Member wrote Khana about the growing calls to make Pacific Gas and Electric a public utility. To a woman who risked her life while fighting fires as a prisoner in California. About. My. Morning around $64.00. And I was putting fires appeared at the fire department. The other women that I work side by side with from you know about 30. Feet to a reporter at The Los Angeles Times about her story the person gardeners go to work despite the flame all that and more coming up. Welcome to Democracy Now Democracy Now dot org The War and Peace Report I mean a good man in California Extreme winds of up to 60 mph across new fires to erupt across the southern part of the state Wednesday in Ventura County north of Los Angeles the so-called easy fire came nearly to the doorstep of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library as hundreds of firefighters worked to control the blazes this is Simi Valley resident David Pollock one of $30000.00 residents of the region forced to evacuate the climate change fueled fires because we could get out here to the core mover of everything will be replaced the 3rd. Reading of the over the. Robbery will be over Chile's President Sebastian Pinera announced Wednesday his nation will be hosting the un climate summit in Santiago in December as planned the u.n. Said it's now looking for an alternative venue pin you're also canceled the scheduled Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation conference that APEC has mass protests against inequality in Chile and to their 3rd week his announcement came as a shocking new report warns 300000000 people are at risk from rising sea levels 3 times more than previous estimates with more on the fires in California. And the report after headlines in Los Angeles protesters interrupted j.p. Morgan Chase c.e.o. Jamie Diamond Wednesday as he appeared at a forum on the campus of u.c.l.a. Chanting Jamie Diamond The world's on fire unfurling banners calling on the bank to end its investments and coal oil and gas the Rain Forest Action Network reports j.p. Morgan Chase invested nearly $200000000000.00 in fossil fuel projects after the Paris climate agreement was reached in late 2015 on Capitol Hill 50 youth climate activists with the sunrise movement occupied the offices of California Senator Dianne Feinstein and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Wednesday demanding meaningful action on climate change organizer Claire to chair a Marson said in a statement quote Democratic leadership is failing to treat this like the energy the emergency that it is business as usual is killing us she said and North Dakota breach in the Keystone Pipeline Wednesday flooded a rural wetland with crude oil from Canada's tar sands wash County Emergency Management distributed photos of the massive spill which it said was over a quarter mile long and 15 feet wide the agency said the pipelines operator t.c. Energy formerly known as Trans Canada had yet to fix the leak by late Wednesday and that an unknown quantity of oil had leaked the House of Representatives is voting today to formalize the impeachment process marking the 1st vote by the full house related to the impeachment and Cory of President Donald Trump this comes as the top Russia official on the National Security Council to Marise I'm scheduled to testify on Capitol Hill today on Wednesday it was reported Morrison will soon step down from his post Meanwhile House Democrats have asked Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton to testify but his attorney says he would not appear unless he is subpoenaed later in the broadcast will go to Washington d. . Ca to speak with California Congress member about the latest on the impeachment inquiry on Capitol Hill Democrats on House oversight committee grilled senior Immigration official Ken Cuccinelli Wednesday over his agency's moves to deport immigrants receiving life saving medical treatment including children and babies in September following public outcry u.s. Citizenship and Immigration Services reversed its decision to end deferred deportations for immigrants with serious medical conditions at Wednesday's hearing Missouri Democratic Congress member William Clay press Cuccinelli the acting director of u.s. C.i.s. Over the cases of parents of critically ill newborn babies who were told they had 33 days to leave the United States or face deportation want to leave the current group perk up there's. There's. Either that or make their case. In the immigration process where it's appropriate to do so all that is . In the middle of the being. Whole women Breyer and that they say. Which is why deferred action continues to this. Really really hurt I don't believe there's value. President Trump's nominee to fill an open seat on the 9th u.s. Circuit Court of Appeals in a Vata lawyer Lawrence Van Dyke broke down in tears Wednesday as lawmakers questioned him about the American Bar Association is finding that he's not qualified to become a federal judge and a scathing letter to leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee the a.b.a. Determined bend take to be quote arrogant lazy and ideologues and lacking in knowledge of the day to day practice including procedural rules and went on to say he quote lacks humility has an entitlement temperament does not have an open mind does not always have a commitment to being candid and truthful The report also said that dyke would not promise to be fair to members of the l.g.b. T.q. Community on Wednesday Van Dyke broke down in tears when asked about the findings at his Senate confirmation hearing or did not say the credit card or you. It is a fundamental belief more that all people are created in the image of God that they should all be treated with. Respect. Then Dyke has previously taken hardline positions against gun control marriage equality and abortion Indian prime minister Narendra Modi tightened his control over Kashmir on Wednesday as his government announced plans to split the state of John Malone cash made into 2 federal territories controlled directly by New Delhi over the summer massive protests erupted after Modi revoke the special status of the Indian controlled part of the Muslim majority region human rights groups a Modis government then carried out widespread torture extrajudicial killings arbitrary arrests and other crimes in Kashmir Meanwhile Kashmiri militants shot dead 5 construction workers from eastern India Wednesday the latest violence came as a group of European Union lawmakers from far right parties toured Kashmir and moved to cry by human rights groups as a p.r. Stunt the 27 parliamentarian. From countries including France Germany Italy Poland Spain in the u.k. Met with Modi for a photo op on Monday the Pentagon has released video of the u.s. Military assault on the compound in Syria that it says killed ISIS leader Abu Bakar about Daddy and 2 of his children on Saturday when he blew up his suicide vest in a tunnel the head of u.s. Central Command General Frank McKenzie said Wednesday about Daddy's remains were buried at sea and that the u.s. Was on alert for retribution attacks the video does not contain any audio of the assault casting further doubt on President Trump's lurid account made to a national audience Sunday morning that Baghdadi died quote whimpering crying and screaming in the Philippines a powerful 6.6 magnitude earthquake rattled the southern island of Mindanao on Thursday morning 2 days after a similarly sized quake killed 8 people flattened buildings left more than 12000 people homeless Brazilian President Xi are both lashed out Wednesday at Brazil's largest media company Global after a broadcaster report alleging a link between both when 2 men accused of murdering the Rio de Janeiro city councilwoman Monte l.a. Franco in March of last year Globo quoted a doorman who said one of the murder suspects alleged getaway driver l c o d kiddos arrived at both gated community on the night of the murder and was granted access after calling both Sinatras residence then drove to the home of the 2nd suspect in the murder alleged triggerman run a son who has a residence in the same area both are not or has denied knowing the suspects even though he appears in a photograph circulated on social media with the some one of his sons one stated Ronnie Les's daughter. To recorded an angry 23 minute diatribe early Wednesday morning from a hotel room in Riyadh Saudi Arabia. Are good. But no you tried to link me to the murder of Mario you jerks of t.v. Globo you scoundrels this will look stick and I don't owe anyone anything. No. No. I had no reason to kill anyone in Rio de Janeiro I knew about this cultural woman I found out about her on the day she was murdered which by coincidence was more for the love of God where are your heads you have no common sense t.v. Group. In a statement the Committee to Protect Journalists responded quote president also not as threats and insults against Brazil's largest news broadcaster have no place in a democracy unquote but so not his tirade came ahead of a fiery address to the Saudi investment forum in Riyadh known as Davos in the desert in the speech President also not o. Praise Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin some on and Donald Trump while blasting French president Emmanuel Kong who criticized also not as support for the illegal ranchers and miners behind many of the fires sweeping the Amazon rain forest. Colombia's government says it's deploying the military to the southwestern province of Calcutta after 5 indigenous people were murdered on the reservation 6 others were wounded in Tuesday's attack after heavily armed assailants opened fire with guns and grenades on a convoy of people responsible for security in the semi autonomous. Indigenous reserve among the dead was community leader Christine about Tista. Colombian president even Duke a travel to the region Wednesday blaming dissidents in the fark rebel group who oppose a peace deal but police have made no arrests and no suspects have been named in the murders Twitter says it will stop accepting all political advertisements worldwide beginning in November c.e.o. Jack Dorsey announced the change in a series of tweets Wednesday writing quote While Internet advertising is incredibly powerful and very effective for commercial advertisers that power brings significant risks to politics where it can be used to influence votes to affect the lives of millions he said Twitter's move comes as Facebook c.e.o. Mark Zuckerberg is under fire for accepting political advertisements even when politicians like President Trump make demonstrably false or misleading claims a forensic pathologist hired by the brother of Jeffrey Epstein says the injuries that killed the multimillionaire sex abuser were consistent with strangulation not a death by suicide as a New York medical examiner reported Dr Michael Bodden says a broken bone in Epstein's neck is quote extremely unusual and suicidal hanging's and could occur much more commonly and homicidal strangulation unquote abstain was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell in August as he awaited trial on federal sex trafficking charges Jeffrey Epstein once counted President Trump and former President Bill Clinton among his high profile friends in Britain Labor Party leader germy Corbin's formally announced he will challenge Prime Minister Boris Johnson in an election scheduled for December 12th. Today we launch the most ambitious and radical campaign our country has ever see to bring real change to parts of this country if you want to live in Mississauga that works for everybody not just the 1000000000 is if you want to save our hospitals schools and public services from Tory cuts and privatization if you want to stop the big polluters destroying our environment then this election is your chance to vote for it. As the Chicago Teachers Union reached a tentative contract agreement Wednesday with the city's public school system but returned to picket lines today after Mayor Laurie Lightfoot refused their request to add extra school days to this year's calendar to make up for class time loss to the strike that tentative deal would bring Chicago teachers a 16 percent pay raise over 5 years and would add $35000000.00 to efforts to reduce class sizes in related news as c.r.u. Local 73 The union representing Chicago school support staff approve their new contract with 97 percent of the workers voting yes and a strong vowed to stay in solidarity with the Chicago Teachers Union their deal follows a 7 day strike and those are some of the headlines This is Democracy Now democracy now or of the war and peace report I mean we get that and I mean share Welcome to our listeners and viewers around the country and around the world. As wildfires continue to rage in California and a shocking new report finds that many coastal cities will be permanently flooded by rising sea levels Chile's President Sebastian Pinera has canceled at the upcoming u.n. Climate summit the 2 week summit had been scheduled for December and the Chilean capital of Santiago which has seen weeks of mass protests against the Chilean government's neoliberal policies the u.n. Is now looking for an alternative venue the annual time it meetings offer a critical space. Developing countries to request greater help from rich nations as they confront the worst effects of the climate crisis opinion as announcement comes as a dire new report warns 300000000 people are at risk of being displaced due to rising sea levels 3 times more than previous estimates according to the study published in Nature Communications the vast majority of the most vulnerable populations are concentrated in Asia with China India Vietnam internees and Thailand facing the grave us threat the study finds global sea levels are expected to rise between 2 to 7 feet and possibly more with some coastal cities being wiped off the map to talk more about the implications of the latest report we're joined by 2 guests here in New York Benjamin Strauss is with us c.e.o. And chief scientist at Climate Central and co-author of the new study on rising sea levels targets saying as the global lead on Climate Change Action Aid working with climate migrants in a number of countries joining us from New Delhi India we begin with Benjamin Strauss explain the report the scope of the report and what you found on thanks so much for having me I mean to discuss such an important issue. We found that very global exposure to sea level rise and coastal flooding in the coming several decades is more than 3 times what we thought based on previous data. Essentially almost all of climate science has been focused on the question of what this sea level will be in the future which makes sense that's what's changing sea level is rising but you really need to know 2 things to understand the human vulnerability to sea level rise and one is the height of the sea but the other is the height of the land we all assumed that we knew that that it was fixed and simple but in my research with my colleague Scott called we took a closer look at the data being used to estimate land elevations globally and while there is very accurate data in the United States and Australia and parts of Western Europe the dataset used for global analysis and most of Asia and the rest of the world. Overestimated coastal elevations by more than 6 feet or 2 meters Why did they do that why was there such a huge overestimation the data the elevation was based on measurements taken from satellites so basically the sensing beams that came down were very broad and their footprint and so averaged in rooftops buildings tree tops with the ground in determining the actual hour in determining the elevation in the dataset let's look at that depicting southern Vietnam could all but disappeared by 2050 in Shanghai one of Asia's most important economic engines water threatens to consume the heart of the city and many other cities around it yes so we've made an interactive map we published a map together with the report so that any of your listeners can look really in any part of the world if they go to coastal dot Climate Central dot org And we found huge changes in the major deltas of Asia compared to what we had previously thought now it is worth also noting that we discovered more than 100000000 people. Today live on land that's below the high tide line and there's a little piece of hope and that which is that means that most of them are likely to be protected by coastal defenses to some degree but on the other hand it also means that many people we may not hear about in the headlines many people may already be suffering from frequent flooding inundation affecting their lives and livelihoods and the new findings based on an innovative way to read satellites Yes So what we did is we used artificial intelligence to try and improve on this elevation data from satellites we took that satellite based data set but another 23 variables and we had it into a big algorithm soup sort of speak in order to try and find an approach to improve those data and we used about 50000000 data points where we had a very accurate elevation reading as well as the inaccurate satellite reading to develop and calibrate the model and then we used a completely different sets of points in other areas to show that the model worked even outside of the areas where we trained it so that's that's how we have confidence in these results Well I'd like to big Bring thing into the conversation had Thing is with Action Aid and he's joining us from New Delhi India 100 could you respond to the findings of this report and in particular the fact that the vast majority of the most vulnerable areas areas vulnerable to sea level rise are in Asia. Not surprised we have already seen it in reality in different parts of the globe as thoughtful developing countries where it would rule are causing the problem are already facing this climate emergency. Just to put it into context 16000000 people were displaced in 2018 by weather related disasters and now the estimates that are coming foresee of a rise if we talk of India it's 7 times more the number of Bangladesh it's going to be more than the previous estimate and people are being forced to leave their homes as the coping mechanisms fail the farms and homes are being swallowed up by sea. I mean people who point towards the sea. Meters and from the shoreline to where their homes used to be not now underwater or that's the good in reality they are facing they leave their families behind particularly women children and elderly and have been seeing in this part of the who are hollow families are getting disintegrated completely and they have no place to go and build their land in areas in smaller towns and cities bit end up living in inhuman and unhygenic conditions so that's the reality that you're already facing and with these numbers it becomes absolutely horrific and the Chief can you talk about what kind of support if any these climate migrants receive to help them move or resettle wherever they're able to go. Is that developing countries are also not ready. We are now facing the climate emergency or what we call a loss and damage in the climate audience they have not even been good deal with it at our plans the whole concept of about this these preparing for these impacts became much more active in 2001 and since then they have not gotten any support from developed countries which is adequate for them to these defenses that we are talking about but that it's about a coastal protection but it's about their drifting homes all are thinking of land to look at Sion which is Beanpot the boat now at the u.n. Level but hardly any support has reached these communities and we're talking of millions and millions of people in this part of the world. Harjeet saying Can you talk about this latest news that just broke yesterday as more than a 1000000 people were in the streets of Chile this past weekend the prince battled president opinion to announce that the un climate summit would be cancelled in December it was going to be held in Santiago now the u.n. Has to decide whether they have to put off this climate summit or will they will find an alternative venue but the significance of the cancellation at this point. But let's understand the climate crisis and this was the longest in Chile or is where have the same root cause inequality government's going to be about a guy's operations all of that and so people that's why this uprising this under-estimate we're seeing in Chile now with. Climate Conference going to 5 being . It means it's a major joy to be sure that we were supposed to be talking their loss and damage the challenge climate migrants are facing was very much on the agenda and it was all about how the institution that has been created in 2013 needs to be rebooted so that it can respond to be got into reality and the future so if they come if they're not going to act with what's happening in Chile what the cause going to be discussing and this new report I think it's really a terrible situation that we've now been see these moving to some other city and probably for what 2020 odd haunts are with people of Chile despite of the fighting is absolutely real and as I said the climate justice fight and disposal unless they're all connected to the core cause of inequality and they need to recognize that the core cause behind these challenges and how did you can you talk about that inequality also in the context of climate change that countries that have historically emitted the least I now the most vulnerable. Absolutely look at historical emissions with the climate crisis that we're facing today is not is not the result of emissions that are happening now it's is that the climate work from a lack system so the ambition that have taken place in the last 150 years are causing the climate crisis that we face today and if you look at these historical emissions United States of the sponsor for more than a quarter and another quarter emissions come from European Union that's the easy quality Yes China is is the biggest But at the moment but our historical emissions come largely from United States and European Union and if you look at the and we should auction targets that they have put on the table from United States European Union and even Japan. It's one 5th all. So civil society organizations have come up with this guy. That looks are that is the logical response of the to the g d p and it get a bit of the. Assessment here there's only one thing and developing countries on the quantity have lines which are automotive dishes and almost all of them are in line with keeping to the job in order to get he says yes so that inequality which has caused the problem also exists but it comes to climate action and to business as usual. From a majority of the developed countries is not going to help the need to be disappointing to the. Situation that we are facing at this moment. I want to ask you about Indonesia announcing plans to relocate its capital and the capital city is Jakarta it is going to relocate to the island of Borneo Jakarta which is home to over 30000000 people spin steadily sinking into the Java Sea a study found over a quarter of Jakarta will be underwater within the next 10 years excessive extraction of groundwater poorly managed environmental policies have led to Jakarta surface water becoming polluted and unfit for consumption rising sea levels from climate change further compound the issue this is the Indonesian president Joko Widodo announcing the plans the place has a minimum risk of natural disasters such as floods earthquakes tsunami forest fires Kino's and landslides Secondly the location is strategic as it's located in the center of Indonesia and thirdly it's close to the other developed us it's not clear what will happen to the millions of Jakarta residents at risk of losing their homes and livelihoods as your car to is submerged in the coming years but I want to ask each of you this question starting with Hargate sang . Evan think wisely unsustainable develop a more build it be a idiot continuance to exploit nature whether it's about extraction of water unsustainable levels and manmade places or climate change that we have caused I think we need to look at how we look at do with how we develop and what is our definition of development and who who is causing that destruction some of these fundamental questions that need to us. The whole audience nation the words to do the big lot and completely ignoring what we are doing and environment has to change and now has to be at the center of all anybody'd think that we are doing how we are using our natural resources how we are building our homes how we are using what all that has to change and that thinking is not yet dead as I ate some of these challenges that we are seeing and look at the kind of actions we are not of course too big but where our political leaders are still stuck with that thinking that corporations are going to solve the problem and be seen privatization and not only the booting the development model that we have to get it which is a sponsible put all the crisis that we are facing in this world today and then stress Yes Well I think we have to look at Jakarta and really use it to understand we could all be Jakarta tomorrow and unfortunately it's a model for what could happen to many other coastal cities or we could look at New Orleans which has more resources and has built a levee system to protect itself but when a hurricane comes risotto a tragedy that can take place when you live in the bottom of a bowl and the defenses fail so I think it's a really. Really important lesson that we have to take great heed that. Major nations would go to the length of relocating their largest city and their capital city or trying to do that and they quickly before we conclude a city like Bombay a population of almost 20000000 and the greater Bombay area large parts of which will be underwater according to this report by 2050 that area includes where 2 nuclear installations are housed Oh there's a tremendous amount of infrastructure right by the coast everywhere including nuclear facilities hazardous waste sites of every kind and as you know if the ocean rises to submerge those areas right all kinds of nuclear waste or toxins and other noxious materials can be spread spread around so we have an enormous. Cleanup or death better the defense effort in front of us this is an entirely new problem in the course of human civilization and we really don't have the institutions or the precedent to deal with the loss of land and I hope that with adequate warning decades of warning we have some chance of finding and investing resources to defend the places that we are able but there's a there's a great an equity of resources around the world it's going to be very expensive and some places just by their geography may be prohibitive to defend So yes this really is a new a new chapter and you know if I can find any silver lining on this. It's hardly one but I'll say that just as the threat from sea level rise and coastal flooding turns out to be much greater than we thought it was. 3 times greater $333.00 times greater people will be affected the benefits of cutting climate pollution would also be 3 times greater right so think of the benefit cost equation that moves some audience has. Suddenly changed. But on the other hand made a very important point is that there is a lag in the system so if I put a chunk of ice on the table in front of us right now it's very simple and profound . It wouldn't melt instantly it would take time so in the same way. They are sheets on Antarctica and Greenland have just barely begun to respond to the warming that we have already caused We want to thank you so much for being with us and Benjamin Strauss chief scientist at the nutrition science organization Climate Central and hard global leader on Climate Change Action Aid speaking to us from New Delhi India when we come back we continue on the climate crisis by looking at the fire still raging and California the Congress member will speak to is calling for p.g. And e. To become a public utility then we'll speak with a woman who is a former prisoner who fought fires while incarcerated We'll also talk about the housekeepers and the. Workers who are going to a states that are burning where the owners have evacuated but the people are not told Stay with us I The War and Peace Report I mean the good men work in our main share extreme winds of up to 60 miles per hour cause new fires to erupt across Southern California Wednesday prompting tens of thousands to evacuate the blazes are just the latest in a spate of climate change field fires threatening the state in Ventura County north of Los Angeles the so-called easy fire came nearly to the doorstep of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library as hundreds of firefighters worked to control the blaze this is a homeowner in the area. California all my life here in Southern California and we've always. Had it winds in the Far East. But not to their 64 years and speaking my little bit different than what you're sort it's a game changer for solace in. News of the latest evacuations came off to the National Weather Service in Los Angeles issued an extreme red flag warning for southern California for the 1st time in its history fires in California typical at this time of year but the length and severity of the state's fire season has grown due to climate change evacuations have been lifted for the Getty fire which erupted in one of the Los Angeles most opulent neighborhoods on Monday in Northern California firefighters have finally beat back the Sonoma County Kincaid fire that it forced nearly 200000 people to flee their homes over the weekend firefighters reaching 45 percent containment of what had been the most threatening fire in California nearly all evacuees in the region have now been allowed to return to their homes this comes as the Public Utility giant Pacific Gas and Electric said Wednesday it would begin restoring power to the 365000 customers who were plunged into darkness. Over the weekend as fires 1st erupted across the state p.g. And e. The corporation that controls most of northern and central California electricity in the biggest utility in America has been implicated in many of the fires that have ravaged California in recent years including the camp fire that killed 85 people and completely destroyed the town of Paradise and 2000 a team in January p.g. And e. Declared bankruptcy facing a number of lawsuits related to the wildfires but it still controls much of California's power grid. For more we go to a lawmaker who's calling for the California state government to take over control of p.g. And e. And make it a public utility Congress member joins us now from Washington d.c. Congress member kind of later in the broadcast we're going to talk to you about this epic day around the issue of impeachment but right now we're focusing on what's happening and California which is also to say the least at pick in this emerge state of emergency explain for people around the world who don't understand how p.g. Any operates what it is now and what you are calling for. Well 1st of all it has been a disaster in the Bay area of where I live people's homes are being destroyed by fire many thousands of people are without basic electricity p.g. And e. Is basically a private monopoly that gets a return on investment for their private investors but has no competition it's the worst of both worlds it's a monopoly a private monopoly 5 and yet it has exclusive jurisdiction over a particular zone so it doesn't have the competition that free markets usually have and this has resulted in p.g.a. Any making systematic under investments they have not cured the power lines they have not engaged in the brush clearing that was necessary to make sure that these fires didn't. They have no provision for backup power even though this was completely foreseeable at the same time they're paying their c.e.o. $9800000.00 and the investors are making money and this man's management has led to bankruptcy what I have said is in a case where you have a private monopoly without competition that's a case of public ownership where you're not having a profit motive and extractive capitalism the state should take over. And different municipalities should run the power distribution for their cities and then the state should provide it to rural areas where the cities can't do the job representative rule come now how common is it in the us that gas and electricity are provided by private corporations I mean I myself was confused that this p.g. And E.'s called a public utility but in fact it's private. Well it's technically a public investor utility in other words there is public regulatory oversight over it the California Public Utilities Commission but it's private investment and it has a private board of directors and they did sir determine the executive compensation and the public regulators really don't have much ability to move p.g. Any at the same time p.g. And e. Is pouring millions of dollars into the governor's campaign into state legislators campaigns so the process has been co-opted by these special interests Unfortunately most of the country many states have public investment utilities and this is why Bernie Sanders and his Green New Deal plan has said that we need to move to publicly owned utilities and we know in publicly owned utilities particularly missed municipalities are much better it's a lower cost for residents there energy mix tends to be much more renewable there are safety standards tends to be much higher and you take the profit motive extract of capitalism out of it and so what would need to happen for it to become an actual publicly owned utility controlled by the state of California and can you explain for example how that might have changed the outcome of what happened in Paradise California which burned to the ground killing $85.00 people last year. Absolutely well ahead p.g. And e. Have been a publicly owned utility instead of paying $1800000.00 to the sea because there's no way California voters or taxpayers would have allowed that p.g. And e. Would have been required to make the investments in the safety of the power lines they would have been made forced to make the investment in clearing out the brush or trees where they were in dangerous positions I had someone in my district who said that p.g. In it come 2 months ago saying 9 trees needed to be removed because they were a fire hazard and no one has followed up so there would be far more public accountability there also would be a much larger source of renewable energy in my district Silicon Valley power as a public utility in Santa Clara they have almost 40 percent of their energy renewable they have lower rates and they're much safer So how do we get there p.g. And e. Currently is in bankruptcy they entire market cap is about $2000000000.00 California as you know has a states or plus we could easily take over the. The utility in bankruptcy either by issuing bonds or by using some of that surplus we're going to break and then come back to talk about what's happening in California in addition to congress member of Qana will be joined by Mika Motown who is a former prisoner fire fighter and talk about what that means and for the prisoners today who are fighting fires and will speak with an l.a. Times reporter who has been talking to people who are heading to these. States that are blazing and the workers don't realize this the owners of the vacuum waited but the workers haven't been told stay with us. If you expect. Me. To do. This is Democracy Now I mean the good men with their mean shape we're continuing to look at the time that field fires raging across California now turning to how the blazes are disproportionately affecting some of the state's most vulnerable communities as the New York Times reports a growing number of rich people are hiring private firefighters to protect their property for up to $3000.00 per day domestic workers and gardeners who tend to some of the most opulent homes in Los Angeles attended work despite the Getty fire evacuation order this week many of their employers failed to even tell them not to come in that's according to a Los Angeles Times article headlined housekeepers and gardeners go to work despite the flames We're joined right now by the journalist who reported the. She joins us in Los Angeles welcome to Democracy Now tell us what you found in housekeepers and gardeners go to work despite the flames describe the situation for us at thanks so much 1st off for having me yes so when I got actually I got sent out to the fire around 4 in the morning and by the time I got to plant wood it was mostly evacuated there were maybe a few people left trying to see if they could sit tight but for the most part was completely emptied and then I after I left a neighborhood where there were actually homes that burned I saw a taxi coming in and dropping off a housekeeper who was pretty convinced that her bosses were still there because they hadn't called her they didn't tell her anything and there's just coming down and so much smoke in this neighborhood and she's just ringing the bell and the you know we quickly learned that they are her boss was not home and had evacuated at 3 in the morning and so as we headed back as I gave her a ride and we headed back down we bumped into a significant number of other workers who had come in there was a construction worker who made it to his job site and saw the fire and then left another woman who was trying to get into the mandatory evacuation zone to try and go to work because she also hadn't heard from her boss a babysitter who was covering her face with a paper towel the bus wouldn't take her to Pacific Palisades in like she ended up being stuck kind of right around this area and so was a significant amount of workers who when we did get a hold of the bosses or me when I was able to talk to them they had they just forgot to tell their workers not to come in and where the workers aware of Brittany that there was an evacuation order and. Yes that's the thing no this woman that was dropped off by the taxi I honestly don't I'm not even sure how she got in I think she was just really desperate to go to work that day. But yeah I mean she had no idea she was like oh there's a helicopter and in. You know as we spoke she observed there was a helicopter and I was like yeah it's there's a lot of smoke there's ash because there's a fire it's pretty nearby and so she you know at that moment I think I could tell she was scared when she told the owner like I'm scared to be here by myself pretty very very quickly are you speak Spanish you've been interviewing people in Spanish are all the orders going out in Spanish so people understand the dangers Yeah that's the thing I don't know how targeted it was to the workers who come into this neighborhood I don't know if the focus was mostly on the people who live in Brentwood which I'm sure that would be mostly I feel like an English speaking and so I don't know how much it was targeted because when I spoke to the workers quite a few of them had no idea at least about where the back so in was a few weren't even aware that there was a fire and learned when they arrived so I don't know how much information they were getting to try and help you know help their decision not to come to work so speaking of people in danger we want to turn to the more than 4000 firefighters working across California to contain the blazes at least 700 of them are California prisoners while salaried firefighters earn an annual mean wage of like $74000.00 a year plus benefits prisoners earn about a dollar an hour when fighting active fires we go now to San Francisco where we're joined by me Komodo former prisoner firefighter policy director at Young Women's Freedom Center in San Francisco and make a well we're back with you again when we were in San Francisco going to the prison camps where the prisoners are that fight fires and they're very treasured by the free fire fighters because they do so much of the most dangerous work we're talking to you again when you were in prison when you were incarcerated you were a firefighter explain the situation right now. Well I think. Thanks for having me back again we have talked to you I think that you know in California we are certainly. I have a deep concern for folks that are out there on the front lines fighting fires while incarcerated as well as all of the other firefighters that are doing the blaze of the get across California I think that. That the issues haven't changed much since we talked last time we've worked on a number of legislative efforts to try to. Kind of balance out the inequities of the labor force that works fighting fires on the inside and then comes home and can't do the same. But I think that there's a couple of narratives that really exist about this force of incarcerated firefighters and it's you know is this. A positive prison program that's benefiting incarcerated people or is this capitalist abuse of. You know the most vulnerable population which we know our prisons are warehouse with black and brown folks so I think that we are still at the same that same point when it's down you know is the level of experience and danger and they face and the experience they get when they get down to certain are not allowed to be firefighters so end up often serving the rich being private firefighters around estates. And yeah absolutely I think that there. It really doesn't make sense that you know we come home and that there is this barge barrier we're not able to get e.m.t. Licenses which is what we need to be working at municipal fire departments because they're really clear restrictions on you know being licensed when you have 2 or more felonies on your record or you you know have a charge that 7 years. Or less so basically we have folks that are really trained up and have the potential to come home and be a really productive member of society and have a stable careers and. That is not happening we have folks that are coming home and unable to keep minimum wage jobs because of the barriers that exist very quickly I want to ask Congress member O'Connor this issue of the prisoners making like a dollar. Is it a dollar a day I make are a dollar an hour. At the fire camp that's about a dollar an hour or not an hour an hour 3 cents is there a discussion when we were there the commanders of the camp said these people should be making more than this we're talking about more than 40 camps that this is been the wage for decades. It's outrageous and there is a discussion in Congress yesterday we actually posted on social media our outrage at how the prisoners are being treated there's no excuse in this country to abuse the prison population obviously there is incarceration but once someone's a prisoner they should be still compensated for basic labor and certainly when they leave as you pointed out they should be able to reintegrate into society and have the value of the expertise and experience they've gained and also on the issue of the fossil fuel economy before we get to impeachment if you could make this very brief I want to go to Syria where President Trump as you know abandoned the Kurds but said that he is protecting the oil fields both in northern Syria that's where u.s. Soldiers will go and thousands he is sending to Saudi Arabia to protect their oil fields. I appreciate your raising this because this is a blatant violation of the Geneva Convention we can't send troops to extract oil you can't steal the oil from other countries and our presence in Syria it's important to realize is still unconstitutional there has been no Congressional authorization so it was appalling to hear the president say that. We want to thank in the commode of the Young Women's Freedom Center in San Francisco talking to us about the imprisoned firefighters and a Makiya of the l.a. Times speaking to us from Los Angeles this is democracy now but now we're going to turn with her own conduct to the issue and peach meant so we end today's show in Washington where the House is holding a historic vote today to formalize the impeachment process against President Trump the probe centers on whether Trump withheld military aid to Ukraine to pressure Ukrainian president followed me and Selenski to investigate Trump's political rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter who served on the board of bloody small holdings a Ukrainian energy company Congressman Roe Conn now you serve on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform talk about the significance of today's vote. It's a very important vote commend Speaker Pelosi because we're going to have virtually a unanimous vote among the Democratic Caucus to affirm the impeachment inquiry and to set forward the process going forward on how we're going to get articles of impeachment and have a vote on impeachment the important thing here to understand is that the evidence is overwhelming that the president was pressuring Selenski into investigating his political rival and it was not just one phone call what we have seen emerge is a pattern a conspiracy lasting months to use the United States government to benefit Donald Trump's own reelection campaign but the Republicans of course have condemned the entire inquiry saying it's democratic So could you respond to that and how do you think Republican members of the House are likely to vote. What hasn't been democratic in fact the process has been followed in a very very fair way we have had a private setting for investigations and fact gathering in that setting Republicans have been able to be there they have been able to ask questions they've been able to examine witnesses the reality is they're the ones who've been obstructing the process now that the fact gathering is ending the hearings are going to be public and the president's lawyers are going to have due process rights what is said What is so sad in this process is the attack on civil servants that is basically undermining public service I mean there used to be a stature to serving in government and it's a government that has done so many extraordinary things from innovation to helping protect American security and the Republicans have launched a systematic attack on career civil servants to try to defend this president explain and explain particularly around that. Around the testimony of then men and the significance of who he is and what happened behind closed doors if you know the screaming match that took place as the Republicans tried to use that moment to get at the identity of the Wesel blower thinking it was the whistleblower who he spoke to. When when is a patriot I mean he is someone who is one the Purple Heart who has served this country honorably and you have the president's allies going on television accusing Vinland of having dual loyalties accusing him of conspiracy theories accusing him of betraying the interests of the United States all Vinland did was comply as he was legally required to do with a congressional subpoena congressional inquiry for testimony and what he did is testify to the best of his knowledge so the attack on people like Vin he's. Suggesting has committed treason. Yes And this is an attack on people who are not political they are not people who are being working on Trump or any campaign these are folks people who are serving our country and you have seen this is not just with didn't and this is with people at the State Department it's with their intelligence officers it's with career civil servants Republicans are basically saying that they're not worthy they're a dishonest they're unpatriotic and so I ask you how when we're doing this how are people going to have faith in government who why are the next great scientists the next great leaders going to we're going to work with the United States government what a loss for us at a time when our government really helped create the internet helped create antibiotics helped create sensors and we're going to now diminish government at a time where we need a strong government partnership with the private sector and research universities for America to compete so the Republicans it's not just this president it's important to understand that they're inflicting so much damage on the institutions of our democracy and government finally will these impeachment hearings be televised. Yes that they absolutely will they will be televised the testimony will be public and Republicans will get to ask questions but I think here's what the Republicans I'm realizing we've got to leave the track on process isn't going to work they have no defense for the Congress and I'm around for Anna thanks so much and any good. That's an abrupt ending. Democracy though has been made possible by the generous contributions of Kizzy of our supporters and by Trish Wimber is celebrating over 30 years in beautiful downtown Chico making let dishes from scratch daily to embrace invite you to stop in say hi and grab a best of Chico margarita. Check out their new private banquet facility the blue a gobby room which can hold up to 70 of your best friends there open 7 days a week. At 1st and Broadway in downtown Chico. 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