Transcripts For LINKTV Democracy Now 20161118

That was to make landfall in the southern hemisphere. Amy the Prime Minister of fiji makes a personal appeaeal to becometrump who may soon the only world leader who does not believe in Climate Change. We will get the latest on the u. N. Climate summit and look at an issue that has barely received coverage here the Moroccan Occupation of the Western Sahara which many consider to be africas last colony. That areemate talks thisis month, is an excellent king and theofor the Community Around him to whitewash the decline, the oppression, authoritarianism, and also make people forget about the occupation that has been ongoing for more than four decades in Western Sahara. Amy we will speak to a britishalgerian activist who was blocked from entering Western Sahara during the u. N. Climate summit and we will go to , the streets of marrakesh to speak with Syrian Refugees who have fled here to escape war. I want to ask him why and they want to close the borders first. Syrias have suffered very much. Why should they close the border in our faces . They should help us because we have gone through a lot of suffering and lost everything. Amy all that and more, coming up. Welcome to democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. We are broadcasting from marrakesh, morocco, from the u. N. Climate summit. Back in the United States, donald trump has chosen alabama Jeff Sessions. Inwas elected the the senate 1990 six. As an alabama senator, he has consistently supported antiimmigration legislation. In 2010, he was a leading proponent of the effort to repeal the 14th amendment, which grant citizenship to everyone born in the United States. Jeff sessions is also been a vocal opponent of the Voting Rights act. In 1986, president Ronald Reagan nominated sessions for a federal judgeship, but he was denied confirmation because of his history of racist comments, including reportedly saying he thought the ku klux klan was ok, until i found out they smoked pot. He is also called the naacp and the aclu unamerican and communistinspired. In while, officials from Donald Trumps Transition Team have told multiple news outlets that trump has offered lt. General Michael Flynn the position of National Security adviser. Flynn is wellknown for his antimuslim worldview, having called islam a cancer and saying fear of muslims is rational. General flynn is also on the board of advisers for act for america, an antimuslim organization thats been designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. This position of National Security adviser does not require senate confirmation. Flynn served as the director of the Defense Intelligence agency under president obama. During which time some of his subordinates invented the term flyn facts. He was a key adviser for donald trump during the 2016 campaign, during which he refused to condemn trumps proposed use of torture. Human rights watch said his pick shows a deeply disturbing disregard for human rights principles and the laws of war. Another Controversial Military figure, former cia director and retired u. S. Army general david petraeus, is reportedly in the running for secretary of state. In 2015, petraeus was sentenced to two years probation and a 100,000 fine after pleading guilty to leaking highly classified information to his biographer and lover paula broadwell. This comes after trump spent months calling for Hillary Clinton to be jailed for her use of a private email server when she served as secretary of state, despite being cleared of wrongdoing by multiple fbi investigations. Donald trump also met with president nixons secretary of state Henry Kissinger on thursday at trump tower. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has submitted his resignation, sparking renewewed calls for him to face perjury prosecution for lying under oath to the senate in march 2013 when he was questioned by senator ron wyden about the governments secret surveillance program. They collect any type of data at all, millions or hundreds of millions of americans. No, sir. I it does not . Not w wittingly. There are cases s where they cod inadvertently, perhaps, collect but not wittingly. Amy clapper later defended himself by claiming he had answered the question in the least untruthful manner. His resignation will be effective on inauguration day, january 20, 2017. The New York Times is reporting Donald Trumps soninlaw Jared Kushner is weighing the possibility off joining trump said administration a move that may violate u. S. Antinepotism laws. Kushner is the husband of trumps daughter ivanka. Hes been a key adviser to Donald Trumps campaign and Transition Team. Most recently, he orchestrated a purge of new Jersey Governor Chris Christie and his allies from the Transition Team. Jareds father, charles kushner, was sent to prison by christie when christie was a new jerseys top prosecutor. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party has elected new york senator Chuck Schumer to be the Senate Minority leader, despite opposition from protesters who say schumers ties to wall street make him unfit to lead the democratic p partys opposition to donald trump. Earlier this week, protesters held a sitin inside Schumers Office demanding he step aside and instead support vermont senator Bernie Sanders for the position of minority leader. Instead, on wednesday, schumer was elected minority leader and then tapped Bernie Sanders as chair of outreach for the democraticic leadership team. A new position. Meanwhile, massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren has become the latest Democratic Party member to endorse minnesota congressman Keith Ellison as the next chair of the Democratic National committee. He is the first muslim member of congress and cochair of the congressional progressive caucus. In san diego, u. S. District judge Gonzalo Curiel will hold a hearing friday to consider a request by Donald Trumps lawyers to delay the classaction lawsuit against trump and his defunct forprofit Trump University until after the inauguration in january. The university has been accused of defrauding students. Trump is slated to testify at the trial, but his lawyers are trying to convince judge curiel to permit him to testify via a videotaped deposition. Theyre also trying to withhold from evidence everything trump has said, including in speeches and in tweets. During the campaign, trump attacked judge curiel, saying his mexican heritage makes him biased against trump. The largest bank in norway, dnb, has sold its assets in the companies behind the 3. 8 billion Dakota Access pipeline and it is considering whether to terminate three separate loans the bank has made to finance the project. The canceled assets were worth 3 million. The loans under consideration finance up to 10 of the pipelines construcuction. Relatedlus dnb is not to dnb first. This comes as Energy Transfer partners, the Company Behind the Dakota Access pipeline, is almost certain to miss the january 1, 2017, deadline by when it had promised Oil Companies it would have completed construction, opening up the possibility the pipeline may lose its contracts with Oil Companies. In recent court documents, Energy Transfer partners acknowledged that if the army corps of engineers does grant the final permit to drill underneath the missouri river, it would still take the company between three and four months to finish the project. Its still not clear whether the permit will ever be granted. Even if it is, missing the january 1 deadline means Oil Companies will have the right to renegotiate or even cancel their contracts to have oil shipped through the Dakota Access pipeline. These cancellations are likely given that Bakken Oil Production has fallen by 20 since its peak in december 2014 the same year the contracts were first signed. Energy transfer partners has acknowledged in Court Filings loss of shippers to the project could effectively result in project cancellation. In iraq, a suicide car bomb has killed at least 30 people at a wedding thursday. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack south of fallujah. Among the dead was the groom, seif jumaa maajal, who was the son of a local tribal leader who had been a vocal opponent of the Islamic State. In china, workers have staged a series of strikes and protests against walmart, demanding better pay and working conditions. At least 20,000 walmart workers in china have joined messaging groups, such as wechat, in order to coordinate organizing against the company. This comes amid a wave of labor organizing in chinas service sector. Since july, workers have organized more than 120 protests and strikes targeting service companies, including walmart. Palestinians are condemning two pieces of legislation being pushed by israeli lawmakers. The first would ban mosque loudspeakers in efforts to silence the call to prayer, which sounds five times throughout the day. Rightwing israeli lawmakers are claiming the call is noise pollution. The second piece of legislation would retroactively legalize jewishonly settlements on Palestinian Land in the israelioccupied west bank. The measure violates international law. This is Palestinian Leader hanan ashrawi. We consider all settlements and legal whether they are public or private land. Extends the confiscation of territories to palestinian steal occupation can outright theft palestiniann land weatather for public palestinian use oor private palestinian propererty in order to expand settlement project, destroyed the two state solutition, and at the same time, impose greater israel on historical palestine. Amy in guatemala, a judge has ruled former u. S. Backed dictator Efrain Rios Montt will face trial on charges of genocide for a massacre in 1982 that killed 273 indigenous peoplele, nearly half of them children. On wednesday, the judge ruled he will be represented by his mont has beens ruled mentally unfit for trial. Rios montt was found guilty of genocide in 2013, but a court annulled his 80year sentence less than two weeks later. Britain says residents of the Chagos Islands in the indian ocean who were forcibly removed for the construction of a u. S. Military base in the early 1970s will not be allowed to return home, despite four decades of organizing by the displaced residents who are demanding the right to return. In addition to serving as u. S. Airbase, one of the islands, diego garcia, has also played a Critical Role in the u. S. Extraordinary rendition program. This week the British Foreign Office Minister said instead of the right to return home, the chagossians will be offered 40 millions pounds in compensation over the next decade. She also said the u. S. Will be allowed to keep its military base on the island. Back in the United States, the number of reported hate crimes continues to surge in the wake of Donald Trumps election last week. The Southern Poverty Law Center has now documented at least 437 verbal and physical attacks, intimidation and harassment against muslims, immigrants, african americans, women, and people of color. The most commonly reported place where physical or verbal harassment occurred continues to be i in k12 schchools. A forprofit Family Detention Center in karnes county, texas, has banned Migrant Children held there from having access to crayons while their mothers meet with lawyers. Immigration authorities claim the ban is a response to children coloring on a table in the prisons visiting area which caused damage to the contractor. The facility is operated by the private Prison Company geo group, which saw its stock price jump after donald trump won the president ial election. Human rights advocates are calling for the Obama Administration to cut ties with the private prison industry and end family detention before the close of his term. And writer Colson Whitehead has won the National Book award for the underground railroad, a novel about a young enslaved girl who escapes from a georgia plantation. At the new york city awards ceremony, whitehead said were happy in here. Outside is the blasted hellhole wasteland of trumpland. Be kind to everybody, make art and fight the power. And those are some of the headlines. The Washington Post is reporting donald trump has miken kansas congressman cap the os cia director. He is opposed closing Guantanamo Bay prison. In 2013, he visited the notorious prison and set of the prisoners on Hunger Strike it looked like to me that a lot of them have put on weight. He also is a vocal opponent of the iran nuclear deal. And those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. We are broadcasting from the cop22 here in marrakesh, morocco. In what is seen by some as a direct response to the election of donald trump and his rejection of climate science, nearly 200 nations have agreed on a proclamation here in marrakesh morocco declaring implementation of the Paris Climate Accord to be a urgent duty. This comes just over a week after trump was elected president. He has vowed to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement and has called Climate Change a chinesesecreated hoax. Trump will soon become the only world leader who doesnt believe in Climate Change. This is aziz mekouar, moroccos head negotiator at the talks. We call for all parties to strengthen and support efforts to eradicate poverty, ensure food security, deal of Climate Change challenges in agriculture. We call for urgently raising ambition and strengthehening cooperatation amongst ourselveso close the gap between current emissions, project rees, and the pathway needed to meet the longterm goals of the Paris Agreement. We call for an increase in the volume, flow, and access to finance for climate projects alongside improved capacity and technology, including through deveveloping countntries. Views of 100r billion mobilization goal. Call for further Climate Action and support well in advance of 2020, t taking ino account the specific needs and special status of developing countries, the least developed countries, and those particularly honorable to the adverse vulnerable to adverse impact of Climate Change. To the kyoto protocol anchorage the quantification. Amy aziz mekouar, moroccos head negotiator at the talks, speaking after nations here at cop22 signed on to whats known as marrakesh action proclamation. Tina johnson is policy director at the u. S. Climate action network. Opportunity is an is a know one country, no one person can control the outcome. Im a change is real. We need to act. Were going to do everything we can. [indiscerniblele] amy earlier this week, the Prime Minister of fiji appealed directly to president elect donald trump. I want to make a special appeal to the president elect of the United States donald trump for a personal change of heart in a public change of policy on the issue of Climate Change. Sir, you have said you do not believe that Climate Change is manmade and you intend as president t to cut off americas contribution to the global efforts to reduce carbon emissions. By thepecially alarmed intent to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, which would be disastrous for every person on earth. I appeal to you to show the leadership that the rest of the world expects the United States to take on this issue. Please take ananother look at te overwhelming scientific content on the manmade effects of global warming. Please come as a matter of urgency to see for yourself the devastating impact of rising sea levels and extreme weather events already having on our pupils in our way of life. President elect trump, i formally invite you to fiji and promise you the warmest of welcomes. We will show you how we already having to move entire communities out of the way of the rising seas, and you can meet the families of the 44 fijians who were killed last february by the biggest Tropical Cyclone ever to make landfall in the southern hemisphere. I repeat, the world looks to america for leadership as we Work Together to confront this challenge to our survival and the wellbeing of our planet. President elect trump, i appeal to you for humanitys sake to show that leadership and to join our common cause. Thank you. Amy that is the Prime Minister of fiji. He will be the president of the next cop, which will not be held in fiji, but germany. Climate activists have staged a series of actions here at the u. N. Summit calling on World Leaders to do more to address the climate crisis. I am from the Marshall Islands. In the north specific. Right now my people are on the frontline. We are affected by Climate Change. We are feeling it right now. Very barely two meters above sea level. Im speaking to as a mother. I have two babies. Where will we go if our island sinks . Amy on thursday, climate activists also staged protests here targeting corporate sponsors of the u. N. Climate summit. They began by staging a diein at the u. N. Climate summit inside a pavilion sponsored by the moroccan phosphate giant ocp. The action was led by the Indigenous Youth caucus and sustainus to raise awareness about the economic and Health Impacts of the companys phosphates plant in the coastal moroccan town of safi. Protesters then moved on to occupy the booth of the Moroccan Mining Company managem, a Moroccan Mining Company which runs a massive silver mine that has been the targets of protests for years by the indigenous amazigh people of imider. This action symbolizes indigenous and nonindigenous groups from both inside and outside of morocco, coming together to show the similarities of environmental atrocities communities around the world face. We wish to show how corporate sponsors of the cop continued greenwashing while ignoring classism. At the same time, people who sadly pay withes their lives and livelihoods without ever expensing the privilege to walk into this space and draw attention to the injustices committed against them. I come from the Navajo Nation and i have been at standing rock. While we were attacked by dogs and pepper spray. We are guests of the people of morocco. We thought it would be appropriate to draw attention to the corporate sponsors ocp and others who are also calling causing similar atrocities not far from the cop right now. Actively polluting streams and. Ivers and oceans people drop dead in the streets because they cannot breathe in the air. Our brothers and sisters have been occupying [indiscernible] theyre having their water drained in order to produce silver for an outside company. We would like everybody to please think of those people and think of their sovereignty and their rights. When we come back from the break, we will look at an issue that has barely received coverage here, the Moroccan Occupation of the Western Sahara which many consider to be africas last colony. Stay with us. [music break] amy musicians playing during a demonstration here at the cop22 climate summit. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. We are broadcasting from marrakesh, morocco, here at the u. N. Climate talks one issue that is being largely ignored is moroccos 41year occupation of the Western Sahara, a former spanish colony located south of morocco. Last week, moroccan authorities barred the sahrawi political leadader suelma beirouk from attending the climate summit, even though she serves as the Vice President of the panafrican parliament. She was reportedly held by Moroccan Police for 75 hours without food or water. Morocco also faced criticism after it briefly published a map on an official cop22 website that showed occupied Western Sahara to be a part of morocco. The image was later taken down from that website. The u. N. Considers Western Sahara to be a nonselfgoverning territory. In march, morocco expelled u. N. Staffers from Western Sahara after u. N. Secretarygeneral ban kimoon referred to moroccos rule over the region as an occupation during a visit to the algerian town of tindouf, which has been the home for Western Saharan refugees for four decades. One half of the sahrawi population lives in the refugee camps while the other half lives , in the territory under occupation. Moroccan authorities also continue to block Many International journalists and human rights organizations from entering the occupied Western Sahara. This week i spoke to the , brbritishbasased algerian activist hamzaza hamouchenene wo seserves a as the seninior progm offificer for north africa and west asia at the British Organization war on want. I am here for the cop to organize events around the cop22 , but i am not participating officially for the cop22. So we organized different events in solidarity with communities that are being affected by environmental injustices, by the neoliberal policies of the moroccan monarchy. I have attempted to travel to the occupied territories of Western Sahara two days ago and have been denied entry. The wherehappened yet did you go anand wherere were yu ststped . I starteded my journey from a southernrn town in moroccoco. There. A busus ride from just before tindouf, just on the border between morocco and the occupied zone, i have been orordered off of the bus. Ive been informed there are specific structures coming from high all high up to not let me perceive. Amy what happened you then . Basically, i waited for an hour and a heart attack seat for about sixix me back or seven hours away. They kept a close eye on me at every check point. Stopped around five or sisix times, checking my passport, calling the driver. It felt a little bit unsafe. Amy so they drove you away five hours to where . I think they drove me more than six hours to a town three hours away or 3. 5 hours away fromom marrakesh. And then i spent the night there. And i came back a day after. But for me, it is just an example of how morocco, the moroccan monararchy, thinking ad ththe elite arounund him, does t want International People people coming for the cop22 to know about its occupation of Western Sahara. It h has been ongoing for more than four decades for now. Amy interestingly, ban kimoon was here, actually met with thee king, though it doesnt t lolk like the kining wantnted to loot him because he just recenently called the presence of morocco and Western Sahara and occupation. Talks h have climate been how held in marrakesh, an excellent opportunity for the king and the ruling elite around him to whitewash their crimes, the repression, the authoritarianism, and also make people forget about the occupation that has been ongoing for more than four decades and Western Sahara. It is also an opportunity to greenwash the environment all es amy and that means . The king and the elite around him, basically, the ruling class in morocco. To greenwash the crimes. So i have been visiting different places in morocco recently where people are suffering from big huge environmental injustice. And one of them is the community that has been shuttling with the mine thatings of a has been grabbing the resources, grabbing their water amy explain where that is. It is in the southeast morocco, around a 7 hour drive from marrakesh. So the community has been struggling there for years against this silver mine that has been polluting and affecting their agriculture. This is in contradiction between the narrative that the monarchy is trying to give to outsiders that they are champions of renewable energy, that they are green, and all of that. But in reality, when you look deep down, you see lots of environmental destruction. Town on the ocean, which is really a victim ofof te industrial policies of morocco, there is actually now a coal fire power station that is being built. That will be operational in 2017. So at the time theyre saying we are building a coalfired power station and that coal will be brought from russia, poland, and south africa. But then if you look deeply into the details of the renewable plants, you see an important part of it is based on occupied territory. Inwithout the approval taking the decisions and how those resources are being used. Amy the west the herons saharans . Yes. There is a report by the organization the just released a few weeksamy the west the ago n the plunder, with a document all of those renewable plants, wind, and solar, and ththey mentionedn example of where a wind farm is powering a mine which is on occupied territory, so basically, powering that mine to plunder even further the resources of the people. Amy how difficult is it for people to get to Western Sahara that do not already live there . I think the movements of the center are monitored sahara are monitored. They really monitor the movements of the people. For International Delegations so the moments they detect those delegations were talking with the human rights activists and human rights organizations, they deport them. There have been many examples in the past with delegations from norway, from spain being detectd the moment they them working with human r rights activists. Amy what are they hiding . Theyrey it briefly, hiding the reality of occupation, hiding the reality of repression, hiding the reality of the denial of the rights of the sahrawis. Amy share the history of Western Sahara. Itt was a spanish colony they werepanish left, invaded. Moratoria retreated i think a year later. Morocco still occupied that land and plundered the resources and fishing, just it is tomatoes, agriculture. Sahrawis do not have any. This needs to be exposed. The cop22 should not have the opportunity for the kingdom and the elite around him to greenwash the crimes and to whitewash the occupation. Amy there are amazing parallels to indonesias occupation of eaeast timor in 1975. But in 1999, the u. N. Wasas able to sponsor a r referendum for te people of east timor and they voted for their independence and now theyre one of the newest nations in the world. I think that is what the sahara would wish to happen. They just want the right to selfdetermination. The u. N. Is supportive of that, except that morocco has the support of some western powers, including france and the u. S. And spain. That diplomatic and International Support allows it to continue the occupation. So i think we need to exercise the pressure on the moroccan monarchy as well as the multinationals that are complicit in the plunder of resources. Amy that was the britishbased algerian activist hamza hamouchene, who serves as the Senior Program officer for north africa and west asia at the British Organization war on want. He recently attempted to enter the occupied Western Sahara, but was stopped by moroccan authorities on his way. On wednesday, i spoke to Constancio Pinto, the minister of commerce, industry, and environment of timorleste or east timor. East timor was compared to Western Sahara for decades. Both countries were occupied in 1975. Timor by indonesia, Western Sahara by morocco. Both populations supported u. N. Security Council Resolutions calling for referenda for self determination. Which timor got in 1999 and voted overwhelmingly to become independent. The people of Western Sahara are still calling for that referendum to take place. East timorese minister Constancio Pinto just came from east timor where on november 12, he was involved in the 25th anniversary observance of the santa cruz massacre where Indonesian Military attacked using u. S. Weapons gunned down , over 270 timorese. He was a lead organizer of the peaceful p processioion. I asked him his s thoughts on te anniversary. Massacrethe santa cruz day. S was a national it was a turning point for the struggggle of my state. It took sonar over 20 years to get the world to know the suffering that we have endured here during the indonesian occupation. Day,fore, we honor this the 25th anniversary of the where 270 lives were inen by the Indonesian Army cold blood. Ordertinue to do this in of our spiritame of nationalism and sentiment among the young people. Because the young people, sometimes they think the independence was a gift given by the indonesians. ,o we have to tell them independence was a process. It took a longtime. Ourmany of our family, titimorese citizens lost their lives for this independence. Continue toe, we celebrate this also in honor of the contributioion of the international community, especially the journalists people like yourself and others. Who,ere the people although it was difficult to get into, you managed to go to timor and cover the stories and publish it abroad. Worldt you, i think the what happenednown in timor. Their independence of timorr may also delay. That is why we continue to do this. And for us, 25 years is important day for us. Amy that is Constancio Pinto, the minister of commerce and history and environment of timor. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Just tapped has alabama senator Jeff Sessions to bebe h attorneyy general and kansas congressman mike come pao to head the cia. As trumps civil his cabinet, we look at one of the communities that have been the target of his through hiseted immigration policy that he is talked about during the campaign, Syrian Refugees. Over the course of the campaign, donald trump called them terrorists and incorrectly accused them of carrying out Violent Attacks in the United States. Trump has repeatedly said he would end all immigration to the u. S. By Syrian Refugees and others from what he called terrorprone nations. This is donald trump speaking last month. Mr. Trump we are not going to take the risk when it comes to the safety of the American People no longer. So let me say as clearly as i can, if im elected president , i am going to keep radical islamic terrorists the hell out of our country. Amy the five year syrian conflict has displaced about half the prewar population, with more than 6 million syrians displaced inside syria and nearly 5 million Syrian Refugees outside its borders. Close to half a million syrians have been killed in the ongoing war. Here in morocco, according to some estimates, there are thousands of Syrian Refugees though exact figures are , difficult to determine. On thursday evening, democracy now spoke to several Syrian Refugees here in marrakesh. A province in syria. How did you come from syria to morocco . I came from syria, then i crossed into lebanon and i stayed for one year in lebanon. And i have prepared my passport before the war. When the war waged, it became very tough for me. And i have six daughters and three youths. I had to flee from there to. Orocco i came from beirut, then came to algeria, then i crossed into morocco. What did you come to morocco . Is this your final destination or do you hope to go elsewhere afterwards . I have never left syria, and this is the first ive had to leave the country. We came here to morocco and we thought we would stay four or five months and then make it back to syria, but now im here for more than two years. We never thought we would be staying in morocco for so long. How is your life in syria how did it change . What is the situation there right now . My life in syria was very good. As a poor person, i had a very good life in syria i was working with people. But because of the war, i had to leave. Now i came with no money and im out here sitting in the streets. How has this conflict impacted your children and what featured you hope for them future do you hope for them . Yes, the war has affected us all. It has impacted everything. No school, no money, no nothing. As i say, i have 10 children. They dont go to school now. This is catastrophic. After speaking to the refugee, we met a mother and daughter that fled to morocco from syria in 2012, a year after the conference began. They did not want to show their faces out of fear for their safety. Syria. From idlib from and you are standing here next to your daughter. What is your name . And how old are you . 13. How did you get to morocco . We went first to beirut, then lebanon, then crossed to egypt all stop from egypt, to algeria. Syriat was life like in when you left . It was free difficult. People were killing each other. We were looking at world situatation in syria. We saw men who stood in front of us and said, enough, you have to get away, get away. Do you have other children in syria . I have five children, three boys and two girls in syria. How long have you been in morocco since leaving syria . Four years. What is is a been likely to leave syria as a young child . Me. T was very difficult for yes, we found we had very big problems. We had to cross the borders. We have a lot of hardship. You are a child. What you want to do when you grow up . I go to school. I want to be a surgeon. In the United States, there is a leader who says that no more Syrian Refugees should come to our country. What is your message in response to people who are trying to close the borders off to people fleeing the situation in syria today . I want to ask him why they want to close the borders first. Syrians have suffered very much. Why should they close the borders in our faces . They should help us because we have gone through a lot of suffering and lost everything. Syrians have suffered a lot, so enough suffering. They cannot close the borders because they were there will be a lot of people coming. There are, parents, mothers, women. We have to go to europe and other countries. We have been disdained and things are very difficult for us during the years we have spent outside syria. Now were undergoing a very difficult kind of life. What are some of the difficulties you face as a refugee . We dont have a home. We lost our home will stop we lost our belongings everything. We have lost a lot of people in syria. Children. They are still dying there. What would it mean a foreign leaders made it more difficult for syrians to leave and get asylum abroad . It would be better to die of the rose the borders. Amy that report by democracy now while interviewing the Syrian Refugees here in marrakesh, the democracy now team was stopped numerous times by Moroccan Police. Police forces repeatedly demanding to see press credentials, questioning the reporters about their reporting, and also followed the team from the bustling center marrakesh to. He suburban outskirts after we finished interviews, police and follow the team back to the traditional moroccan house in the old city. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Stay with us. [music break] amy that was hakan ozkan with a remix of marvin gayes mercy mercy me. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. We are broadcasting from the cop22, the u. N. Climate summit here in marrakesh, morocco. As aat is seen as some direct response to donald trump and his rejection of climate science, nearly 200 nations have agreed on a proclamation declaring implementation of the Paris Climate Accord to be urgent duty. This comes just over a week after donald trump was elected president. He is about to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement and is called Climate Change a chinese hoax. Trump will soon become the only world leader who does not believe in Climate Change. Meanwhile, a headline in the Washington Post read the north pole is an insane 36 degrees warmer than normal as winter descends. The report says it is the second in a row that temperatures are the north pole have risen to freakishly warm levels. Were joined now by two guests. The Climate Justice and Energy Coordinator of friends of your international based in , thebique and vidya venkat Senior Assistant editor at the hindu based in india. Her most recent piece is titled, marrakech action proclamation sends out strong signal on climate. We welcome you both to democracy now , the Senior Assistant up, what has wraps been accomplished here . I think theres been a shadow cast over this entire two weeks here in marrakesh with the president elect trump being elected in the u. S. , and i think the Global Community here has really come together to give up a strong response to that. We have seen the country step up and they they are still in, they will move forward. But what we have not in here is those words being turned into action, and i think that has bid here atortunate cop because what we really needed to see here was a ramping up of ambition, a ramping up of the targets that developed countries especially put on the table in paris last year because those were absolutely not enough to stay under the 1. 5 degrees. Amy what do you want to see in this period . I think john kerry made a very strong verbal commitment. Amy he was just here. When he spoke at a press conference the other day, really committing the u. S. Has taken some steps forward. I think those are really strong words. Now it is time for the u. S. To turn those into action because the u. S. Was one of the developed countries which was not meeting its fair share of targets. They did not pledge enough based on what is fair share historically should be. I think one of the things we would like to see from president obama and from the other developed countries isnt only about the u. S. This is about all of the developed countries really needing to step up their Emissions Reductions targets and finance. Because without that, the Energy Transformation in our country in the south is going to be very, very difficult. That is what is needed to stop this climate catastrophe. Amy vidya venkat, you are coming from a country do you live in new delhi . No. Amy talk about new delhi and what is happening, the reports were getting of the level of air pollution off the charts. Ok. Basically, my focus of coverage at cop22 is not just india, that im looking at the global reactions coming in. Because in the true spirit of the Paris Agreement, everyone is supppposed to get together. I guess it is a bit unfair if you focus on just one country and talking about pollution in india, it is a big problem. Greenpeace just recently came out with reports saying the number of pollution deaths in area deaths in india higher than in china. That is like one of the t tngs where we beat china. We kill more people from pollution. Which is not a good story. Elhi being thehe dk capital gets a disproportionate amount of press coverage. Climate change has had a severe impact in india. The drought for the last two went, poor rainfall, has huge amount of people has meant a huge amount of people have been affected. The numbers run into Something Like 330 Million People affected by drought. That is a much larger number. I genuinely feel the issue of agriculture and farmers i am told agriculture has been dropped from the paris. Egotiation deal at marrakesh so concerns about agriculture, hows about adaptation do countries like ours which are affected by Climate Change adapt . These have not been addressed. Any go your response to Donald Trumps election to be the first major world leader to deny Climate Change . I really feel that given all of the Scientific Evidence that exists, is a world leader denies it doesnt exist, then there is something really wrong with him. I mean, as journalist, we have been putting out one story after the other. The glaciers retreating, for example, in india. May. Veled in the glacier has retreated by three kilometers. That is massive. That is evidence in front of you. Amy i want to thank you both for being with us, vidya venkat, Senior Assistant editor at the hindu, as well as dipti, Climate Justice and Energy Coordinator friends of the earth international. As we end today with a poet and activist from the Marshall Islands sharing a poem about Climate Change. I and from the Marshall Islands. Im about to perform my called two degrees. The other night my oneyearold was a fever pressed against my chest. Together we wrestled with a thermometer that read 99. 8 degrees. The doctor says technically 100. 4 is a fever. But i can see her flushed face, how she drips across my lap listless. Toddlerually a wobbling across the edge of the reef. I think, what a difference a few degrees can make. Scientist say if humans warm the world more than two degrees in catastrophe will hit. Imagine north america wildfires increasing by 400 , freshwater thousands,y 30 , millions left wondering, wondering what happened . At a Climate Change conference, a colleague tells me two degrees is just a benchmark for climate negotiations. I tell him to degrees is a gamble. At two degrees, the Marshall Islands is already underwater. For is why our leaders push 1. 5. It seems small like. 5 degree should not matter, like wifi degrees are just crumbs, like the Marshall Islands are a blip on the map, dust off the table and wiped her hands clean up. Today, my daughter is feeling better. She walks around our backyard, drops pebbles and leads into a plastic rocket. As i watch her, i think about the world making the same. Istakes again and again in tilley island, the tides were underestimated. Patient sleeping in a clinic with a Nuclear History threaded into their bloodlines will to wild waterway, rushing rapid of salt, sewage, syringe and gau ze. Later, they wield the hospital beds out, left them resting in the sun. So, so tired. Wondering, wondering if the world will leave us out to dry in the sun where they does their hands of us, white and cleanan. My father tells me that the marshallese word is the best time for fishing, maybe that is what im doing, fishing for recognition, writing the world, willing the world to find its balance. So that people remember beyond the discussions, be on the policy, statistics, there are faces all the way out here. There is a baby stomping, squeaky yellow light of shoes across the river reef, not yet underwater. Amy that was kathy jetnilkijiner, of the Marshall Islands. That does it for our broadcast. A special things to our local crew here in marrakesh. Democracy now is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. Email your comments to outreach democracynow. Org or mail them to democracy now p. O. Box 693 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made possible by democracy now ] announcer this is a production of China Central television america. Walter the human brain, it weighs a little more than a kilogram and we use it every moment of every day, yet so much about our brain remains a mystery. This week on full frame, well meet some of the fields top researchers who are unlocking the power ofof the brain. I im mikeke walter in ls angeles. Lets take it full frame