Transcripts For LINKTV Democracy Now 20140429

Comments of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling. Emerged friday, sterling lambastes his girlfriend for posting a picture with nba legend Magic Johnson and not to post pictures associated with black people. We will get reaction from the nations sports columnist dave zirin. Theont is poised to become first day to require the labeling of gmos. We do not want to continue to be guinea pigs. We want to have a choice. We will speak with vermont state senator david zuckerman. He is also an organic farmer. All that and more coming up. Welcome to democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. The white house is releasing a new set of guidelines to address the epidemic of Sexual Assault on College Campuses. A new Task Force Report urges colleges to report anonymous surveys and adopt proven strategies for combating assault. The announcement follows a rash of highprofile cases where schools across the country have been accused of mishandling Sexual Assaults. One in five College Women will be sexually assaulted during her college career. The u. S. Senate has stripped a provision from a key intelligence bill that would have required president obama to publicly disclose the number of People Killed by drone strikes. The move reportedly came at the behest of the director of National Intelligence James Clapper and suggested it could undermine operations. The provision would have required obama to report the number of civilians and combatants killed in drone strikes, but Dianne Feinstein decided to drop it. Clapper says they are exploring their own way to disclose data. Attacks in iraq killed 57 people placeday at a polling week before nationwide elections. Attack, adliest suicide bomber killed 30 people and injureds course of others at a political gathering in a mostly kurdish town east of baghdad. Republic,tral african Doctors Without Borders has suspended activities in the northern town of boguila, following an attack by muslims selector rebels. These were heads of villages, hence of areas within boguila town. They had been invited by msf for these periodical meetings with these village heads. Unfortunately, at the end, tragically, 16 of those people lost their lives, of which, reof our National Staff collects three of our National Staff colleagues were also killed. 1300 muslims have been in vacuum rated who have been surrounded. From a seriestoll of tornadoes in the midwest has risen to at least 28. The storms killed 11 people in mississippi, tennessee, and alabama. Arkansas governor mike beebe described the wreckage. Devastation in terms of the power of it may be as big as ive ever seen. We have seen steel girders, huge, i been girders twisted, torn completely out of the cement footing, lifted completely out of the ground. You can look at the trees and see how they have been ripped of leaves, you can see the force of the power. Then there are houses and businesses that are just destroyed. State oftire california is in drought for the first time in 15 years. More than three quarters of the state is in extreme drought. Governor jerry brown has to reduce residents their water usage. He also tied the drought to Climate Change say that we are playing russian roulette with the environment. In syria, a mortar attack kills 14 people in damascus. The attack comes after Bashar Alassad formally submitted his bid to run for reelection. To secure another sevenyear term in the june poll which the opposition and its allies have denounced as a farce. An Egyptian Court has banned april 6 movement of prodemocracy group that played a key role in the Popular Uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak in 2011. Speaking on monday, Mohamed Yousef said the group would defy the ban on its activities. This is a decision only on paper that will not stop the activities of the sixth of april. To the contrary, tomorrow we will be in the streets to tell them the disbanded group is only banned in your imagination and your dreams. This ruling will not stop the members of the movement demonstrating, will not stop them from saying what they believe, one of stop us standing up to any desperate, however powerful he may be, and all the institutions he can control to push his base through. The ban came the same day an egyptian judge sentenced 600 people to death, including the spiritual leader of the muslim brotherhood, mohamed badie. Picking in manila, president obama issued a defense over his foreignpolicy, saying his critics failed to learn from what he called the disastrous decision to invade iraq. Of ourcally, criticism Foreign Policy has been directed at the failure to use military force. And the question i would have is , why isnt that everyone is so eager to use military force, after we have just gone through a decade of war that enormous troops and to our budget . Philippines, president obama was met by hundreds of protesters about a pact to revive the military presence in the philippines. Popular protests forced the u. S. To leave its bases. Outside of the president ial palace was effigies were burned of president obama and president aquino. The European Union followed suit with sanctions on 15 new individuals. We will have more on ukraine after headlines. Isretary of state john kerry apologizing for saying israel could become an apartheid state statedoes not reach a two solution with palestinians. He made the remarks in a recordings meeting, which were obtained by the daily beast. Republican senator ted cruz of texas called for john kerry to resign over the comments. Mr. President , sadly, it is my belief that secretary kerry has proven himself unsuitable for the position he holds, and therefore, before any further harm is done to our National Security interest and to our Critical Alliance with the nation of israel, that john kerry should offer president obama his resignation, and the president should accept it. In a statement monday, secretary of state kerry said apartheid is a word best left out of the debate here at home. He visits ethiopia today where the government is under fire for arresting six bloggers and three. The nine were rounded up on friday and charged with attempting to incite violence. Human rights watch has pressed for their release, saying they are being held in a facility that is known for its abuses. Harry reid took aim at republican donors monday, speaking on the opening day of the legislative session, blaming billionaires like the Koch Brothers for the failure of House Republicans to pass key initiatives like an unemployment benefits. While families plead the congress for help and work ticket paid fair wages, House Republicans prefer to talk about anything other than what is relevant. Why . Because their billionaire sugar daddies are not interested in helping middleclass americans get a fair shot. Trials and david coke are not concerned with the longterm unemployed families, and republicans in the house of representatives are intent to do nothing for the longterm unemployed. People descended on the capitol to protest the widening gap between the rich and poor. Under the ban all banner battle for the capitol, they called for a rise in the minimum wage. A new Study Confirms most of the job growth since the economic recession has been in lowwage jobs. The national law project reports there are nearly 2 million fewer jobs in midand higher Wage Industries in nearly 2 million more jobs in lower Wage Industries than before the recession. Republican Congressmember Michael Grimm has surrendered to federal authorities after being indicted for fraud. He is accused of concealing more than a Million Dollars in taxes and wages at his restaurant in new york city. The charges part of a wider probe into his campaign finances. He was caught on camera turning to throw a reporter off a balcony for questioning him about the investigation. City, a boat that activists intended to use to challenge the israeli blockade has been hit with an explosion. The boat has been refurbished with the goal of exporting palestinian goods, but according to a press release, the night guard received a call warning of an attack. Minutes later, the boat exploded. The group said they would continue their efforts against the blockade. Those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Mate, welcome to our listeners and viewers from around the country. The u. S. And European Union have impose new sanctions on russia. The sanctions target seven russian government officials and 17 companies linked to russian president Vladimir Putins inner circle. State Department Spokesperson jen sasaki said the u. S. Still has a tool box of steps it can take against russia. Weve made clear the United States would impose additional live if russia failed to up to its geneva commitments and failed to take concrete steps to deescalate situation in ukraine. Cuts cleanly, this morning, United States is imposing targeted sanctions on a number of russian individuals and entities and restricting licenses for certain exports to russia. Can russia still deescalate and take steps . Absolutely. Do we still have a tool box of steps we can take . Absolutely, and we are working in lockstep with the europeans on this as well. Union followed suit today with new sanctions on 15 more people suspected of having a direct link to the ukrainian unrest. The move comes as the crisis in the ukraine faces it continued chaos. Prorussian separatist seized a new town and seized seven monitors. The mayor of ukraine second largest city is in Critical Condition after an attempt on his life. Kharkivs mayor hannity current us was shot 20 miles away from the border. It is unclear who was behind the attack. This is a surgeon who treated the man. He is stable at the moment but his condition is severe, even closer to very severe, as it usually is with these types of injuries. A bleeding usually rather strong. We are talking about 1. 5 liters of blood in total. If somebody thinks this is the way to improve the situation, he is wrong. Any aggression will only increase confrontation. The armed separatists are seeking annexation from russia. Ukraines government has accused russia of orchestrating the unrest as a pretext for an invasion. All of this comes as the pentagon says the Russian Defense chief has assured chuck notl that russia would invade ukraine. Meanwhile, the country continues to prepare for its may 25 president ial elections. For more we are joined by three guest. We speak with christopher miller, editor at the kiev post, who has been four years. Aine for from princeton university, jack matlock served as an ambassador to moscow. He was the last ambassador to the soviet union. He is the author of several books, including superpower illusions how myths and false ideologies led america astrayand ,w to return to reality autopsy on an empire the american ambassadors account of the collapse of the soviet union , and reagan and gorbachev how the cold war ended. Nina khrushcheva is also with us, author of the upcoming book, the lost khrushchev journey into the gulag of the russian mind. Lets go directly to kiev to speak with christopher miller. Can you explain what is happening now in kiev . The unrest is continuing. Things have been relatively calm today, all things considered. Yesterday we did see the takeover of another City Administration building and of course the assassination attempts of a mayor in the second largest city of ukraine. People believe the attempt on his life was meant to further destabilize the situation. Obviously, there are different rumors flying around as to who might be behind it. Today, the government is taking steps. It could help the situation. They are considering holding a referendum in line with the elections on may 25. It has not been decided yet. We are hearing that talks are underway. Meanwhile, the separatist groups in Eastern Ukraine, in these flashpoint cities, are considering holding unilateral referendums in their cities on may 11, in line with many holidays and victory day, which is a big celebration here in the soviet former soviet union. The situation is in Eastern Ukraine compared to crimea . In crimea, russia admitted it was their forces that were sent in. More seems to be uncertainty over who the separatists are in Eastern Ukraine. What is happening right now and how does this compare to what we saw in crimea . In the senselar, that it is the slowmoving takeover upper russian forces, but the differences are, crimea was controlled by russian soldiers, as we know. They were very well disciplined, orderly. There was really a lack of violence. We saw some skirmishes, at least one or two deaths, but overall it was done with a sense of professionalism, really. Whereas what we see in the east now is the seizure of buildings, takeover of entire cities by men that are not so well trained, that might not have a military background, some that do, that our militia forces who have taken over three stations, now stations, nowe armed with automatic weapons, s. We have seen some evidence that russians are involved, unnecessarily russians that are members of the russian military, but russian citizens who are a part of militia groups over there and have come into ukraine to help lead the separatist movement. Targeted . The mayor here deemedt people to be a political chameleon. He has flipflopped a number of times in the last few months. Formera supporter of the president viktor yanukovych, who was ousted on february 22. He fled the country overnight thrown out, has since popped up in moscow. He was a member of the president s political party, the ruling party here. During the revolution in january and february, he was a staunch critic of the revolution and spoke out against it. Once the president was ousted from office, he came out in favor of the united ukraine. At the same time, he did speak for some of the separatist movement that have popped up. Separatistsil the lost control of the City Administration buildings in his city. Once they were removed by police flopped again and said he supported a united ukraine, not necessarily separatism, but a federated state. He has angered people on both sides really, making him a target by numerous groups. It is unknown now who is behind him. Ho shot they believe it is a lone sniper. A close friend and president ial candidate came out and said that he thought it was forces from your my done who worked to assassinate him. At this point, it is not clear who were shooting. Nina khrushcheva, the sanctions posed on russian individuals, 17 companies, seven russian individuals, on the oil company, the head of the oil company, but not the head of the gas company. Talk about the significance of the u. S. And european approach to dealing with russia. It is much more forceful. We can say the u. S. Did not go far enough because it targeted individuals, but there were other companies that were question so there is a of how far the u. S. Should have gone, did they go far enough . The u. S. Says they still have a toolbox to push russia with. Maybe that is why they decided for now it is forceful enough. The eu sanctions are not as forceful, and this has been the story all along. Of the that 25 to 30 Russian Energy goes to europe. A lot of their business is in england, germany. Trade is very important. Russia is a very important european partner. Enough. Did not go far i found it interesting that the targeted people who were racking upvolved in those protests, those people in donetsk. I do not imagine those people are really shaking in their boots. It is an important gesture. I do not know how far it will go. An important person on both minister,he prime deputy prime minister, who is allegedly responsible for the theren takeover, although are other people responsible who were sanctioned. These are very important gestures. I am a huge fan of sanctions. I think they go much further than that. It seems there is evidence that russian businesses are going to suffer from the sanctions. Although we now hear that it is way back to 1949, where you have your of the doing americas bidding and whatnot. And trade forces are the most forceful measure to deal with this. It was only a few weeks ago that we had this agreement between the ukraine and geneva and the u. S. Has anybody tried to follow suit on what they agree to in geneva . And does not seem so on both sides. There are still sectors that are very forceful. They seem to be occupying buildings. I read a recent report that there are even coffee shops open, bars, talking about fascist rhetoric. The russians use this as a great tool of propaganda. I would like to add to why i think Eastern Ukraine is different from the crimea story. In crimea, there really was a lot of support. Russian guns or not, there was a lot of support to become russian. In Eastern Ukraine, the russians are meddling and forceful. 30 of theaybe 20 or population that wants to become russia. They have to push hard. And then of course, in donetsk, they, the russians, continue to becauseved precisely they need a referendum for the there areke sure that many people supporting the and also to metal before the elections. Jack matlock, you are the last u. S. Ambassador to the soviet union, now at princeton university. [inaudible] Robert Strauss was the last u. S. Ambassador to the soviet union. Nearing the end. Could the u. S. Most effectively deal with president Clinton Putin . If we are going to be effective, we need to take as much as we can out of the public arena and deal privately with these issues. When it has become a contest between our president s, who can do what to the other, it becomes, i think, very emotional , and tends to push things in the wrong direction. So i would hope, having done some of the sanctions that we promised, when we promised them, we have to do them. Try, to the maximum, to go private. In particular, i think where we can be most helpful is convincing the authorities in kiev to come to any reasonable terms that the russians are asking. Publicly at least they are asking for a federal constitution. They are asking for equal treatment of the russian and ukrainian languages and asking for a pledge of neutrality. I think all of those three demands on the surface are reasonable. Quietly to me working with the ukrainians in kiev and the europeans is going to be more helpful than the sanctions. Ambassador, what could the Obama Administration do differently than previous administrations had done in the past towards russia . I did not understand the question. What could the u. S. Do differently in its approach to russia that it has not done in the past . You have been critical of the way the u. S. Has treated putin. The most fundamental issue here was the threat of nato membership for ukraine. This is something that no motion government, no matter how democratic, will accept. Methods atse any their disposal to make sure it does not happen. That is what we see happening now. If this issue has never been raised, i think it would have been much easier to work out the economic issues, which are the most important ones. But also something to remember the 22plus years of ukraines independence, ukrainians have not been able to create an effective government of the entire country. They have not been able to create a sense of nationality. It is, in many respects, a failed state. All of the parties from outside, beginning with russia, but also including the europeans and United States, i think, have followed policies that have not been help pull. Lets go back right now to chris miller in kiev. What is the sense of what will be happening there now, and the sense of sanctions . The European Union does not want to go after the gas because they are so reliant on it. The u. S. Is targeting oil. Is there a sense that a civil war could break out . Not so much a sense of civil war, but a partisan war. There are partisan forces and militia groups that are preparing themselves for such a thing. In places outing of kiev, in Eastern Ukraine. Was i wanted to say it said earlier, in terms of what is different between crimea and the east this goes to your question. There is not much support for what is happening in Eastern Ukraine in Eastern Ukraine. It is a very small minority that is seizing the buildings, holding the city captive. I think more than 75 of the population in the region is not in support of what is taking place there. There is a significant percentage of the population that is for some independent from the center of central government, but not separating from ukraine altogether and joining russia, or becoming altogether independent. This is certainly a situation that is escalating, a fluid sources inand our the security sources and Defense Ministry are telling us it could get worse over the course of the may holidays in the next couple of weeks. Jack matlock, president obamas response in the philippines to the fox questioned about his foreignpolicy being in disarray , and he response about why the u. S. Should not be involved in war again. You have been a critic of the u. S. Getting involved militarily in ukraine. What did you think of president obamas response . I thought his response was excellent, and i think is general effort to keep us out of conflict and remove us, i applaud. What i have criticized regarding dealing with ukraine has been a activity, starting with the way that nato was expanded without an apparent ,top at some point, and also the attempt in kiev to get involved in local politics. I think that was unwise and has eastwest competitive cast to what is basically an internal ukrainian matter. So that i have criticized. I very much upon president useas attempt to limit our of force in International Affairs. I think that is the way to go, and i think he expressed it very well in his manila remarks. As we wrap up, nina khrushcheva, you are the great granddaughter of the late soviet premier nikita khrushchev. How does this printout in russian history compared to the past . To theas been compared cuban missile crisis numerous times. It is a fair comparison, i think. We are very close to the brink of absolute disaster. I do think president putin, president obama, the kiev withnment, and i agree ambassador matlock, who i have to probably say, was a Research Assistant at one point in all cars are on the table now. He needs to be done quietly. As i have been writing, the more morelk about the america calls on putin, the more it becomes an ideological battle. Once you start an ideological battle, it is difficult to get away from the real crisis, from the boots on the ground, from affecting people that live day to day life, and become involved in this kind of ideology while they need to be going on about their lifes business. Thank you all for being with us. Professorhcheva is a of International Affairs at the new school. Her upcoming book is the lost khrushchev journey into the gulag of the russian mind. Thank ambassador jack matlock, former ambassador to moscow. Christopher miller, who is with the kiev post, speaking with us from kiev. When the come back, the scandal that is rocking the sports world. Stay with us. [ ] they dont care about us by michael jackson. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Is set to release a response to the racist comments of Donald Sterling. A tape has sterling lambasting a woman identified as his girlfriend. On the recording, he is upset that she posted a picture on instagram with Magic Johnson. Sterling tells her not to publicize her association with africanamericans. Is it a benefit to me . Doesnt matter if they are white or blue or yellow . Sterlings comments have set off one of the biggest controversies in decades. Past and present stars have called for his removal, including michael jordan, kareem abduljabbar, lebron james, and kobe bryant. Magic johnson spoke out to espn. Understand you cannot understand how hurt i was , and for all africanamericans and minorities. Silver doesioner all of his due diligence, get , hethe information gathered has to come down hard. You should not own a team anymore, and he should stand up and say i do not want to own a team anymore. On monday, a dozen Teams Companies announced that they would stop their support of the clippers. The clippers next game is tonight at home in los angeles. On sunday, the team staged a silent protest by wearing their bench jerseys inside out, stacking their warmup jackets at center court. The miami heat followed suit on monday night with a similar move. Players are considering taking further action tonight, but their response could be shaped by the pending announcement. Commissioner adam silver has called for a News Conference on tuesday afternoon to announce the leagues response. That could range from a large fine to a suspension to forcing to sterling to sell the team. While the comments have shocked the sports world, those who have followed him believe it is no surprise. Have drivented to out africanamericans from an Apartment Building that he owns. Questionhas raised the of why it has taken a secret tape to draw attention to practices that have been out in the open for years. One of those voices who has been criticizing sterling for quite a while now is davids urine, a sports columnist for the nation magazine. He is the author of several books, including bad sports how owners are ruining the games we love. The book includes an essay on Donald Sterling, which has been posted on nation. Com under the title slumlord billionaire. Talk about the latest. The latest is the tipping point, and these, and should only surprised people in the nba if theyve been living in dick the last 10ker for years. The warning signs of Donald Sterlings racism and egregious behavior, and misogyny go back more than a decade. They have coddled him for decades. There is an expression when we talk about rape culture, for example, the definition of it is not just a crime, but people who see what is happening in choose to do nothing. There is a racism culture in the ownership ranks of the nba. Not every owner is as outward a racist as donald, but for decades, they have chosen to enable him and look the other way. Recording, sterling suggests owners are more central to the league than the players. He also uses paternalistic language to describe the players on his team. I give them food and clothes and cars. Who makes the game . Do i make the game or do they make the game . That will Donald Sterling. David zirin, as i understand it, fans are not coming to watch Donald Sterling to sit in the fans, stands, but he seems to be a jaded view. What does this say that the nba has allowed the sky to own a team . That would be an apprentice statement for any owner but that is a particularly outrageous statement for Donald Sterling. 13bought the clippers for Million Dollars. 3 Million Dollars down, 10 million on lay away. He has seen that investment, despite having losing seasons for 28 of his 30 seasons as an nba owner, despite that, his investment has risen from the initial 3 million to 18 that he could sell for 800 million to a billion dollars. That is not because of his genius or greatness. That is because the league as a whole benefited from the sweat, blood, and tears from people like michael jordan, lebron james, kobe bryant, and the aforementioned Magic Johnson. The idea that this is Donald Sterlings brilliance is ridiculous. We live in an era where the public pays for stadiums, we show up to watch players. Owners are superfluous in the 21stcentury sports environment. If Donald Sterling does not realize that, he is getting a crash course in that this week. What about kareem, the pc e . E for tim exhausting, he says. The whole country has gotten a severe case of carpal tunnel syndrome of the newest populist course of extreme finger wagging, not to mention the next olympic tryouts. Line ofst in a long rich white celebrities to come out of the racist closet. Agoas only a couple of days that clive and bundy said that blacks would be better off picking slaves. Last june, paula deen admitted using the nword. He says im angry, not just about the sins of Donald Sterling. But lets start with him. I used to work with him when i coached the clippers for three months. He was congenial, even inviting me to his daughters wedding. Since then, a lot has been revealed about his business practices. He goes on to talk about the apartment suing him, etc. Also, one of the clippers executive sued for implement a skirmish in based on age and race. If he is forced by adam silver, the head of the nba, to sell the team, he makes a fortune. What about what you think should happen, and what about the position of the players and what they are doing to protest . Makes a of all, kareem good point in that we are so quick to attack people who say racist things but we do not look at the manifestations of institutionalized racism. That is the great contribution alexanders new book the new jim crow. We can wag our fingers and Donald Sterling and not look at the institutionalized racism that still exists. Adam silver, the commissioner of the nba, there is what he could do, should do, and will do. What he will do is suspend sterling indefinitely pending further investigation into their ability to wrest control of the team from him. What he could do is immediately say we are compelling Donald Sterling to sell the team and we are going to conduct an investigation into why this man has been coddled for so many decades. By the way, that is a demand of the players union, that there be an investigation as to why he has been coddled. What he should do is turn the Los Angeles Clippers into a public utility for the city of los angeles, or into a fanown team, like the green bay packers, wrinkly, as reparations for the harm that he has done not only to the team but also to the literally thousands of people that have had to live in his housing projects in los angeles that have been harmed by his financial existence. Do you agree with the criticism that the players should have done more, and what can they do if the nbas response is insufficient . So much talkbeen on twitter and social media about the players should have done more, they should have done something more drastic, they should have boycotted, what would have john carlos done if you were in the situation . I figured i would call john carlos and find out. I called dr. Carlos. I asked him, has anyone in the media called you to ask you what you think because they are all referencing you . He said no one has asked. So i said, well im going to ask you. What do you think about what they did . He that their symbolic statement of taking off their warmups and putting them in center court was a powerful one. You had to get 12 people acting in collective fashion. He said you would have a lot of different political beliefs, some ideas more radical than others. If you can get them to act in concert, that is a good thing. He also said the next that is players walking into Donald Sterlings office and demanding to be traded at the end of the season. He also said fans should not show up at the games even he also said sterling should have the team taken away from him. Teams likein other the miami heat, in solidarity . Yes, that was a power. Of solidarity,n taking off their warmup jackets, not showing the nba seal. I think it is a powerful sign. We are living in a time when political statements by athletes on the court are pretty rare. The last time it happened in the nba was when the Miami Heat Team posed with their hoods on when Trayvon Martin was killed and George Zimmerman was still not arrested. These kind of statement are important because what they do is push the discussion forward. That is all you have to ask. The only thing you do not want them to do when faced with Something Like this is to do nothing. When you look at the amazing comments on social media by athletes, like david west of the pacers, who said the shows that we cannot live in a Postracial America that is an important discussion to have and it is a way that athletes can leverage their position. This month, switching gears slightly, critical flaws emerged in the handling of a rape case involving the Star University of Florida State University Player Jameis Winston. The local prosecutor said he lacked evidence to charge winston. One week later, winston won the heisman trophy. Now there are reports at there werent virtually no investigations either by the police or university. Police closed the case without interviewing winston, obtaining dna, or following up on leads come including an alleged videotape of the vessel. The University Also failed to take action, allowing him to continue to play football. The report comes as students across the Country Demand their schools take action to hold students who commit Sexual Assault accountable. Talk about this case. Absolutely. As Jessica Luther has written, as we talked about this, we have to realize rape on College Campuses is not just a football problem but something that affects an estimated one percent of College Women. It is a broader problem in terms of how universities handle these cases. In this case in Florida State, one of the things it shows is that when you have a Small College town like tallahassee, you see the way the Football Program is an instrument, not only of social cohesion but economic cohesion. Every game brings a Million Dollars into the community. The Police Officer who is investigating this womans claim, that Jameis Winston assaulted her, is a member of the Security Team for the Florida State nonprofit boosters club, which donates hundreds of millions of dollars into the athletic department. It is like one of those old where thewns, industry is not coal, but football. That means people get protected. About it, awful because college sports, particularly the revenue gotten through College Football and basketball, because they are so dependent on africanamerican labor, ucds players treated as a combination of chattel and heroes, with women often used as a form of currency to lure players to different campuses with promises that they will be able to live without sanctions, so they are not paid and honest wage, not treated like grown people who are bringing money and funds into the university. Way that ieated in a think you can only describe as abusive, which is the starting point for a lot of the Sexual Assault cases. You were in illinois last week covering this vote by Northwestern University Football Players on whether to form a union. Can you explain what happened in winning the right to vote and what happens next . We will not see results for months but this connects to the discussion about Florida State because this is about Football Players asserting their humanity and demanding to be treated like human beings, to have a seat at the table and say, we want to have a say in our health care, travel schedule, in what we bring to the campus, and not to be treated like pieces of equipment. Being with us,r dave zirin. The author of many books, including bad sports how owners are ruining the games we love. There is an essay in it on coopers owner Donald Sterling. His forthcoming book about brazil and the upcoming world cup is called brazils dance with the devil. When we come back, what happened in vermont around gmos. It is setting a precedent for the entire country. Stay with us. [ ] dead prezs be healthy. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Tovermont is the first date label gmo foods. A bill that passed both chambers is now on the way to the governors desk where he is expected to sign as early as this week. The law would take effect in july 2016. Vermont senator Bernie Sanders is among those who support the effort to label gmo foods. Labeling of gmos is also not a radical concept. It exists throughout the European Union. In fact, it exists in dozens of countries throughout the world. Anyone who tells you that we cannot do this, this is too complicated, they are not telling you the truth. 29 other states have proposed bills requiring gmo labeling and two have already passed bills requiring labeling, but the measures only take effect when neighboring states also approve the requirements. For more we go to vermont to speak with vermont state senator david zuckerman. He is an organic farmer himself who introduced gmo labeling bills a decade ago when he was in the vermont house. He coowns full moon farms. Explain what this bill actually means. What this bill means is, in 2016, when the average customer goes into a store, they can look at a package, and on that package somewhere there will be an indicator that the food was partially or completely made with genetic engineering. The origins of this legislation and why you think this is so important. Haveally, in vermont, we been having discussions about genetic engineering in our food for over a decade. In politics, i have been doing that as a spokesperson for thousands of people across the state. The momentum has been building. There was a seed labeling law that passed a year ago. There was a bill that would have required manufacturers to be responsible for them to me economically and environmentally. That past but that was vetoed by a different governor. In the last couple of years, a movement has been building for product labeling. That is happening across the country and here in vermont. Measures came up in california and washington, we saw Food Companies and monsanto spend millions of dollars to defeat the bills. What kind of opposition to you see here, and do you expect legal challenges after it is enacted into law . People would be surprised that there were not the airwaves compartment light there were in california and washington, in part, because the average vermonter was so much more aware. I think those Companies Held it was an uphill battle here. There was a population of people that were much more knowledgeable and would not succumb to the kinds of. Ropaganda there is plenty of food in the world. There are other issues as to why people are hungry. Hand, the grocers manufacturers association, or other groups that are present manufacturers, will probably sue us. A lot of our work is working to draft a bill that would withstand such a lawsuit. I want to turn to Margaret Laggis, a lobbyist for the trade Group Biotechnology industry organization, whose members include seed manufacturer monsanto. Prolabeling activists used scare tactics, such as telling people they were being used as guinea pigs for gmo products. She went on to say, once you scare people about their food, it is such a personally intimidating and, it is really unfortunate that people have been scared when there is no science to support it. This is Margaret Laggis speaking to the council on bio information technology. People do not have scientific background so they have no basis to understand what Food Technology is, the benefits to the environment, the farmer. So there is a huge education problem. If we are going to be successful , getting people to be comfortable with this technology, we will have to do more education and outreach. That is Margaret Laggis. David zuckerman, respond. Why are you so concerned about gmos . Time, there were no longtime the epidemiological studies on humans. We only just started having reasonable studies because Seed Companies control their products for scientific research. In some areas, there are signs of scientific questions about how it impacts our digestive system and potentially even cause a barriers into fetuses. Yes, i do think, as consumers, we are guinea pigs, because we do not understand the implications of this. As an organic farmer, one of the things that these companies have used in their products is a naturally occurring bacteria which they have taken genes from to make the crops resister to certain past. Unfortunately, with the overuse of those come a some of those pests are starting starting to show resistance. Over time, what that means, those naturally occurring tools that folks like myself and other organic farmers use injudicious them in therusing biotech industry, they will make their tools obsolete number which means either more chemical use on conventional farms, or certain products not even the coming available to be organically produced because those pests. She also mentioned environmentally this is a good tool. In tennessee, it was reported in a National Agricultural magazine, they will have to spend 120 Million Dollars more this year for added chemicals to their fields because they are not working as it once was. There are so many things that are resistant to it because of the overuse around the products, and now there are stronger and more volumes of chemicals used. I do not think their information is accurate. We want to thank you very much, david zuckerman. We will follow the legislation when governor Peter Shumlin signs it, which is expected to do very soon, around the labeling of gmo products. That does it for our show. One gonzalez will be speaking tonight. You can go to our website at democracynow. Org the coast of maine, remote and solitary, held special meaning for one of americas greatest artists. In a letter to his brother, Winslow Homer said of his surroundings, there is certainly some strange power that has an overlook on me, directing my life. That i am in the right place, there is no doubt