actually several of the last you know major mass shootings have been tied to white supremacist anti-Semitic or otherwise you know fascist. Or fascist adjacent beliefs you know so this is especially troubling you know as I was kind of investigating right the right wing message boards and stuff. Several years ago and I've seen you know many times sort of mentions of you know the the use of sort of mass shootings or seemingly random events of violence as a kind of a way of sowing chaos in society I'm not trying to say that there is like a conspiracy or anything like that but you know it has been well documented that say you know after some of these mass shootings like the Linda pastor and Dylan Riggs shooting that a lot of these you know these these communities of faith groups will celebrate the shooters and you know it's not a. It's not altogether. Insane to to to understand how this pattern of like celebrating mass shooters of having a culture of hate and then and then also likes thinking about you know fantasizing about starting a race wars and all kinds of things and easily inspire people. To step up these kinds of attacks so. If be I direct or are hacked to admit at a hearing at a congressional hearing recently of of the majority of the shootings and incidents of domestic terror that his agency has investigated involve people espousing something like a white supremacist you could sort of tell that he was reluctant to to come out and admit. But but that just happens to be the case and you know he's sort of forced to rely on facts rather than rhetoric in he's speech about the deal Roy shooting this Trump did not of course say anything about the shooter's alleged white supremacist views instead he talked about evil and stopping evil and preventing violence and protecting the safety of all Americans and of course thanking law enforcement who quote never let us down and indeed of course police killed at the shooter in interest and a minute or so so Trump wants to criminalize and t 5 just a couple of days before the universe shooting he posted her tweet saying we're considering. Declaring and tif the terrorist organization of terror what is and is that even an organization. Well I mean you know if we're talking about you know organizations that spread terror and that commit acts of terror as you know even if we're going to consider anti fun organization it's pretty terrible terrorist organization and that it hasn't actually killed anybody. As opposed to on the other hand you know 50 out of the last 50 extremist related murders have been at the hands of white supremacists so I would say you know at least you know taking the score you know I was a pretty terrible terrorist organization and it is actually one but that kind of speaks to the point right is not an organization I mean there are groups of people that when they see you know violent injustice on the streets the side that you know that's not something that they can tolerate and they you know step up to confront it you know I think I mean. Again is is short for anti fascists right so you know if if anti-fascism is criminalized in society who are the only people who are going to benefit from this right to think of what the other side of the anti right so I think that's a very dangerous step because especially because you know what is the sort of enforcement that's going to be thrown behind it there are no member roles for n.t. For there are no like you know like there's no membership card right so what that does is it sort of opens the door or anybody right to who resists the injustices that are mounting at this time anybody who protests the concentration camps or migrant children or you know tries to stop you know random violence on the street against black and brown people any of that can be classified as anti-fascist activity because it is it is resistance to terror and injustice and age. Authoritarian society and so you know what he's criminalizing really is any resistance to his all the work area which is again an extremely extremely dangerous . Position to take not just a few weeks before he made this provocative announcement to the conservative journalist to Andrew Morton go in from Portland Oregon said that he was beaten up by an teef doused with a new cake and beaten in an unprovoked assault pictures of his injured face made the rounds of media do you think that gave some impetus I and it's not really clear what exactly happened or who was responsible whether they call themselves on t.v. Or not but did that sort of you know it's possible that Fox News covered this and Trump was watching it and decided to make you know this declaration about anti from being considered to be a terrorist organization. Oh I mean absolutely the sort of brutal provocateur activity of a lot of right wing pundits It was very well known I mean you have. Again and this also has to do with kind of the dynamics of the media right the media. What is the phrase blood cells headlines or something like. And you know I've seen it myself at demonstrations where you know some right wing person will walk around for literally hours shouting you know Gray says things obscenity is and just trying to get somebody to just punch him in the face the minute it's action that runs to a camera and starts talking about behavior of well you know again with the camera didn't capture is the you know the perp pocket behavior and the restraint actually of the crowd before somebody finally was set up right you know this is also has to do with again. You know the victim isolation narrative sort of playing out in the defense of a powerful you know I mean you know sort of thing No I'm pretty accusing Elijah Cummings of being a racist. Yeah exactly you know I mean and that's you know that's that's that's rule number one and in the playbook that gurgles actually invented which is you know always accuse your opponent of that which you are guilty there was a lot of activity from Germans on Twitter in response to Trump's claim that on tea from would be considered to be a you know we're going to terror who were extremely upset saying you know no my grandfather fought against fascists and you know would have been considered anti for that lack of he historical education about fighting fascism seems to and that ignorance really seems to feed into Unfortunately mean stream narratives. Of radical left wing violence being equal to you know being being this phrase to describe n.t. For. Absolutely and this is absolutely not new you know I just saw in on social media recently a reprint of a newspaper from 1933 in which Hitler demonized you know the Communist Party as being violent thugs and almost the exact same rhetoric I mean this is I mean I'm not saying history or is repeating but it is certainly writing and you know and if anybody would know sort of what the what the consequences of that ours is of course the German people it is also kind of curious however exactly soon. After Louis and you know and all of the the the groups that were demonized and exterminated under the Nazi regime it is however interesting to late notice actually the amnesia in American society right about you know that we were America to be American was to be anti-fascist for a really long time. It was kind of like undisputed common knowledge for a long time that like you know from Indiana Jones to you know that the Nazis were kind of like the quintessential villain and was kind of you to that effect in our culture for a very very long time you know I don't know whether or not it's because the World War 2 generation are you know sort of finally kind of they're dying out and so that that knowledge and that. That that attitude isn't passed on I don't know if it is because again in the popular imagination and in a lot especially of young people's lifetimes right we have been the imperialist aggressor for most of that time so you know it is really disheartening right to to see this kind of like. Ignorance amnesia and reversal in American society that like you know like it was kind of a matter of course that Nazis were bad you know why. I this is not obvious to everyone for granted once upon a time that exactly exactly shows I'm bad I don't think fascism good or that Dutch shouldn't be true. Believe me if I'm in Captain America actually the very urgent Captain America as a character is an anti you know is an anti-fascist I. Created Captain America was a passionate Jewish Anti-Fascist who you know participated in militant movements against the Nazis and so you know the 1st for so long for at least you know the memory of that generation the essence of America itself was to be against fascism and that putting aside all the others I mean at least we could agree that not. So so wondering whether Jews think that trumps declaration on Twitter about the n.t. For you know basically equating them with the amas 13 has also been a very good way for him to. Launch attacks on immigrants with a dot to particular very very provocative tweet one is his you know standard attempt to stir up trouble to stir up anger or to stir up. People into a frenzy on the one hand it's hard to ignore him on the other hand one doesn't want to take the bait it's whether or not I don't know we have a choice whether or not to take the bait in that the you know the big fish that he's really fishing for are the people who are going to come for us in Don I'm saying. The that that you know we have what he's doing is you know for whatever reason you know whether or not it's you know making. Racist I'm the centerpiece of his 2020 reelection bid which a lot of people have been speculating were just to sort of polarize you know society to a point that you know people are going to want a strong man to come in and like restore order you know there's a lot of. You know motivations there that we can we can think of that benefit Trump personally as you know as president but you know. What what is clear is that the effect the actual Like consequences of his his words as actions and his attitudes is harming people it is putting our communities at risk it is you know inspiring people who you know made may or may not have that sense of social restraint and empathy that the rest of us have to come and commit acts of violence like what happened in Illinois a few days ago so whether or not. We choose to ignore or to you know. Fight back at his comments kind of doesn't matter because the violence is coming to us and so we have to figure out as communities what we need to do in order to sort of prevent this. This is I don't know this this is viral it's. You know these viral and people from coming over and you know sowing discord and us in our own communities I think this is a call for us you know who I mean not not necessarily to like you know go and Nazis or whatever but at least to like you know figure out what we can do to protect each other to defend each other and especially to resist the narrative that gives in to fear and hatred and violence I'm wondering if you think that one strategy or tactic can be that if Chrome is going to declare anti foreign organization of terror in the salon an organization that it makes sense for those of us who really stand up against fascism regardless of what we think of the tactics of some people who call themselves on tea for did we all declare ourselves anti for fine you want to criminalize this idea which is of course an attempt to frighten people and to. Force people to back off from confronting fascist than maybe the most effective response is to to declare oneself on t.v. In mass numbers absolutely I think that that's the only way really the only way to to to really combat this and you know again and he is short or anti-fascists right if you are a decent human being you are an anti If you are you know anyone other than privileged white. People you know who are who own property you're a you are an anti precious if you know if you believe in your community and that all the children should be respected that you are an anti-fascist And so yeah I mean I think the best defense against that again is to. You know is to reclaim is to claim that mantle for everybody who's on the side of decency end and justice and you know just a life that doesn't you know that doesn't include genocide I mean it's so crazy because it's seems so commonsense and gets you know that is part of you know Trump you know a media plan it goes all again going all the way back to herbals is confuse the like to destabilize society so that you know out of that chaos this the authoritarian strongman and store order well we need to do is right that by saying no you know like we are the people this is supposed to be a democracy and so you know we're not going to allow that chaos from consuming our communities we are going to be the ones who will you know restore a democratic order amongst ourselves surprised or not that as far as I can tell nobody in the Democratic Party has responded to 2 crimes threats around anti fire in any way I mean it's just kind of fallen by the wayside and you know only people seem free govern upset about it are people on the left you know and people who are actually anti fascist I know who sort of declare proudly that they're anti fascist . Well I mean I guess I don't expect much. Effort. You know right mean in any kind of sort of polarizing moments and this was exactly the same in 1930 s. Germany there you know it was a 2 sided it was 3 there was the far right in the fascist right there were the there was a far left right the sort of left wing of the Social Democrats and the Communists and and sort of the smaller radical parties that opposed it and then there was the mainstream who were the social democrats who this is true of the mainstream Democrats as well as kind of like living in denial that the world has changed right like trying to hold on to a status quo that just doesn't exist anymore and and so you know one of the one of the lessons from that actually one of the lessons from that experience is that you know we cannot count on them to you know to to mount any kind of effectively effective counter narrative because again they're they're not even they're not even perceiving the game for or the reality for what it is and so I think that and but I do think that it's not just the far left that it's not just the people who are you know Milledgeville me or you know self declared anti-fascists who are you know Lorand and shocked at you know the way things are going I see in you know on my own Facebook you know as well as you know sort of out there in society people who are just regular people who are kind of shocked and want to resist and write you know do not want fascism to take over America I think in that sense what little remains of our national memory around World War 2 and of you know what it means to have to fight the Nazis as Americans could hopefully work in our own favor. You know that even you know military families or like people who wouldn't necessarily. You know identify as leftists could still be horrified enough that you know at Nazis you know coming to our country Melissa I want to thank you so much for joining us today always appreciate your analysis. But all my guest has been Melissa Figaro a Ph d. Candidate in geography at u.c. Berkeley She's also a faculty owner at the co-operative new school for urban studies and environmental justice and his longtime political educator and organizer involved in a wide range of movements for social and environmental justice in California she's also one of our correspondents I'm so not equal that go wrong I know rising up autonomy dot com where you can sign up for our daily newsletter You can also follow us on Facebook Twitter and Instagram at are you with the song Ali. From g.p.s. Keep a civic are radio This is rising up it's on Ali and I marry a host Samaniego have got there you can watch this program on free speech t.v. Listen to it on Pacifica Radio stations and affiliates nationwide the United Nations just released a report detailing the devastating toll of the Afghanistan war finding that in the 1st half of this year alone nearly $4000.00 Afghan civilians were killed or injured the u.n. Has also found that u.s. Backed Afghan forces on the occupying NATO coalition have killed more civilians. Then members of the Taliban a new trend in the longest official war that the u.s. Has ever waged although successive presidents have promised to end the Afghan war drags along year after year now an independent filmmaker hopes to shed light on the war through a film that was made under extremely dangerous circumstances inside Afghanistan Benjamin Gilmore as the writer and director of the film jirga his earlier films include paramedical and the son of a lion the new film was made to enough Ghana ston and is in theaters nationwide right now Benjamin joins me for an interview Welcome to the program thank you very much so can you tell me the story of this story the story of the film because it was that in and of itself is a very interesting discussion that you tried to make the film 1st in Pakistan you ended up setting it in an even more dangerous country Afghanistan how did the film come about and who helped you write it. Well the story of the film is that a strategy and sold for a whole month old curry that the army very troubled. Memories of I'm not right that he was involved in which to dealing with filth and he takes a very bold step and I'm usually that not many soldiers still bitter and who are the by the their experiences and injured morally or physically mentally by their experiences he takes this very unusual step 1st so and returns to Afghanistan. As a traveler at the tourist on a tourist visa to try and track down the family of the man that he killed and to apologize for the crime the story came out all. By exposure to to the impact of the war on Afghans I've been traveling to the country and traveling to neighboring Pakistan for many years. And spending time with on the Pakistan side of the border and then. Afghans a whole ethnicity on the in Afghanistan itself and hearing their stories about the ongoing the patients that think that you know and and and and feeling as if I wanted to share those messages and the story well in addition to that I've also had a lot of exposure to veterans been. In Afghanistan and have been physically and mentally damaged by their experience there and Australian soldiers are part of the coalition forces that have been serving there. What I did in Oregon province they were involved in many joint operations with the Americans and with the British and looking in the medical field which is my background in a strike. They needed here quite a few stories of the soldiers who were involved in the right and. Who just could not stop thinking about. You just never sat will with many of the felt 2 and in fact many of them was so troubled by the experience of being sent into villages by storm very poor intelligence to conduct right and then finding that I had to fight their way out of the villages because a lot of who belong to they did they just. Simply fighting off the the invited him to the nice and the quite quite terrifying for at and of course the line between the civilian and the combat and going to stand avoid being somewhat. In the lot of those through pillages people carried carry on the way have gotten in the house. And much like American might on their ranches and thought when they find the farm that suddenly. In their they just at night their instinct to protect their homes and their families and their children and so I was hearing the stories from soldiers that were put into the situation possible to action and found themselves killing people and I didn't really want to kill just to get out alive and so I put in the Delmas to get the impact of the war on and on combat and it seemed they that the war was a good point I won and it's been going on far too long and was an extremely destructive thing and I just felt I wanted to do my big as a human on the planet. To share a story of a soldier who takes these I'm usually stick to apologize and to create some kind of healing and so let's watch the trainer. John. And this is the song that my guest Benjamin Gilmore has written and directed in teeters nationwide now. Is over. And it is the trailer for the new film jirga written and directed by my guest Benjamin Gilmore and for a t.v. Audience the landscape that you just saw is actually Afghanistan which is very rarely seen on screen I want to get to that a little bit later on in our conversation but Benjamin I had to confess that when I 1st heard about your film and even started to watch it. I a little was moved by the story felt an instinctive negative reaction to the idea that here we have another film where. A white man is centered in a film where the vast majority of victims are Afghans and the vast majority of Afghans Afghan victims outnumber the mean of those who are victimized by participating in the war and that you know here again you have brown people as props in the story of redemption of a white man a white savior you might have heard that criticism from others how do you respond usually that criticism is coming from people who haven't seen the film yet and I do appreciate that it comes often from Afghans who have. Repeatedly been disappointed and understand it and they saw the way they had in film the audit with film and this was my reaction. I enjoy it with my reaction to those films that I would have problem with. And the colt is. Whole and outside or far enough that I film about war in the role at the end. Might not even fit that well with people because I've been out thought of making that and the story that I can tell so I really need to make a choice and in fact I felt that the only way this film is going to reach a wide with an audience was to have a protagonist that within the audience could identify with so in a sense. With using a white central character. As a prop to bring the audience into that well in order for the audience to get an insight into the impact of the war on Afghan So without that without attacking it my feeling was that the film just wouldn't travel and certainly would have from distributors in the u.s. And elsewhere that. Suspicions were probably true unfortunately. If the white independent films are released. It's a very difficult fight them I mean to get a film to rise above the Hollywood. Script fill so we really needed to. Think about taking a Western audience on this journey with a character that they could see themselves and along the way learned about that that the tragedy of what happened in Afghanistan. Is your intention for the protagonist who is a soldier named Mike or former soldier is your intention for him to be a sympathetic character I mean to try to come back 3 years after you've killed somebody who is money to make up for. You know down a murder. You know does that was that you know was it your intention that he be sympathetic. Well not necessarily in fact some of the early criticism of all the film cops was that the technique was unlockable enough we needed to might be more likeable imo see that and I was questioned by the strident direct he said you hate your protectionist starts you and I have to admit that you know the real motives for making this film will leave the only motive for making this film with my sympathy for full out for Afghans and their. They struggles and you know but I think for for this kind of film to would there has to be sympathy for the protectionist as well and I think it's fair to say that the war has not only had. A terrible take a terrible toll on Afghans but it has on a military personnel who have been who have been sent there we have thought in certainly in in the strike here we have got a very high right of the DEA and suicide in America you're looking at an average I believe of around 20 veterans taking their lot different I This speaks of a writer issue to do with war and the mark and morality of war and the morality of killing and and the fact that that doesn't sit well with most of most so the 2 who get sent to Afghanistan or Iraq or elsewhere so I think it's really important it was important to us that we show. A sympathetic side to the character in order for the audience to Apple to. Kind of identify with him and travel with him but the backstory for this character read that he was at a point where. He was considering taking his life and instead of doing that the he bought a ticket to Kabul instead and the ball on this journey when he journeyed to the village to make the widow of the man that he killed to make the try that the man belonged to. He was ready to live not to fight his freedom not to buy it because that con people he's taking all of compensation was something that was a very Western White trying to make reparations and that's what the u.s. Has done in the past trying to make up for innocent Afghans killed it has just offered money to the families after 1st denying that they did a man admitting it through money and as you well know. And it's certainly something the Afghans told us along the way. You know very intelligent people and you know. Their lives. Valuable valuable 'd any live on and yet their impression is that Americans believe that a lot of that was about to what I hopped out all the condolence payments that American military has often families in the pot when I fill them in from the state and it's extremely expensive to act as it would be to anyone's right and that's part of the story of the story one of the things that the attack an attack that learned is that he's West and why I. Try to my food. Is not the right way and that he needs to listen to us in order to to learn about the law what is approaching and coming to a point of healing and what rule do you need to off down Spain in the making of this film and I mean more specifically the writing of this film because of course it's hard for somebody from a different culture to put words in the mouse of a character is not that that has necessarily so. Would produce this from doing so well in other films it suddenly had to stop Hollywood and as a reaction. They wanted to do something different and I knew from the outset there was there was no point I learned while making son of a Lima film in the tribal areas of Pakistan in 2004 that. I needed to submit myself to the culture and to the people and be a vehicle for them to tell their story and that's the only I mean why you can achieve something authentic in that culture of debate and in the process of the original story with can see many discussion months of discussion reflection why he thought. About the book them all of the trouble on the impact on culture and the polls ability of this kind of story out of stories all for a van that should. Have been the kind of from Afghanistan and you know we very rarely the story of you can that's And yet in Afghan culture and in Islam forgiveness speech is very prominently and it's often. An outcome all. So I learnt this along the way in terms of the right thing with our Afghan crew we sat around the shop thing and there was a lot of improvised and there are a lot of suggestions made that was dogged we thank you Afghanistan with that and wouldn't deliver that we crossed out of the streets and we needed to do that we would hit a moment we were there to listen and we were there. As equals submitting ourselves as a tool for the Afghans to share that story with the outside world because their way . There are more than anyone about the way that it did in. Oh nobody knowing any of us if we can write and that's let's talk about the setting of the film I have the privilege of Tom and Afghanistan in 2005 and 8 was not only one of the world's poorest countries but one of the world's most beautiful countries the settings in especially rural parts of Afghanistan are George droppingly beautiful it's hard to imagine the kind of beauty that exists in Afghanistan and you captured on your film because your films literally set in Afghanistan something that almost never happens and I can only imagine that you your cast your crew likely risk your lives to make this film what led to the decision to make advances and what were some of the risks you encountered and the the rewards that you ended up with in making the film there I absolutely agree with you it is absolutely stunning stunning landscape and it's reflective of the unity of the people which is which which is equally inspiring and you know your any encounters with that. Or your memory or. Critical thought that. The. Role and I guess it sounds a why shoot well. Of the point well in this current. Way and find the truth. The world is a mighty information is confusing. With them bought it we read information so that unreliable political establishment feeds us live in public and very hot to sort through that and try and find authenticity and so it without. To go to Afghanistan or something every made about it and then and this war until they story in my view it should be shot there as well I did vote that they're in the creative. And of course you know thing that and the film. We didn't have. Funding we didn't have millions of dollars to make film we had postal saving a contribution from various people. It was we had it we want to mark for a budget and that's another thing you know that when you're in that environment you don't need to do things on you know and they threw my out and questioned him already at that time me about the relationship that you portrayed in the film journey between the protagonist and foremost trained soldier Mike and just his driver who takes them to Khandahar who sort of fights taking America but then take some you have these very interesting sort of. Prequel to the dramatic part of the film where the soldier encounters a polygon and you know finds us me to ask for forgiveness but you know I'm the sort of calm before the storm and tell me about that relationship that develops between the Dr and the man well I saw that relationship. It illustrated all what 'd the relationship between the place and Afghanistan could be without common culture language. If you know the way the representative of the West carried my. Willing to to to to listen and to find some kind of universal language in which to communicate and that's what they do share a language but they communicate through music universal language and they find some commonality and a bomb in the connection there which allows them to continue on the on the it was in the pool and it might interest you to not it is carry. The taxidriver was played by Sharon mama scheme of who was the former she tell us President would be in that kind of stuff and so bought that out of the in a communist who and and pulled himself out of the body of his fellows. And then went on to fight with them once and then against the Russians so this chaff the devil of a little community theater in Kabul back in the seventy's but had any of the same one film ran by 3 back in. Which I think a lot of what you have been sold actually but he was he he was in my 1st film for the line incredible character you're a 4 man. A lot of power the kind of the cold warrior and and so he's relationship people up and up and comment on his relationship with my it's really important for my pain to Afghanistan fighting the mike to come back and experience a different side of the country and I want to the audience to experience that to. The film is called German guy see it or is now we can people find out more about the film and screenings. Well screening enlightenment then late on Friday New York the thumb to. Think the cold that this Roxy and Chicago is coming out to other cities Benjamin go on with my website they think they will like you and I thought it would make. Us very lucky to have a distributor but this film and I think it's really it's very very well to the people to say the real it can't stand and the voice relax and in the film. You got to sit in there and have this experience of the country and I never realized that would be out. Well certainly just the cinematography and the landscape itself is it worth checking the film out for of Benjamin I want to thank you so much for joining us today good luck with the film. My guest isn't Benjamin Gilmore Vytorin director of journey got his earlier films into paramedical and son of a lion I'm so non-equal how current we're online at rising up it's on the dot com where you can sign up for our daily newsletter subscribers are video chatting on Vimeo and find our audio podcast on i Tunes on Spotify. Lighting up a state. Local news for Wednesday July 31st California Governor Gavin Newsome has signed a new law requiring presidential candidates to release their tax returns both for they can be listed on the state's primary election ballot the measure was spurred by President Trump's refusal to release his returns breaking with decades of tradition Trump has claimed it's because his returns are being audited by the i.r.s. Although an audit does not recluse him from choosing to make his returns public Newsome said California continues to set the bar and lead on the issue of transparency all we're requiring is people that aspire to be present it's not about one person they have to disclose their tax returns just issues of self dealing conflicts of interest or requiring that regardless of political party you choose to do the right thing you can choose not to do the right thing I think this was an appropriate California is leading the nation the new law requires candidates for president and a governor to submit their tax returns to California secretary of state at least $98.00 days before the primary the returns will then be posted online the Trump campaign called it unconstitutional but even if the law withstood the likely legal challenge Trump could avoid the requirement by choosing not to compete in California's March 3rd primaries the law does not apply to the general election ballot Kaiser employees picketed at the Oakland end Santa Clara hospital's part of a year long effort to reach a contract in December the National Labor Relations Board charged Keiser with failing to bargain in good faith Clara Ingersoll reports from the picket line in Oakland. Kaiser Health workers are frustrated that Kaiser is stalling negotiations over employee salaries and benefits they're allowed Gaffney an occupational therapist. Who has been going to patients homes and providing therapy with Kaiser for 27 years Kaiser has not seemed amenable to sign in country this would be our 1st contract we're just organizing and it's been like pulling teeth if Kaiser does not change course more than 80000 Kaiser workers may stage a national Kaiser strike for on a kind of Kincaid a Kaiser nurse talked about the need for higher wages while looking across the street to homeless encampments Moshood park you see there's tent city across the street we're going to end up being intensity you're be helping build up these $3000.00 apartment that are coming up here that your employees cannot afford to live and we're all commuting in from like Tracy load I lay through you know this doesn't we can't afford to live here in response Kaiser's senior vice president of Human Resources Arlene Pease Knol released a public statement calling the union's push for a strike a quote bullying tactic and quote and said quote The coalition's proposal would increase Kaiser's wages on average 32 percent above the market over the next 5 years adding a 1000000000 dollars to our labor costs modern health care reports that Kaiser drew a whopping $3000000000.00 in net income in the 1st quarter of 2019 which is a record high for the integrated health care system on Clara Ingersoll a federal judge has overturned the 2006 conviction of a central valley man accused of plotting an attack in the United States federal prosecutors had contended that Lodi cherry picker home they'd attended a terrorist training camp in Pakistan for 3 to 6 months he was coerced into a false confession alibi witnesses would have testified he was never away from his family's village in Pakistan for more than a week his attorney never called them to testify. I had traveled there to get married Federal Judge Garland Burrell agreed with the recommendation of the magistrate judge who said was ineffectively represented by his inexperienced defense attorney has already served 14 years of his 24 year sentence federal prosecutors were reviewing the decision and did not immediately say whether they will seek to retry why he was one of the 1st to be prosecuted in the wake of the September 11th attacks in 2001 investigators initially claimed he was part of an al Qaeda sleeper cell which was later found not to exist weather forecast for the San Francisco Bay area partly cloudy in the morning and sunny highs in the seventy's around the bay and Fresno in the central San Joaquin Valley sunny 97 to 102 degrees this is keep the Berkeley K.F.C.'s 88 point one Fresno k 24 a.p.r. 975 and Santa Cruz on line to keep if they dot org 6 am democracy now is. This is sea change radio covering the shift to sustainability time Alex wise. If you look at any major river system in the town through to the Mississippi as an example. In Minnesota Minneapolis they drop their waste water into the Mississippi flows downstream they take it out in St Louis and they run it through conventional drinking water treatment of they don't get. What would you say to the idea of drinking a tall cool glass of wastewater on the face of it it sounds well yucky but it turns out you've probably been drinking it all along there's good technology now for extracting impurities and making even the dirtiest water potable in some water districts around the country are taking this technology descale this week on sea change radio we dig into the archives and hear from Mike Markus the general manager of the aren't County California Water District current counties practices may represent the high water mark. For the reuse of h 2 o. Then we speak with the founder and c.e.o. Of power a startup that uses technology to retrofit buildings in financially underserved communities. Explains block powers business model what inspired him to start the company and talks about the challenges that the current political environment brings. I'm joined now in Sea Change radio by the general manager of the Orange County Water District Mike Markus Mike welcome to sea change radio Good morning Alex thank you very much so when you 1st tell us what part aren't counties water districts. I don't know.