arizona. >> uranium mining is resuming of the grand canyon, and you have heard of tar sands in alberta, canada. utah is pushing to expand tar sands mining right here in the united states. today we look at the winners and losers behind the latest push to extract natural resources from the west. then we remember british parliamentarian and antiwar activist tony benn. he died at the age of 88. >> you have got to judge a country by whether its needs are met, not just by whether some people make a profit. i never met mr. dow jones and i'm sure he works very, very hard with his averages which you get every hour, but i don't think the happiness of civilization is decided by wall street. >> all of that and more coming up. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the standoff between russia and the west over ukraine is intensifying head of a referendum on secession in ukraine's crimea region. crimea residents are set to vote sunday on whether to secede from ukraine and join russia. secretary of state john kerry is in london today for meetings with his russian counterpart. on thursday, he warned russia fish's son ash faces sanctions of the vote proceeds. >> there will be a response to the referendum itself and in addition, if there is no sign of any capacity to be able to move forward and resolve this issue, there will be a very serious series of steps on monday in europe and here with respect to the options that are available to us. our choices not to be put in the position of having to do that. >> i understand. have respects to for the sovereignty and independence and integrity of the country of ukraine. >> the united states is circulating a united nations resolution to declare the referendum a violation of international law, but russia has compared it to kosovo's independence from serbia, which the u.s. backed. rush has begun massing troops along ukraine's eastern border. president obama has ordered a review of his administration's deportation practices amidst rising pressure from civil rights groups who have dubbed him the deporter in chief. in a meeting with the tuna lawmakers on thursday, obama said he wants to see if immigration policies could be carried out more humanely. the number of deportations under obama is approaching 2 million. undocumented immigrants have increased pressure through direct actions ranging from border reentry protest to a hunger strike at a detention center in washington state. there are is still no sign of the malaysia airlines plane carrying 239 people nearly a .eek after disappeared an abc news report citing unnamed u.s. officials said two communication systems on the plane may have shut down 14 minutes apart, suggesting deliberate intervention. reuters also citing unnamed sources said military radar data shows the plane was deliberately flown hundreds of miles off course toward india's andaman islands. the united states has sent the uss kidd to the indian ocean to aid in the search. jaye house press secretary carney has confirmed the obama administration is withholding documents sought by a senate panel as part of their investigation into cia torture and condition. >> this process the -- as we'veon discussed with the committee, during the course of the review, small percentage of the total number of documents have been set aside the cousin a raised executive branch confidentiality interest. >> tensions over the senate panel's report flared this week when panel chair senator dianne feinstein openly accused the cia of spying on senate staffers and seizing material from their computers amidst the row senate voted thursday to confirm obama's bit for the cia's to top lawyer. caroline crass previously served in a top post of the justice department. general motors is facing accusations over fatal crashes involving effective vehicles. a new review of crash data has found more than 300 people died after airbags failed to deploy into of the vehicle models gm recalled last month. in total, 1.6 million cars were recalled due to an ignition flaw that shut down engines and disabled airbags while cars were moving. gm previously acknowledged the defect was tied to 13 deaths. a deal with u.s. regulators to lift a ban on government contracts. the ban was imposed in 2012 after the environmental protection agency found bp failed to adequately address 2010 twoat trigger the point horizon explosion, which caused the worst offshore oil spill in u.s. history. the deal allows bp to obtain oil and gas leases in the gulf, where the spill occurred. in el salvador, former rebel leader has been officially declared the winner of the presidential election. election authorities say salvador sánchez cerén defeated right-wing candidate norman quijano by fraction of a percent. norman quijano has contested the results, calling for a vote by vote recount. sánchez cerén said he will seek to work with his opponents. we have opened our arms to the political opposition so that we can build an agenda for the country together that seeks to find solutions to the problems most salvador and have. >> sánchez cerén is the first fmln president to succeed another after decades of right-wing rule in also a door. here in the u.s., senate lawmakers have reached a bipartisan deal to extend unemployment aid to more than 2 million people whose benefits expired in december. the bill provides aid through may as well as retroactive benefits for the past few months. it is unclear if it stands a chance and republican-led house. in labor news, mcdonald's workers have filed a series of lawsuits in three states accusing the company of stealing wages to a range of illegal practices. workers accusations include being forced to work while off the clock, having hours deleted from their timecards, and being denied meal and rest breaks. lawyer said the suits could impact more than 30,000 workers. a health office that provided abortions in montana has been forced to close after was effectively destroyed by a vandal. all families health care is one of just four facilities that provided abortion in montana. its closure means area residents must now travel more than two hours to missoula for an abortion. said thean cahill vandal stab holes in the walls, smashed medical equipment and computers, broke every glass object, destroyed the plumbing and heating systems, ripped plants up from their roots, and smashed framed photos of her family members before stabbing holes in their faces. she wrote in a letter to the local paper -- she spoke to democracy now! by phone on thursday. >> people really need to understand how very important this issue is because it strikes at the core of human rights in general. and i think maybe part of the problem is that people still providing abortion for services are those who rue up when it was illegal -- who grew up when it was illegal and understand. it is going to be taken away. it is going to be taken away if we don't do something. and those of us who provide, can't keep doing it on our own by ourselves. can't. we are disappearing. >> susan cahill said abortions make up only about 10% of the services she provided of her family practice. a suspect has been arrested and charged with felony burglary in the attack. 24-year-old man whose mother serves on the board of an anti-choice crisis pregnancy center. of violence00 acts against u.s. abortion providers have been reported in recent decades, including the firebombing of a clinic where suzanne cahill previously worked in the 1990's. in michigan, and antitrust measure dubbed the rate insurance law is gone into effect. the law bars insurance companies from covering abortion including in cases of rape, unless consumers purchase a separate rider. but as of thursday, no insurance companies are providing the riders to new customers in the private marketplace. people buying their own insurance can no longer obtain abortion coverage. michigan is the night state to restrict abortion coverage and private insurance plans. in california, newly revealed occupants show local police are using powerful devices that allow them to secretly collect data from cell phones. known as stingrays, the devices pose as cell towers to intercept real-time data from all cell phones in a certain radius. records obtained by sacramento news 10 show stingrays are in wide use by police versus across california where there used to make 19 arrest in 2009 alone. according to news 10 -- and the former british cabinet member, longtime parliament member, and antiwar activist tony benn has died at the age of 88. he was the longest-serving member of parliament in the history of britain's labour than half ang more century. he left parliament in 2001, saying he planned to spend more time on politics. i sat down with tony benn in london in 2010 when at the age of 85, he was serving as president of the stop the war coalition. i asked them to talk about former british prime ministers tony blair. >> he led the house of commons. he told them things which were not true, under instructions from president george w. bush. persuaded the house of commons to vote for the war under that. one calculation is over one million iraqis have died as a result of the cap give -- of the conflict. what was achieved by it? nothing. i think you will have to live to the day he dies with the knowledge that he was guilty of a war crime, and the tragedies -- human tragedies that followed from it. andritish antiwar activist parliament member tony benn. his family said he died peacefully at his home in london early this morning surrounded by his loved ones. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we are broadcasting from northern arizona university, just next to the first amendment plaza here in flagstaff, arizona, where the burlington northern santa fe railroad rolls through 100 times per day. in washington on thursday, the senate held a heated hearing on the keystone xl tar sands pipeline. former nasa scientist james hansen said it was "ain't over" for the climate of canada extracts all of the oil from the tar sands. how much ofion of that tar sands will be taken out of the ground. if we build this expensive pipeline, it will facilitate the extraction of much more than if we don't build it. as soon as you put a price on carbon that is significant and rising, one of the first ring that falls off the table is tar sands. canada knows that. that is why they're so desperate .o get the u.s. to approve this if we don't approve it, a lot of that tar sands will never be developed. the world is going to realize ready soon that we have got to limit the amount of carbon we put in the atmosphere. and it is going to have to do that via a price on carbon and that will cause the most intensive things to get left on the ground and that includes tar sands. keystonethe fight over in the alberta tar sands has galvanized the firm until movement, far less attention has been paid to a related story here in the west. the state of utah has begun making preparations to extract tar sands and oil shale from vast swaths of public and private land. according to one u.s. government report, the region could hold up to 3 trillion barrels of oil -- that's more recoverable oil that has been used so far in human history. critics say utah is sitting on a tar sands carbon bomb. quality board recently began giving out permits for companies to extract from the states tar sands reserves. the grand canyon trust is one of several organizations fighting utah's plans. we're joined here in flagstaff, arizona by the groups energy director, taylor mckinnon. welcome to democracy now! we have heard of tar sands in alberta, canada. can you explain what is going on in utah? vast utah, we have deposits of oil shale and tar sands, up to 20 billion barrels worth of oil in the tar sands deposits. the united states geological survey estimates up to one trillion barrels of developable oil in the oil shale. these are unconventional fuels. melteded to be mined, before their turn into a liquid hydrocarbon. the energy investment on the front end of their development far exceeds that of conventional oil and as a result, the resulting carbon emissions and developing these fuels also far exceeds that of conventional oil. when we are facing climate change and the ip cc saying we have a carbon budget within which to work in coming decades, this is the exact wrong policy direction from a matter of energy and climate. >> differed so much about tar sands in alberta. why do we hear so little about hat is going on in utah? eastern talking about utah in western colorado. it is the heart of the colorado river basin. i think the reason we have heard more about alberta's tar sands is because they are being developed. are not the deposits being developed. it is perspective. we are seeing really the onset of development, the onset of investment on the part of industry. >> what are the telltale signs, like highways being built? >> highways being built, publicly funded infrastructure. there is an $80 million publicly funded road that has been pushed south into the cliffs at the behest of an oil shale lobby and the state legislature in utah. over one million acres of land from the state and federal public land, available for leasing. ofre seeing the beginnings attempted commercial place in those deposits. the shallow deposits as well. >> how would they get the shale oil? how would the equipment go when and how would it affect the water? >> right now, the shallow deposits are being targeted, which would mean it is stripmining, much like you see mountaintop removal or coal mining. >> is in tourism in utah one of its main sources of revenue? >> there is a lot of tension between fossil fuel extraction, industrializing landscapes for fossil fuels, and protecting them for tourism. your organization doing? >> we are engaged on a number of different fronts. in 2012, the obama administration allocated 800,000 acres of public land as available for oil shale and tar sands leasing. we are challenging that leasing framework in court, federal and district court, and also challenging several of the individual projects that are moving forward. the first tar sands lease pursuant to that leasing program in addition to oil shell projects on state land. companies that will stand to benefit? estonian company -- >> from estonia? >> essentially, yes. estonia has relied on oil shale aremuch of their power and one of the most carbon intensive nations in the world, and they have vast pollution problems right now as a result of burning and mining oil shale. u.s. oil sands is one of the leading players in the tar sands in the region. they are pursuing tar sands mining on state land. on u.s. state land. they plan to take that technology and use it in alberta. another company is -- >> that is a u.s. company? i believe they are american, but with canadian interests, if not canadian-owned. these are foreign companies that are here in the u.s. on the front end of a play to try to get a foot in the door. >> total is also involved? a french company? >> yes, allocated about $300 million in search of relief resources, which is one of the oil shale plays we see. >> geographically places for us in utah in terms of cities. >> we're talking about north of moab, and to the south east of salt lake city and to the northwest of grand junction, colorado. >> and the residents in this area, how divided our they? >> there is division and also a lot of support for jobs in some of the rural committees. some of the ranchers -- the folks who stand to lose from the industrialization of these landscapes and stand a lose from the pollution of groundwater and surface water are opposed to it. so some of the ranchers are opposed to it. the people who want the jobs are often for it. >> compare this to the area of tar sands in alberta, canada the size. >> the oil shale deposits in than of barrels are larger alberta's tar sands. they're not as accessible. and that is good news. >> requiring more energy -- >> more energy to get out. and that energy investment thus far has precluded them from being commercially viable. but as supplies of conventional ane, we see more and more investment being put toward these more energy intensive and carbon intensive unconventional fuels. >> where does the bureau of land management stand and president obama himself? >> the blm and president obama have allocated about 800,000 acres of public lands is available for oil shale and tar sands leasing. there are conditions imposed on , buta lease can be let those lanes are available. and as a matter of climate and energy policy, it is difficult to reconcile that with our climate goals. you to stay want with us in the stack segment as we move onto the issue of uranium mining, particularly on native lands. we will speak with a native american activist klee benally as well. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. from northernting arizona university in flagstaff, arizona. stay with us. ♪ [music break] >> this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. road in flagstaff, arizona. every year lanes of tourists flock here to visit the grand canyon, marvel at the spectacularly vast gorge carved out by the colorado river. it is a window into the southwest region's geological and native american past. today the site of an ongoing battle over uranium mining. last year, company called energy fuels resources was given federal approval to reopen a 96 miles from the grand canyon's popular south rim entrance. a coalition of native and environmental groups have protested the decision, saying it could strain scarce water sources in the desert area and pose serious health effects. embers of the knob of donations are all too familiar with the dangers posed by uranium mining because their tribal lands are littered with abandoned mines. to 1986, 3.9 million tons of uranium will or were chiseled and lasted from the plains of this region. over the years, more than 1000 millsand for processing closed but the mining companies never properly disposed of the radioactive waste piles. leading to a spike in cancer rates and other health ailments. this is a clip from the documentary, "the return of navajo boy" about navajo who suffered health problems who suffered due to internal contamination. they were just kids when their mom and grandma but got lung disease. >> that is a clip from the award-winning documentary film, "the return of navajo boy." for more in the uranium mining in this region and other environmental challenges, we continue our conversation with taylor mckinnon and klee benally . navajo activist he is the former lead singer of the punk band black fire. outta yourr of backpack media collective, which teaches film making to indigenous youth. talk more about what the diné people are facing. >> first of all, thank you and welcome to the racist state of arizona and the slightly racist, slightly less racist city of flagstaff. withve been challenged resource colonization in this area for many years. here are rooted in racism and rooted in the corporate greed that we continue to face this day. more than 20,000 diné are navajo people have been forcefully relocated because of peabody coal's activity on black mesa and we have an estimated more than 1000 abandoned uranium mines on our lands. in 2005, the navajo nation decided to ban all uranium mining activities on our lands. but today, we have tribal council representatives who really just are selling our future away and trying to lift this ban. at this point, we're in a situation where there had been no meaningful health studies on the impacts of uranium mining in our community. >> give us an example of one of these abandoned mines, what they look like. aboutas just in cameron 40 minutes away from here yesterday with taylor mckinnon doing a presentation. just about 50 feet away from the chapter house, which is the local government area in this area, there is an abandoned uranium mined that looks like a hill. contaminated radioactive dirt looks like regular dirt. it is an invisible threat. but there were toys -- from what i understand, there were signs thisildren playing on hill. there were houses at the base of this. but one of these rocks when the geiger counter was set on it, it went through the roof. these abandoned uranium eyes look like -- >> and there are how many? >> estimated over 1000 in our homelands. there are estimated to be over 10,000 abandoned uranium mines throughout the whole united states. primarily within 15 western states. the epa is never done a meaningful inventory on these threads that are -- threats that are really a toxic legacy that impact us to this day. it is a slow genocide of the people, not just indigenous people of this region, but an estimated to be there are over 10 million people who are miles ofwithin 50 abandoned uranium mines. >> taylor, what is grand canyon trust doing about this? >> we have been largely focused on efforts by the uranium industry to develop new mines on public lands. and since the mid-2000's when the price of uranium spiked, we have seen a rural resurgence of uranium mining activity in arizona. theed the charge to compel -- alongside a number of tribal and conservation trinity partners -- to compel the obama administration to enact a ban on new mining in grand canyon's watershed. that went into effect in 2012. however, it did not apply to all minds. wines that were built in the 1980's. we have seen federal agencies, the bureau of land management and the forest service, allow three of those mines to reopen public undertaking new or environmental reviews. they are relying on their 1980's reviews. reamsffectively ignoring of new sites about the potential ,f the impacts to aquifers ground waters that feeds brings in the grand canyon, that are critical for wildlife that are ,eld sacred by native peoples and except for the colorado river, the perennial surface water in the grand canyon. >> let's turn to another clip from the film, "the return of navajo boy." who haveut the navajo suffered health problems due to environmental contamination. we hear more about the impact of uranium mining on the navajo committed the, the diné people. >> royalties are providing much-needed cash for the navajo prospector and for the tribe. any of the navajo men are employed in the uranium mines where they are valued as cottages workers. >> the mining company did not tell our fathers and uncles that uranium could kill them or they would be used to make atomic bombs. >> again, a clip from "the return of navajo boy." klee, what are communities told? we're dealing with the abandonment of 1000 uranium mines, but also the building of more. >> the epa has a five-year plan that was initiated to clean up these abandoned uranium mines, but the reality is, these mines are not being cleaned up. the epa is turning these abandoned sites into containment or into waste of set are toxic, hazardous, that are still reaching in 10 minutes into our waterways, still impacting our still reaching- contaminants into our waterways, still impacting our grazing lands. we are being told that, essentially, the message we're sent is the impacts to our health, our well-being, and who we are, and our sacred lands is not meaningful enough to have serious clean -- rules to the work? >> the cleanup is a slow process. it is a complex process. they think it is challenging in onation to the current law the reservation, but we have to look at the reality that, as i mentioned before, there are more than 10,000 abandoned uranium mines throughout the u.s. there are some areas where the abandoned mines or new proposed mines are located in close proximity to our reservation lands. they are on public and private lands and leach contained a contaminants into our committed these. we have no way to regulate that. in church rock him in new mexico, where in 1979 one of the largest toxic spills happened in u.s. history, there still nothing that has really been done to clean up. minesare new proposed outside our borders. there are multiple agencies involved. it is a complex issue. we end up seeing our future getting railroaded over the interest of corporate greed. >> can you talk briefly about the san francisco peaks and what they are, for people who have never heard of them? than 13 holy to more indigenous nations. they are central for our culture survival. they're located just outside flagstaff and the highest point in northern arizona. you can see the grand canyon from them. you can see such a beautiful landscape. they are vital not only for the cultural practices, but in ecological island home to our two speciescies -- that are only found there and nowhere else in the world. >> what is happening? >> for the past 30 years, really for the past 20 years, it is been a heated battle to protect this mountain from resource extraction development. not just talking about coal, uranium, oil, natural gas is, but recreation as a resource extraction on the sacred lands. there managed by the u.s. forest service as publicly and concurrently he's part of the lands to a ski resort known as arizona snow bowl and are permitted to expanded development into where alpine forest there cutting more than 30,000 trees, many of them old growth, and the most controversial part is they entered into a contract with the city of flagstaff or they have thousands of gallons of treated sewage for snowmaking. >> sewage? so this is gray water? >> is considered reclaimed water. in this case, there are harmful contaminants that are not tested or treated i the epa that are allowed to be in this wastewater, and it is being sprayed on the sacred church of hours. right now even though we have had more than 10 years of legal battles that have gone all the witch of the supreme court, the situation is that we don't have guaranteed protections for religious freedom as indigenous pete' people. snow bowl became the first to create snow out of 100% treated sewage. >> taylor, is there any legal means to challenge this? >> it is not an issue that grand canyon trust has worked on. i know the hopi tribe has ongoing legal challenges. >> are they working together on this? >> yet a coalition of 14 indigenous nations working together on this six environmental groups that led the charge to defend the sacred mountain on cultural and environmental grounds. those challenges failed in the supreme court. it reaffirms we as indigenous people don't have guarantee protection for our religious freedom. i've been arrested multiple times trying to stop the excavators up on this mountain and that seems to be the only redress that we really have. >> i want to turn to one last clip from the film, "the return of navajo boy." here we learn about water scarcity contamination on diné land. the drinking water pump is about five miles from my mom's house. we all get our drinking water from the same place. there is about 200 people who live in this area. it takes about 10 minutes to fill one barrel. my niece learns to be patient filling the barrels. government came here a few years ago to check the safety of our drinking water, but they never came back with the result. >> that is a clip from the film, "the return of navajo boy." klee benally, the scarcity of water? section,aming of this i understand, is the winners and losers of the struggles, but you are no winners and we destroy mother earth and destroy the water that we need to drink, that we destroy the air we need to breathe and the ground we need to feed ourselves from. right now the epa has closed 22 wells that it been determined to have to higher levels of toxic contaminants on the navajo nation, but many of our people don't have electricity or running water, yet our lands have been exploited. we have coal fire power plants that pollute our air. uraniumthese abandoned mines and new mines threatening the region. we have fracking that is threatening our land as well. it isn't just an issue for here. wherever there is a member middle crisis, there's a cultural crisis. because we are people of the earth. this is a social crisis. larger look at the challenges of global warming, from an indigenous perspective is just a symptom of how we are out of balance from mother earth. >> talk about how climate change affects indigenous people. ofwe see the threads displacement of indigenous people from the waters that are rising, d populating villages that were on islands. we see the threat of the caribou migrations and those impacts. we see this key resorts that feel that they need to make snow because they don't have enough natural snow, so they desecrate sacred mountains such as this. indigenous are all to this land, to somewhere, on our mother the earth. these impacts impact us all. >> taylor, the effect of climate change on the colorado river area and the grand canyon? >> researchers have projected declines of flow of up to 30% in the coming century owing to climate change and other factors. in a time when the colorado plateau and the colorado river basin and its water users stand to lose the most, it is a time for this region also to look very carefully at the energy choices that we are making. >> i want to thank you both for being with us, taylor mckinnon with the grand canyon trust. klee, i would like you to stay with us. activist.ly, diné when we come back, we will be joined by alex soto will talk about indigenous organizing on the border. stay with us. ♪ [music break] >> this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we are on the road in flagstaff, arizona -- a state known for its controversial crackdown on undocumented immigrants under governor janet brewer, who announced this week she is not running for reelection. alsodent obama has deployed thousands of new u.s. border patrol agents to arizona southern border with mexico. caught in the middle of this are about 28,000 members of the tohono o'odham nation, federally agonized reservation about the size of the state of connecticut. and for 76 mile stretch, spans both sides of the u.s.-mexico border. any o'odham must now pass through checkpoints when traveling through their land, and some members living in mexico are almost completely cut off from their tribe. our next guest was part of a protest in 2010 where demonstrators are poured just a post to the checkpoint occupy the border patrol offices at tucson's davis air force base. alex soto is a member of the tohono o'odham nation, organizer with sale of 30 across borders and members of the hip-hop duo shining soul. staying with us is klee benally. alex, it is great to have you here. talk about the key issues. >> currently my committee is in the middle of militarized of the border region. it is not often people translate desert people are caught in the midst of policies that are now militarizing our lands from the amount of border patrol agents to checkpoints to drones to just over also balance of our community. right now our way of life is being affected for traditional practices for to see family and friends, and just overall being affected by the motorization. >> describe the wall to us. >> keep in mind, the border not necessarily a wall yet. it is just vehicle barriers. in my lifetime, one point, early childhood, there was no fence. i assume the changes due to the current immigration policies -- i have seen the changes to to the current immigration policies. the push for comprehensive immigration reform is pushing toward a berlin wall-scenario in my community right now. >> describe how you have seen the border militarized over the years of your growing up. >> i'm only 28 now, but i was always raised to know the land on both sides of the so-called u.s.-mexico border is our land. when i was young, there was no border other than chicken wire fa fits for ranching. since the early 80's to the 1990's, particularly with the passing of nafta, did we see the push to regulate the border due to the level of indigenous people from mexico now migrating here due to policy economic policy by the u.s. it has escalated more and more. pushed more policies toward militarization. we are currently in that state because immigration policy as well. these issues are impacting us that are not necessarily often issues but the global context is now pushing the militarization on our land. >> is so interesting we're talking about immigration issues when you're the original people of this land. talk about the training you're involved in. initiativeaking an to know our rights. in our community, the border patrol operates as if there's no accountability. keep in mind, our reservation is in a rural area. the agents pretty much act out whatever they want. committee members are in a position when they don't -- or they don't know what their rights are. friends have been putting it out there as far as what of the do's and don'ts. in particular and it comes down to border patrol actions. they're not supposed ask who's your family? who is this person in your car? as you mentioned, we're the first inhabitants. we are all indigenous people. >> you're here in northern arizona university which has a large criminal justice department from the students moved on from here and many going to border patrol. isn't order patrol the largest security force in the u.s.? >> from my understanding, they're getting to that point. and our community, we have nearby border towns where border patrol agents, there's a push with the escalation what is going on. small towns are becoming havens for them to live. thousands of residents do not have border patrol -- it is pretty sad in that regard. >> i want to ask both of you about your music as a part of your resistance and your political activism. talk about shining soul. >> it is myself, my other project.s, and hip-hop we are a duo. we make our beads. with the music, we are able to express what is happening in our community and the spirit of public enemy come and not just our committee, but the outside world that these issues are affecting us but not just in indigenous issue were chicano issue. it is everybody's issue. i spread that message in that regard. >> klee, talk about your music. >> is a tool for transformation and social change. in an area where we see capitalism as the enemy of mother earth, indigenous people are tokenized and we are continued to face the ongoing genocide of our people, because, i mean, you asked what is the impact of global warming on indigenous people. it is genocide. it is resource extraction on our lands, which is the result that you see with the symptoms of global warming. for me, music is a powerful opportunity for me to get that message out there and the people know we need hope, but we need action. we have to match that. >> also talk about outta your backpack media collective. >> it was started in 2004 as a response to the meat for media in indigenous committed use. we offer free workshops and resource kits to empower them to tell their own stories. corporate media is not going to do the job for us. we need to do it ourselves. >> and who are you training? ,> i work with indigenous youth primarily high school ages, and we are a collective. we're all volunteer. we train youths to become mentors themselves, to participate and educate other use. it is a growing movement. it is connected to the music that alex is doing, connected to my music. there's a strong upsurge in's uprising of indigenous people, not just with idle no more. we have never been idle. >> being the indigenous movement in canada. >> and we have never been idle. my older stabber gave up. big u.s. government forces were coming to take their land and black mesa -- which i believe you have been there. >> my first radio documentary 1985 was called "a thumb print on mother earth" and i went to the mountain and looked at the plight of the diné andhopi people. often it was cast as a battle between these two tribes. in fact, when you came here, he saw -- you saw peabody coal behind the whole thing. >> and that is the connection to global warming. as long as people continue down this district it half that fuels this war against our mother the earth, then we will have this conflict. the resistance is still going on today. land, are still on the staying strong. >> we will have a link to that documentary and also to the work of our guests. alex soto, thank you for being with us and klee benally, diné activists. as we wrap up with the latest news that just came in hours ago. this is the death of tony benn. they we remember tony benn, former british cabinet member, longtime member of parliament, antiwar activist has died at the age of 88. the longest serving member of parliament and the history of britain's labour party, serving more than half a century will stop you left parliament in 2001 saying he planned to spend more time on politics. sharif abdel kouddous and i interviewed tony benn in 2009, one day after he led a protest against the war in afghanistan in london. at the lower -- at the rally, he and others read the names of those killed in the afghan war. >> well, it was a solemn occasion when the names were read. you see, i think you have to understand history. written and dated afghanistan in 1839, captured kabul, and was defeated the following year and 15,000 british troops were killed. britain invaded afghanistan in 1879. britain was in afghanistan in 1919. the russians were in afghanistan to protest that. united states government, president bush, the first one, by the russians to get them out of afghanistan. the situation we're in now is very straightforward. the united states and nato, 40 inntries with 64,000 troops eight years, have been unable to defeat the taliban and. this is the vietnam war for america. and for the rest -- well, for the people involved, soldiers and civilians, it is an absolute tragedy. >> and obama defended the war yesterday, calling it a war of necessity. your response to that? >> i think you have to ask yourself the question, is it a war on terror or war on afghanistan? it is a war on afghanistan. to call it a war on terror just enables us to do what we like. i don't think it is going to succeed. the other thing i have in mind is simple. a few years ago, london was bombed by terrorists. how did it and? it ended when we talk to the ira leader. nelson mandela west announced as a terrorist and fees came in south africa when the south african government talked to mandela. jaw jawtells you talking is better than war war. there will have to be discussions. of that i have no doubt whatsoever. >> tony benn, we also want to talk about the issue of health care. cabinete a former member, longest serving indian the history of the british labour party. explain your system in britain and what the battle looks like to you across the atlantic in the united states. and i've known america for 70 years, it is amazing. i think most people in britain just regarded as being richilized, sort of great country to ignore the health of 47 million people. we don't understand it. me the statement made by the government at the time. your new national health service begins on july 5. it will provide you with all medical, dental, nursing care. everyone rich or poor, man, women, or child can use any part of it. there are no charges except for a few special items. there are no insurance policy occasions, but it is not a charity. you will pay for it as taxpayers, and it will relieve your money worries in time of illness. my family has benefited anonymously. i had an operation a few days ago in london. i had a pacemaker put in. my wife died of cancer but for four years at the most brilliant health care. i suppose one lane of looking at it is, there's a lot of unemployment in the u.s. is or is in britain. one way of creating jobs would be hospitals, recruit nurses, doctors and then meet health needs of the country as well. i just don't understand -- well, i do understand because i know the people who are saying it. they have absolutely no relation to health care. >> finally, any thoughts on the comparison of the debate you are seeing today with what happened before the british -- the national health service was ushered in in britain? are you seeing an echo of it? >> yes, in a way. some of the doctors were opposed to it, but they came around. you had a little bit of it. i tell you what changed it. it takes you back to the 1930's. we had mass unemployment, as you do in the u.s. i was a pilot in the royal air force and the war and we were discussing when we are coming home once how we would do with the problems of unemployment. one lad said something about her forgotten. he said in the 1930's we had mass unemployment am a we don't have unemployment and we are killing germans. if you can have full employment by killing germans, why can't you by recruiting nurses, doctors, hospitals? we took the view that the government had a responsibility to focus on the needs of a nation in peacetime in the way in which it does in war time. if that principle is followed, then the ideological language will be set aside. you have got to judge a country by whether its needs are met, and not just by whether. some people make a profit. i've never met mr. dow jones and i'm sure he worked very, very hard with this averages, but i don't think the happiness of a nation is decided by the values of wall street. in 2009.enn he died at the age of 88. that doesn't brouwer broadcast. that does it for our broadcast. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to [email protected] or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]