Year ago this month, the young Internet Freedom activist and groundbreaking programmer took his own life. He was just 26 years old. He died shortly before he was set to go to trial for downloading millions of academic articles from servers at mit. He was facing up to 35 years in prison and a 1 million fine. We will play excerpts of the film and speak with aarons brother noah, his lawyer elliot peters, and the filmmaker brian knappenberger. All that and more, coming up. Welcome to democracy now, democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. We are broadcasting from park city tv in utah. President obama has unveiled his longawaited review of the nsas surveillance programs over six months since Edward Snowden exposed them to global scrutiny. In a move denounced by privacy advocates, obama refused to end the bulk collection of telephone metadata, saying only he will modify it from how it currently exists. I am therefore ordering a transition that will end the section 215 bulk Metadata Program as it currently exists and establishes a mechanism that preserves the capabilities we need without the Government Holding this bulk metadata. This will not be simple. Undernder obamas proposal, nsa officials would require court orders to access calling records, except in cases of emergency. But it will be up to the Justice Department and congress to work out the details. In his remarks, obama also pledged to stop the spying on foreign leaders, and to increase privacy protections for foreign citizens overseas. X let me be clear. Our intelligence agencies will continue to gather information about the intention of governments, as opposed to ordinary citizens, around the world, in the same way the Intelligence Service ontario the nation does. We will not apologize simply because our service may be more effective. Heads of state and government with whom we work closely, and on homes we depend and on whose cooperation we depend, should feel confident we are treating them as real partners. President obamas plan rejects a number of proposals from his own Advisory Panel on reforming the nsa including a call to require court orders for National Security letters by the fbi. It also ignores the panels call to stop undermining commercial software in order to launch surveillance or cyberattacks. Obama accepted a proposal to establish a panel of privacy advocates to appear before the foreign Intelligence Surveillance court, but only in special cases. Responding to obamas speech, jesselyn radack, an advisor to Edward Snowden and former Justice Department lawyer, criticized obama for leaving the bulk collection of metadata intact. I am happy that the government will no longer be housing peoples records, but that begs the question of why the government should be storing anybodys records at all, and a lot of people might mistake the storing issue for the government not collecting, and the Bulk Metadata Collection Program remains intact. It continues. It, are going to transition but that does not really tell us anything, if they are going to overhaul it in some kind of fashion we have no idea. The point is they are still metadata onass hundreds of thousands of innocent americans. As obama unveiled reforms prompted by Edward Snowdens disclosures, snowden himself faced new attacks from lawmakers and intelligence officials. Speaking to nbcs meet the press, house intelligence chair mike rogers suggested, without providing evidence, that snowden is a russian spy. This was a thief who we believe had some help, who stole information that the vast majority had nothing to do with privacy. Our army, marines, have been datadibly harmed by the that we now believe is in the hands of nation state. There is a reason he ended up in the loving hands of an agent in moscow. I do not think that is a coincidence. The website buzzfeed meanwhile has published an article featuring anonymous intelligence officials called americas spies want Edward Snowden dead. It quotes one pentagon official saying, quote, i would love to put a bullet in his head. He is singlehandedly the greatest traitor in american history. An nsa analyst also tells buzzfeed, quote, in a world where i would not be restricted from killing an american, i personally would go and kill him myself. A lot of people share this sentiment. West virginia has lifted its ban on consumption of tap water following the Chemical Spill that contaminated a major part of the states water supply earlier this month. But despite the lifting of the ban, dozens of people were treated at local hospitals over the weekend for symptoms of chemical exposure. Pregnant women have also been told to continue using bottled water as a precaution. As the ban was lifted, the Company Behind the spill filed for bankruptcy. The move will grant Freedom Industries at least a temporary reprieve from lawsuits. It also could allow the companys owner, j. Clifford forrest, to retain control of his assets while escaping liabilities. Forrest is listed as a founder of a new Shell Company called mountaineer funding, which will ostensibly run Freedom Industries without having to assume legal responsibility for the spill. Four people have died and scores have been injured in explosions at industrial plants in two states. Two workers were killed and at least 10 others were injured, some critically, at an animal feed plant in omaha, nebraska. Omaha fire chief Bernard Kanger said the building suffered major damage. This was a large building with significant structural damage. Sorry, 2 00 p. M. This afternoon, we went from a rescue mode into a recovery mode. That means we have slowed down our operation. The chance of finding any victims that are alive is no longer there, and now it is a recovery mode where our efforts are to secure the building, though in, retrieve the victims, and search for additional but that might be in the structure. Meanwhile in madill, oklahoma, two workers burned to death after their plants furnace exploded. U. N. Secretarygeneral ban ki moon has withdrawn an invitation for iran to attend the syria peace talks after pressure from the United States. A spokesperson said iran had reneged on a pledge to support a Transitional Government in syria, the basis for wednesdays meeting in switzerland. A series of meetings and telephone conversations, Senior Iranian officials assured the irantarygeneral that supported the goals, the secretary is disappointed by public statements that are not at all consistent with the stated commitment. He continues to urge iran to join the global consensus behind the geneva community. To that it has remained outside, he is concluded the gathering will dissipate without iransl continue with out precipitation. X bans move came just one day after he had announced irans attendance. That prompted demands by the u. S. And saudi arabia for the un to rescind irans invitation, and threats by the Syrian Opposition to boycott the talks. The dispute over syria comes as iran and six world powers have begun implementing the agreement that slows the Iranian Nuclear program in exchange for relief from international sanctions. The International AtomicEnergy Agency has confirmed iran has begun capping uranium enrichment and converting its stockpile into reactor fuel. In return, iran will begin receiving the first installment of billions in frozen oil revenue. In afghanistan, the taliban has launched a pair of deadly attacks on western targets. 21 civilians were killed when a suicide bomber and then armed fighters attacked a popular restaurant in kabul. The dead included 13 foreigners, four of them employees of the united nations. Secretary general ban ki moon paid tribute to the dead. This is another sad moment where ourited nations distinguished four colleagues have been killed by terrorist attacks in kabul. This is totally unacceptable, and it is a violation of International Humanitarian law. Be accountability. As we mourn the terrorist attack, we remain committed to Peace Development of afghanistan. Preks the kabul attack was the kabul attack was followed on monday by another Suicide Attack on a u. S. Base in southern afghanistan. One u. S. Soldier and nine militants were killed. The blast left heavy damage to a number of u. S. Drones and helicopters. Dozens of people were killed in iraq over the weekend amidst the countrys worst spate of violence in six years. Multiple bombings hit the capital baghdad while iraqi forces battled with al qaeda militants in anbar province. The u. S. Meanwhile is set to begin training iraqi soldiers in jordan for their fight in anbar. The pentagon has also announced a new shipment of weapons and ammunition to the iraqi government. Voters on the japanese island of okra now i have reelected a manner opposed to a military base. There was an agreement that would move the base to a more rural location, but there is been a push to move the base altogether off of the island site Environmental Concerns and sexual assaults by u. S. Soldiers. The mayor campaigned on a pledge to Block Construction of the replacement site. The government of Prime Minister swing abe had tried to the election in favor of the opponent by offering the prospect of hundreds of millions of dollars in public funding. Back in the United States, a pennsylvania judge has blocked the States Election law requiring voters to show photo identification for the fourth time. Pennsylvanias law allowed voting only to those who could produce a state drivers license, Government Employee id or a state nondriver id card. It has been blocked on three prior occasions but still remains on the books pending state appeals. On friday, Commonwealth Court judge Bernard Mcginley said the law violates safeguards of a free and fair election. And the political controversy surrounding new Jersey Governor Chris Christie continues to grow with new accusations of political intimidation. Over the weekend, the democratic mayor of hoboken, dawn zimmer, claimed she was told her citys access to Hurricane Sandy relief funding was contingent on her approval of a christiebacked Development Project. Speaking to msnbc, zimmer said the threat came from christies Lieutenant Governor, kim guadagno. The fact is the Lieutenant Governor came to hoboken, pulled me aside in the parking lot and she said i know it is not right, these things are not connected, but they are, and if you tell anyone i will deny it. The bottom line is it is not fair for the governor to hold sandy funds hostage for the city of hoboken because he wants me to give back to one private developer. I cannot give a windfall to one Property Owner because the government wants me to. Iwill tell you, i feel like am literally between a rock and a hard place. That was the new jersey Lieutenant Governor. Was one of the first two back the administration. On monday, new jerseys lieutenentant governor, kim guadagno, denied making the threat, calling zimmers allegation false and illogical. Zimmer met with federal prosecutors on sunday and says shes prepared to testify in court. The Development Project in question was tied to a law firm represented by david samson, a close christie ally and chair of the Port Authority of new york and new jersey. Christie is already facing a political fallout from the disclosure samson and other Christie Associates and aides were involved in the deliberate closure of lanes to the George Washington bridge last year. 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 park city, utah, home of the Sundance Film Festival, the largest festival for independent cinema in the United States. This is our 5th year covering some of the films here, and the people and topics they explore. Today, we spend the hour with the people involved in an incredible documentary that just had its World Premiere here last night. Its called the internets own boy the story of aaron swartz. It comes as aaron swartzs loved ones and friends mark the one Year Anniversary of his death. It was just over a year ago, on january 11, 2013, that the young Internet Freedom activist took his own life. He was 26 years old. This is a clip of aaron from the film. I mean, i, you know, feel very strongly that it is not enough to live in the world as it is, take what you are given, and follow the things that adults told you to do, your parents told you to do, and society told you to do. I think you should always be questioning. I take a scientific attitude that everything you learn is provisional. Once i realized there were real, Serious Problems in fundamental problems i could do something to address, i did not see a way to forget that. That was aaron swartz in his early 20s. By that time aaron was already an internet legend. At the age of 14, aaron helped develop rss, really simple syndication, which changed how people get online content, allowing them to subscribe to different sources of information like blogs and podcasts. He also helped develop the Creative Commons alternative to copyright, which encourages authors and publishers to share content. He founded a company, infogami, that merged with reddit, which allows users to collectively rank and promote contributed content, and is now one of the most popular websites globally. In 2010 he became a fellow at Harvard Universitys edmond j. Safra center for ethics. It was around this time that aaron used the internet at nearby mit, the Massachusetts Institute of technology, to download millions of digitized academic articles run by a nonprofit Company Called jstor. Aaron believed the articles should be freely available online. Although aaron didnt give or sell the files to anyone, the federal government filed multiple felony charges against him. At the time he committed suicide, aaron was facing 35 years in prison, a penalty supporters called excessively harsh. Now, despite promises of reform, the Computer Fraud and abuse act used to charge swartz remains unchanged. A bill proposed by congressmember zoe lofgren, called aarons law, remains stalled in committee. It is meant to ensure victimless computer activities are not charged as felonies. On the sunday after the 1 Year Anniversary of swartzs death, the Hacker Group Anonymous attacked a number of mits websites and posted messages criticizing swartzs prosecution and calling for a reform of internet regulation. The message said, quote, we call for this tragedy to be a basis for a renewed and unwavering commitment to a free and unfettered internet, spared from censorship with equality of access and franchise for all. The same weekend, a group of activists inspired by swartz also launched what they called the New Hampshire rebellion, a twoweek walk across the state to protest government corruption. Campaign finance reform was another one of many issues aaron cared deeply about. In a minute well be joined by aarons brother noah swartz, his lawyer elliot peters, and by brian knappenberger, the director of the internets own boy the story of aaron swartz. As well as his father robert swartz. But first, i want to play an extended clip from that recalls a happier time in aarons life as activist. It begins with trevor trimm of the Electronic Frontier foundation. Bill intended to curtail the Online Privacy of music and movies, but it took a sledgehammer to a problem that needs a scalpel. Only a handful of us said we are not for piracy either, that it makes no sense to destroy the architecture of the internet in the name of fighting piracy, and aaron swartz got that right away. The freedoms guaranteed in our constitution that our country had been built on would be suddenly defeated. Any ushnology instead of greater freedom wouldve snuffed out fundamental rights we have always taken for granted and i realized we cannot let that happen. I do not think anybody beaten. Sopa could be he was one of the most prominent in the community. It was like str