Transcripts For WHUT Democracy Now 20130226

Through his fix the debt campaign. Then, makers women who make america. When you hear so many people around to telling their story, you come to understand that it is not really your story. It is a lot of peoples story. A new pbs documentary premieres tonight telling the story of how women have shaped the United States over the last half century. We will speak with the films executive producer betsy west. As protests grow in the west bank over the death of a palestinian man inside an israeli prison, we speak with two cofounders and that is for peace. One is palestinian, the other israeli. They reunited after the deaths of their daughters. All of that and more coming up. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Details are slowly emerging on the allegations against u. S. Special Operations Forces that prompted afghan president karzai to order the removal from wardak province. Afghan officials said they have received complaints for the past three months that u. S. Forces have arrested nine people who have since disappeared. One afghan villagers said her son was taken away and later found dead. My son was taken in his body was dropped under a bridge in the river. One of his fingers was cut off. He was beaten very badly. His body was stolen from torture and his throat was slit. Why is the government not listening to our voices . Why are they not stopping americans from doing such things . While i wanted to stand to talk with the americans, they pulled me back and hit me in the chest with the but of a gun. I still feel pain here since i have been beaten. You can still see the marks on my chest. The Afghan Government is expected to form a commission of inquiry with the u. S. Led nato occupation force to investigate the allegations. On monday, a nato spokesperson said no evidence of wrongdoing has emerged so far. Between all allegations of misconduct scarcely and go to Great Lengths to determine the facts surrounding them. Over the past few weeks, there has been various allegations of special forces conducting themselves in an unprofessional manner in wardak. So far, we could not find evidence that would support these allegations. Human rights watch is reporting the Syrian Government launched a series of Ballistic Missile strikes in the Northern Province of aleppo last week, killing more than 141 people, including 71 children. The group said it had visited four attack sites, three of them in the city of aleppo, and all of them in residential neighborhoods freed the Human Rights Watch United Nations director describe the damage. Using incredibly powerful Ballistic Missiles in cities, the four strikes have hit aleppo last week obliterated entire parts of neighborhoods. We have no sign their work any military targets in these areas. Even third the government is deliberately targeting citizens or complete disregard for the lack of its own citizens. John brennan continues to face hurdles toward confirmation before the full senate. Republican senator rand paul has announced he will pull a hold on akins nomination until brennan and the white house can answer whether the governments Assassination Program can target americans on u. S. Soil. Senator paul discussed his demand on fox news. Were talking about someone eating in a cafe in boston or new york and a hellfire missile comes reining in on them, there should be an easy answer from the administration on this. They should say, absolutely, no, we will not kill americans in america without an accusation from a trial, and jury. From the White House Press secretary robert gibbs has revealed he was initially instructed to deny the existence of the obama administrations targeted killing program overseas. Gibbs made the disclosure during an appearance on msnbc. When i went to the process of becoming press secretary, one of the first things they told me was, you are not even to acknowledge the drone program. Youre not to discuss it exists. So i would get a question like that and literally, i could not tell you what major asks because once i heard was about the drone program, i could not talk about it. What is crazy about that proposition, you are being asked a question based on reporting of a program that exists. The former White House Press secretary robert gibbs speaking on msnbc. Congress is expected to take up a number of key gun control proposals later this week. The Senate Judiciary committee could vote as early as thursday on a number of measures, including a ban on military style assault weapons and a proposal to make gun trafficking a federal crime for the first time. Other proposals under consideration include background checks for gun buyers and harsher penalties for purchasing guns illegally. At a recent public event in arizona, republican senator john mccain was asked about assault weapons ban by a mother whose son was murdered in last years mass shooting in aurora, colorado. Mccain responded that the woman need some Straight Talk that an assault weapons ban wont pass congress. By 24yearold son was murdered in a Movie Theater in aurora, colorado. These assault weapons allowed the shooter to fire rounds without having to reload. These weapons do not belong on our streets. I can tell you you need some trade talks assault weapons ban will not pass. A federal Appeals Court has ruled permits to carry concealed weapons are not protected by the second amendment. The ruling came in the case of a Washington State resident who had unsuccessfully sought a concealed weapons permit in colorado. The court of appeals for the 10th circuit ruled the right to bear arms does not supersede laws barring their concealment. A 4yearold boy has died in houston after shooting themselves with his fathers gun. Jaiden pratt picked up the weapon as his father lay asleep and accidentally fired a round into his own stomach. He was pronounced dead at the scene. In qatar, a poet initially condemned to life in prison has sentenced reduced to 15 years. Mohammad alajami was accused of insulting the emir and inciting the overthrow the regime. He wrote a poem inspired by the tunisian uprising that read in part, we are all tunisia, in the face of the repressive elite. Mohammad alajami has been held largely in solitary confinement since his arrest more than a year ago. Defense attorneys said they plan another appeal to the jaras Supreme Court to seek his immediate release. You can go to democracynow. Org for our interview from doha with his attorney and a member of the countrys National Human rights committee. Leaders in africas Great Lakes Region have signed onto a Framework Agreement aimed at ending two decades of violence in the eastern democratic republic of congo. The deal calls for increased cooperation between regional governments and more support for the multi nation force inside eastern congo. The u. N. Secretary general ban kimoon praise the agreement a signing ceremony in ethiopia. This signing ceremony is a significant, but it is only the beginning of a comprehensive approach that will require sustained engagement. The framework before you outlines commitments and oversight which aimed at addressing national and regional issues. The drc government and rebel groups currently are holding peace talks in neighboring uganda. A u. S. Energy firm has agreed to retire three coalfired power plant in a move environmentalists say will say more than 200 lives each year. American electric power also agreed to reduce emissions of new investments in wind and solar power as part of a landmark settlement reached with federal regulators, states and citizen groups. In addition to retiring plants in indiana, ohio, and kentucky, aep will pay 6 million to several Eastern States hit by drifting pollution. Coal plants supply nearly one third of u. S. Electricity and of the largest source of sulfur dioxide, mercury, and revolution. Today marks the First Anniversary of the death of unarmed africanamerican teenager trayvon martin. On february 26, 2012, the 17 yearold High School Junior was shot dead in sanford, florida by george zimmerman, a self appointed Neighborhood Watch volunteer who claimed was acting in selfdefense. Police initially refused to arrest zimmerman, but he was finally charged with Second Degree murder after a wave of protests across the country. Zimmermans trial is set for june. Those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman with aaron mate. Welcome to all our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. We begin with the capitol hill showdown over the 85 billion acrosstheboard budget cuts taking effect this friday. The white house and analysts fear the socalled sequester could jeopardize hundreds of thousands of jobs. While republicans and democrats largely greek cuts are ill advised, theyre far from reaching any sort of agreement. President obama wants republicans to end tax breaks, mostly for the wealthy, while republicans insist the Government Spending be cut first. This is House Speaker john boehner. The president says we need another tax increase in order to avoid the sequester. Mr. President , you have got your tax increase. It is time to cut spending in washington. Instead of using our military men and women as campaign props, and he should sit down with harry reid and begin to address our problems. The house has acted twice. We should not have to act a third time before the Senate Begins to do their work. President obama plans to travel to a Major Military community in newport news, virginia, to highlight the impact of pentagon cuts and a shipbuilding facility. On monday he urged a gathering of governors to Push Congress into action to avert the looming sequester showdown. Now, these in packs will not all be felt on day one, but rest assured, the uncertainty is already having an effect. Companies are preparing layoff notices. Families are preparing to cut back on expenses. The longer these cuts are in place, the bigger the impact will become. So while you are in town, i hope you speak with your congressional delegation and remind them in no Uncertain Terms exactly what is at stake and exactly who is at risk. Because here is the thing, these cuts do not have to happen. Congress can turn them off any time with just a little bit of compromise. Joining us our guests to uncover how billionaire investor such as Pete Peterson have helped reshaped the National Debate on the economy, the debt, and social spending. Between 2007 and 2011, peterson personally contributed nearly 500 million to his peter g. Peterson foundation to push for congress to cut Social Security, medicare and medicaid while providing tax breaks for corporations and wealthy. Peterson served as secretary of commerce under Richard Nixon and went on to serve as chair and ceo of lehman brothers. He cofounded the private equity firm the blackstone group. Joining us is john nichols whose latest piece is, the austerity agenda an electoral loser. It is part of a major expose based on a new website called Pete Peterson pyramid. Lisa graves is an editor of the site, which links billionaires like Pete Peterson to the campaign to fix the debt. John nichols, lay out who Pete Peterson is and how he fits into this picture of sequester that we look like were about to see by the end of the week. Pete peterson is an old school moderate republican. He is not some sort of hardline conservative. He is a very expensive suit, a private jet, mineral water kind of guy. He has been obsessed for a number of years with restructuring the u. S. Economy, in particular, u. S. Fiscal policy. This is important. Pete peterson and the people around him do not want i was a just particularly interested in fixing the dead were dealing with deficits. What theyre really interested in is taking advantage of a moment when the United States is looking at these issues to establish a very different approach to a host of issues. At the core of this is changing the way we look at retirement in this country. Definitely, undermining Social Security, medicare and medicaid, changing the earned benefit programs into Something Different than what they have been and far less reliable. Were making a lot of other cuts in programs that serve the great mass of americans, while at the same time continuing and even advancing the tax breaks for millionaires and corporations that have helped to make Pete Peterson a very, very wealthy man. He sold this idea for around 125 other ceos and very wealthy people. They have chipped in a whole bunch of money, millions and millions, perhaps as much as 60 million for the current campaign, to this fix the debt group. It is the primary proponent in the United States today of austerity. They want to cut away progress as president of them suggested, but in reality, it is cutting away toward progress for them and cutting away hard hit for the average working american, and potentially a slowing of the economy that begins with the sequester but does not end there. Lets turn to Pete Peterson in his own words. This is from a video posted on the page of his foundation. We live in a society of special interests of various kinds. Areorganizations that lobbied for expanding benefits and making the problems worse are unbelievably powerful. But who is representing you and why dont you then get organized and your organizations . I have had a dream, and my little dream is that one day there would be 100,000 young people and their parents for rating in washington saying, i and madder than hell and i dont intend to take it anymore. That is billionaire Pete Peterson talking about his dream of a revolt in favor of austerity. Lisa graves, you have come up with the peterson pyramid. That is right. Our team has worked hard to expose a conflict of interest by a number of the people who are leaders of the fix the debt operation. When Pete Peterson talks about the bevy of special interests in washington, he is one of them. He has helped feed in organization filled with special interests. What we have done is document that. We talk about how Erskine Bowles who is famous for the Simpson Bowles plan, another version of the austerity plan, how he is on the board of Morgan Stanley and its paid over 300,000 a year for a couple of hours of work on that board, how he is been paid over 600,000 on the board of facebook, which recently had a huge tax giveaway. That is just one example, at the tip of the iceberg, we have documented. People need to know this is sort of a pied piper operation by Pete Peterson and his buddies to try to claim the drug crisis is the debt when in fact a real crisis is our economy and a lack of focus on jobs. As dean baker said, you cannot cut your way to prosperity. In fact, it is like saying when the house is on fire, stop sending so much water on the far to put it out. Tell me, have they responded . Has he or his organization responded to peterson said pyramid . I think Pete Peterson has in and help the look at Social Security. As a man who is never going to need it, but most americans do need Social Security, one thing you see with the Pete Peterson organization he has created over time is this obsession with Social Security. In fact, Social Security is solvent for release the next 20 years, more solvent than you or i or anyone watching this show, yet they want to make sure cuts to Social Security, changes to the retirement age, and benefits decreased over time as people age, is part of a so called balanced deal or package. That is a terrible idea. That is part of the Pete Peterson legacy. He is seeing these groups have this sort of youth group element, which is funny if it were not so worrisome they have put a lot of money into this notion that the youth of america are having this uprising, this dream he said in that video when in fact most americans are deeply concerned about jobs in this country and cutting our government budget in ways peterson and his buddies propose will make that even worse for students. Theyre far more concerned more about their personal debt and Student Loans and the debt being levied on them by Social Security, which does not actually contribute to the debt. As Pete Peterson responded to petersons permit . R Communications Director has responded. He called our office to claim their Organization Never claimed they were tried to raise 60 million but said there were tried to raise any amount, not just 60 million. I pointed out it was on their letterhead. He basically said it was not true. We have it on paper. I said, that is why we dont really depose the press secretary because theyre not obligated to tell the truth. They pushed back a little, but we have them quite frankly, we have the goods on them read this material is straining to the internet to show the conflicts, to show the democrats who have left and cashed out and work as lobbyists with the big firms to show the republicans the continue to do the bidding, some of the big firms that have joined since leaving office, to show the conflict of some of these huge firms that are part of fix the debt that have a negative tax rate not 35 like you or me, not 10 , but atax negative tax rate. Parks like which ones . General electric is one of those firms that had a negative tax rate. A number of the firms that are part of the fix the debt operation have negative tax rates. We have about a dozen of them we document on the side including major defense contract general electric. We have other firms that are underfunding their pension programs that we of documented. We show how well they are finding their ceo pensions while underfunding their worker pensions and putting as operation of fix the debt, which is trained under find basically every other americans returned it. Isnt the head of ge president obamas jobs are question marks that is the case. We do things that are a huge import part of this expose to show how this bipartisan hitch from these guys, from these ceos, democrats and republicans, is a grand swindle. Speaking a bipartisan, we have the simpsonbowles commission. Alan simpson went on the daily show with john store to discuss his budget proposal. Our Corporate Tax rate is the highest in the world. But not actually. 36 is where we are at. We took away all of these tax expenditures, all of these deductions. This is just earmarked by any other name and spending by any other name, and it is over 1 trillion a year. Only 20 of the American People use 80 of the stuff from that tax code. Does that give you a wakeup call . That brings up a double we got rid of that and say, lets give people 0 7,000 and pay 0 . 8 . Do not tax them twice when they bring it back. And democrats will say, well, they will just use of for dividends and buy stock he said, well, hell, at least they will be using it in the u. S. Instead of sticking it over there and leaving it progress that was former senator alan simpson of the simpsonbowles Commission Speaking on the daily show. John nichols, if you could talk about this commission and how they fit into this campaign to fix the dead . I think the best way for folks to understand the Simpson Bowles commission is is a classic example of how if you have wealthy people behind you, you can fail miserably and still continue to be at the center of the debate. Simpsonbowles commission was established by president obama with the purpose of coming up with some debt and deficit solution ideas. I think it was a bad idea from the start an example of president Obama Bowling to arguments of the austerity caucus, if he will come in washington, which includes both democrats and republicans. They came up with a plan. It was such an unpopular and unappealing plan that the commission itself did not recommend its report. Only simpson and bowles came out with their proposal. Then they tried to peddle it in congress and could only find 38 members of the house who would vote for their ideas. Simpson went into the november election and started endorsing candidates. The candidates they endorsed not only did they lose, but often you could tie the defeat of the candidates they endorsed to the fact they were linked to simpsonbowles. If you one example of two figures in american context who have been absolutely rejected by the American People, it is sensible and balls. Interestingly, they are back at the center of the debate getting huge amounts of media coverage. When fix the debt was launched last summer, it was not launched a Kitchen Table of some working family or in an abandoned factory, but launched in sun valley, idaho at a retreat for sierras and millionaires. Simpson and bowles said, were going to launch a Grassroots Campaign to get the American People to force congress to act on the ideas we have put forward, which are an american austerity agenda. They said they were going to get 10 million signatures on petitions to do this. Amazingly for this big Grassroots Campaign, millions and millions in spending, they only got about 300,000 signatures and must appear to be tied to either bought lists of people who work for Companies Allied with the fix the debt operation. The bottom line is, simpson and bowles are arguing for austerity and being held up by much of the media as legitimate players, when in fact they are advocating for zombie ideas. Lets go to another clip, this uploaded to youtube but a new group called the can kicks back, featuring allen the simpson. Stop instagraming your breakfast in treating or first World Problems in getting on youtube so you can see gangnum style. Start using those pressures social media skills to go out rea. Insign people up that was alan simpson of the Simpson Bowles commission. What is this can kicks back group . He is talked about the can kicks back as if it is some sort of grassroots operation that emerged on College Campuses nationwide, when in fact it operates out of the fix the debt offices in washington. It is another arm of their operation. They call it the millennial part of their operation. It is a slick campaign with t shirts and videos featuring people like simpson and others, claiming your grandparents are ruining your future. It is quite an audacious set of claims by these guys, especially when Social Security is not enter into the debt currently and could easily be fixed 20 years from now by cutting out the loophole for Social Security taxes incomes above a certain amount. It is quite a scam. It is part of the gimmick of their campaign. It is something i think people should be wary of. John nichols, the cuts are supposed to take effect on friday. Their potential effect on working people . It is severe. First off, there are the direct effects. Across the board austerity cuts in federal programs. That will have Service Impact right away, things like flying. Also, there are credible expenses this will lead to at a base line of 700,000 job losses. Were talking over the coming months, if the sequester moves forward, of a significant slowing of the u. S. Economy. This is classic austerity. Cuts at a time when the economy is weak, followed by job losses. The really significant thing to be conscious of, simpson and bowles in fix the dead are waiting on the sidelines to jump in and say, well, this is so disorderly, we dont want that acrosstheboard cuts. What theyre really arguing for is a system of austerity, one we have well the people deciding what sort of fixes we will have for our economy. At the end of the day, invariably, the fix will be to lower their tax rates while the same time taking deep cuts out of the earned benefit programs americans desperately need. We will leave it there continue to follow this. John nichols, latest piece for the nation is, the austerity agenda an electoral loser. And thank you, lisa graves, executive director of the center for media and democracy, an editor of Pete Peterson pyramid, a new website that connects the dots between billionaire Pete Peterson in the campaign to fix the debt campaign. When we come back, we will be joined by the executive producer of pbs documentary that is premiering tonight called makers women who make america. Stay with us. [music break] this is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman with aaron mate. We turn now to a major new documentary that tells the story how women have shaped the u. S. Over the last 50 years through political and personal empowerment. It is called, makers women who make america. It premieres tonight in a three hour special on pbs. Every place i went for interviews, all they wanted to know is if i could type. Heres court indicates you can become a good secretary. Landlords felt single women could not earn enough to pay for the apartment and if you could earn enough, he must be a hooker. Move feel the earth it was like a tsunami. Something boiling under the earth and we could not free it up. It was as if a great flood light had gone on, and it eliminated everything it illuminated everything. There were so many of us. We had to change the system. Everything in the workplace, everything in the domestic sphere of political sphere. Were talking about a revolution and not a reform. That is part of the trailer for, makers women who make america. It is a threehour film about the Womens Movement that premieres tonight on pbs. Were joined by the executive producer betsy west, a veteran of abc and cbs news, earned 22 emmy awards for her works on programs like 60 minutes. Welcome to democracy now tell us about this project. It has spent eight years in the making. When my partner dylan mcgee came to me, she had been working on it for about a year. She got to Gloria Steinem and astor did do a story about her life, a documentary. Gloria said, nobody has done anything on the movement. Somebody needs to do a story of the Womens Movement. So she said about looking into that and came to meet a year later. In a way i was happy because it was an amazing opportunity that the store had not been done. The stories told in and, share some of them. We really look at the movement, some of the wellknown people like Gloria Steinem, who was a major figure in the Womens Movement, and some of the unknowns stories. The coal miner who was one of the first call miners, and then she was subjected to Sexual Harassment by her boss so she took her boss to court and fought a 13year battle and won. The telephone operator who in the 1960s, she was a switchboard operator and wanted to make a little more money. She tried to work on the equipment. The argument was, no, women could not do that because they cannot carry the heavy equipment. It was 30 pounds for it when of course, any woman who is carried a baby could carry 30 pounds. She fought a legal battle. It is a range of stories. We open with an amazing story of a woman who really was not about feminists, she was a runner, a junior at syracuse university. Her name was Katherine Switzer. She decided to enter the Boston Marathon. It was 1967. The 1967 Boston Marathon was run in some of the worst conditions in history. While most of the crowd was focused on the front of the pack, another runner was making a store far behind. The idea of running Long Distance was always considered questionable for women because an arduous activity would mean youd get big legs, grow a mustache and hair on your chest in your uterus would fall out. In 1967, Katherine Switzer was a junior at syracuse university. Because syracuse had no womens track team, she began training with the manager of the mens team, a parttime mailman named arnie briggs. He told me about the greatest day in his life every year, which was the Boston Marathon. We were running and he began telling me another Boston Marathon story. I said, quit talking about the dawn marathon and run it. My dream then became to prove i could run 26 miles from 385 yards. For seven years the Boston Marathon have excluded women. But switzer entered using just for initials. We walked to the start and the gun went off and down the street we went. So there we were, arnie briggs, the 50yearold mailman, and the 20yearold college student, and my boyfriend tom miller, an all american football player. When other runners would come by the would say, it is a girl. They were so excited. All of this sudden, the press truck is in front of us and theyre taking pictures of us read on this truck was the race director, a feisty guy. He just stopped the bus, jumped off and ran after me. He grabbed me and screamed at me, get the hell out of my race and give me those numbers. He had the fiercest face of any guy i had ever seen. All of this session, big tom, my boyfriend, gave just the most incredible cross body block and sent him flying to the air and landing on the curb. All of this happened in front of the press truck. Journalists said, what are you trying to prove . Are you a crusader . I said, what . I am just trying to run. Then it got very quiet. Snow is coming down. Nobody is saying anything. I turn to our neighbor again said, arnie, im going to finish this race on my hands and knees if i have to read if i dont finish this race, then everybody is going to believe women cannot do it. I have got to finish this race. I finished that race in four hours, 20 minutes. It was not until we stop on the thruway to get ice cream and coffee that we see the newspapers and coverage front and back of all backeditions with pictures. I realized it is very important and this was when it changed my life and probably change womens sports. There is an expression in a marathon you go through a lifetime of experience i often say i started the Boston Marathon as they grow, and i finished a grown woman. That was Katherine Switzer, in 1967, the first woman to run the Boston Marathon. For radio listeners who did not see the photographs and video that go with this, you have got to watch pbs tonight for the premiere of, makers women who make america. It is very rare you get a photograph of discrimination in action, really, to have that race official who was just so angry that his rules have been violated that he ran out there and attack her. It is unusual to actually see discrimination. You may recognize the narrator, the voice of the narrator is the wonderful meryl streep, the narrator of the documentary. I went to the opening of this last week and you played the first hour there. In it you had the medias coverage of women and the role the media has played. It was surprising to me to see how dismisses the media was about the Womens Movement. We interviewed barbara walters, who is so funny breed she had really fought her way into the boys club. At one point she wrote a memo to her boss at nbc news as the Womens Movement was heating up and said, lets do a story on the women. How about doing a story on them women . The memo came back to her, not enough interest. There is example after example in the documentary of the dismisses tone and coverage. I dont think the media really understood what was going on in the mid to late 60s with women from all walks of life who were kind of fed up with the restrictions they were facing. Theres a section in the movie were you talk about women of color, and of course the criticisms. How did you broach the topic . We broached it directly. We really tried very hard to include this debate in the film and the fact that many African American women, women of color, were working. Here were these middleclass white women saying, hey, we want careers and jobs, and women of color had been working for a longtime critic as ruth simmons, the president of Brown University said, my dream was to work in an office because everyone i knew, every woman i knew was working as a maid. That was the tension. We also talked about how some of that tension was resolved as leaders like Gloria Steinem and others began to understand the interest of black feminists or sometimes different than the interests of white feminists. They had different issues. We did address that. And your own story . I came into the business kind of in the wake of the movement. I lived through the Womens Movement in high school and college, and then i realized that in 1975, Media Companies were willing to consider women because they kind of had to. They had no choice. They had been sued. There were suits at time and newsweek. They were open to women coming in. I think as i went along, i would often be the first woman in the room. Looking back on it, i realize there was widespread Sexual Harassment and, its all the time, it inappropriate behavior. I mean, i once had for my birthday i was excited, i have been working at abc radio for about a year and i really wanted to be one of the guys and very excited that some had remembered my birthday. They brought in a cake. As i got closer, i thought the shape of this cake looks really died. I will not to exactly what it was, but it came from the erotic bakery. We were supposed to laugh and joke about this. As Gloria Steinem says in the documentary, we did not have a word for Sexual Harassment back then, it was just called life. As the Womens Movement went along in the 1980s, and i think the understanding that of that increased. Were going to link to makers on democracynow. Org. It is interesting this aol and pbs collaboration, what is on the website and what you will air on pbs. I think it is the first time that aol and pbs have partnered on the project. It has been very exciting because it has allowed us to not only do this great documentary that is on tonight that were all very excited about, but also to have a huge platform of stories, like your story, amy, interviewed you, makers. Com. We set about interviewing groundbreaking women, basically, and telling their stories and smaller chunks, 2, 3, 4 minutes, which is really the way people are looking at video these days often. We think it will be great for schools, for curriculum. That was made possible by the partnership with aol and pbs. It is exciting for us because it is our 17th anniversary at democracy now we have a link on democracynow. Org. Check out the documentary tonight on pbs as a premier is called, makers women who make america. Betsy west, executive producer. When we come back, we will look at another film. Were going to the middle east to find out what is happening in the west bank. Stay with us. [music break] this is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman with aaron mate. The death of a palestinian prisoner in israeli custody has sparked protests in the occupied west bank and even talk of a third intifada. The Israeli Government claims the prisoner, arafat jaradat, died of a heart attack, the palestinians say he succumbed to wounds sustained during a brutal torture. At a News Conference in ramallah, the Palestinian Authority minister for Prisoner Affairs said israel is responsible for arafat jaradats death. There were visible marks in the autopsy that made it clear the detainee, arafat jaradat, was badly tortured, which caused his immediate death. Israel bears the responsibility for killing him during the interrogation. Arafat jaradat had been arrested for throwing rocks at israeli settlers. On monday, thousands turned out as he was laid to rest in his owhome town. More than a dozen palestinians were reportedly wounded in ensuing clashes with Israeli Soldiers across the west bank. Arafat jaradats death comes amidst a sustained campaign over the plight of more than 4500 holliston prisoners in israeli jails. Around 3000 palestinian prisoners went on a Hunger Strike in solidarity with 500 striking detainees. Protests in support of the prisoners have led to clashes with israeli troops over the past week. President obama is set to visit the region next month and is to has as the Palestinian Authority to contain the protests. The commissions on the ground recall those that sparked the first intifada in 1987, reviving speculation that we are potentially witnessing the dawn of a third uprising against Israeli Occupation. Cracked we will turn to a new documentary about a palestinian and israeli who were once dedicated fighters for their respective causes, but have since renounced violence and become leading voices for peace. Both men, Bassam Aramin and rami elhanan, came facetoface with the price of war when there young daughters were killed, one by Israeli Border police and the other by a Palestinian Suicide bomber. The film is called, within the eye of the storm. This is a clip from the film. A clip from the trailer of the new documentary within the eye of the storm. Were joined by Bassam Aramin and rami elhanan from washington, d. C. Bassam aramin plus 10year old daughter abir was killed a rubber bullets shot in a school zone. Rami elhanan is a former Israeli Reserve Soldier Turned peace activist. Hes a leading member of an organization for those who lost children in conflict but nevertheless want peace for his 14yearold daughter smadar was killed in a suicide bombing in jerusalem in september 1997. Well, to welcome to democracy now yes, at a very difficult time in the occupied territories. When message to you have for president obama as he is about to leave for israel . We have hope that mr. Obama will make a difference this time. I asked him to stop the unconditional support for one side against the other because it does not help us. We will continue to fight each other because of this, so please be objective, the propalestine and proisrael, and the pro peace 3 we set at the top there is talk of the starting a third intifada. Do you think that is accurate . For many months the situation in palestine is very bad. The behavior of the Israeli Occupation became more aggressive. Arafat jaradat is from my village. It is too much. It is too much the Palestinian People have no hope. We cannot continue living under the spur occupation this way without any hope under this occupation, this way without anr common enemy, Israeli Occupation, we must join forces, israelis and palestinians. Rami elhanan, you lost your daughter as did Bassam Aramin. Do you share his views on this . What would an Israeli Palestinian intifada look like . I certainly do, with all my heart. I think we both paid the highest price in the outcome of this outrageous occupation. The last occupation that exists on earth. I think we need to do everything in our power to prevent more losses from more innocent people. The only way to do that is joined forces with israelis and palestinians, peace seekers, who will fight this horrible occupation with nonviolent resistance. Rami, if you could tell us your story, what youve done in israel since your daughter was killed . Over the last 15 years, i have dividedevoted my life to cy the message that we are not doomed. This is our destiny to keep on killing people. We can change this. We can change the cycle of revenge and retaliation. The only way to do it is simply by talking to each other. You are a former israeli soldier. Talk about what happened to your daughter. It was 1997 . It was september 4, 1997, a thursday afternoon. Two Palestinian Suicide bombers built them selves up in the streets of jerusalem, killing five people, including three girls, one was my 14yearold. Aughters marthdaughter it blew up the bubble i was living in British Press you have gone in spoken to many people. In the film are people confronting you about your activism, confronting with hostility. It is part of the game. It is the price you have to pay if you are willing to top to 6 sunday that says youre a cold soldier and tried to ignore the reality. What is wrong in the question is to put cracks in the wall of hatred and fear in to nations and sometimes it can be difficult. I have been doing it for the last 14 years. It gives me reason to get out of bed in the morning critic rex Bassam Aramin, tell us about your daughter. When was she killed and how did she die . January 16, 2007 she was killed in front of her school at 9 30 in the morning by israelis. She was shot and killed by police in her head from a distance of about 15 to 20 meters. Without anything, just it was one bulletabir fell down and died. She was not a hamas member. There is no demonstrations or violence or intifada. She passed away in the hospital. Easy to go to the easy way, but we decided no revenge because we need to break the circle of violence and blood. I have another five kids. I have friends who have kids that need to protect them read i always say, they are all our. Ids and our children rea [indiscernible] i consider the killer a victim to the situation. We are normal People Living in unnormal situations. Bassam aramin, you won a judgment from the Israeli Court which is quite rare. Can you talk about the case and are you satisfied with how it was resolved . They denied the Israeli Soldiers were there at all in the town, after 4. 5 years i needed to prove my daughter had been killed with a rubber bullet. It was the first time i won the civil case. My goal was to bring this hero, a victim, what ever, the soldier to the trial and the Supreme Court decided after 4. 5 years is a long time, there is no evidence, so they denied it for the fourth time. Unfortunately, they had nothing to do in israel, but i said i have the world and i believe in justice. And those around the world must support me, including many, many hundreds of my brothers around the world and all the human beings around the world was a party because i asked to bring this man to justice. He was killing a 10yearold daughter, not because he is an israeli and im a palestinian. Because my child was not a fighter. She had nothing to do this conflict. Thank you both for being with us, Bassam Aramin rami elhanan. Both lost their daughters. 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 ]