Transcripts For LINKTV Democracy Now 20160304

Frontrunner hours before the republican candidate squared off at a debate in detroit. Two thirds of the people who will cast of vote have voted against you. They do not want you to be our nominee. And the reason why is because we are not going to turn over the conservative movement or the party of lincoln or reagan, for example, to someone whose positions are not conservative. Dont worry about it, little marco. Amy we will have highlights of the debate and response. Then we remember the life of Berta Caceres. She was assassinated this week just months after winning the goldman environmental prize, the worlds leading environmental award. Our mother earth, militarized, poisoned, a place where basic rights are systematically violated, demands that we take action. Amy we will speak with her nephew, journalist in san francisco. All of that and more coming up. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman juan gonzalez. Im amy goodman. Four republican president ial candidates faced off thursday night at the fox theater in downtown detroit. Marco rubio, ted cruz and john , kasich all teamed up against frontrunner donald trump. Meanwhile, outside the fox theater, hundreds of people rallied to protest the gop debate, and what they say is hateful and islamophobic rhetoric coming from the Republican Party. This is William Antoun of the michigan Muslim Community council. Were here to protest the Republican Debate, the policies and things that some of the candidates are saying, particularly donald trump, the islamaphobic comments with a straight of fascism that is being presented and his followers and their actions. We are here to protest the racism and also to support all people of color over the injustices in the racist comments. Amy well have more on the gop debate after headlines. The 11th republican president ial debate comes as the fbi arrested a donald trump campaigner and 11 other people on charges related to the 2014 stand off at Cliven Bundys ranch in nevada. Jerry delemus is the cochairman of veterans for donald trump in new hampshire. He has been indicted on nine federal felony charges, including conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, assault on a federal officer, and several firearms charges. Two of Cliven Bundys sons were also arrested in the fbi sweep meaning that a total of five , bundy family members are now in jail. Japan, Prime Minister shinzo abe has said he will temporarily halt construction work at the site of a proposed u. S. Military base on the island of okinawa. This announcement is the latest in a decadeslong battle between japans Central Government and the residents of okinawa, the majority of whom oppose the new base. Okinawa already houses about 26,000 u. S. Troops. On friday, prime minster abe said he decided to halt construction work and resume talks because the Central Government and the okinawa region are locked in a stalemate. If we had continued as we have been doing, which is the japanese government and the okinawa and protector locked an internal battle of lawsuits, we would have reached a stalemate. Amy meanwhile, democrats are mounting an increasing campaign to force republicans to consider a Supreme Court nomination by president obama, following the death of justice antonin scalia. Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley has said he will refuse to hold confirmation hearings until the next president until the next presint takes office. Democrats appear to be launching a campaign to force grassley to reconsider this position by threatening his reelection in iowa later this year. On thursday, news spread across washington that former iowa Lieutenant Governor patty judge will challenge grassley in the iowa senate race. This comes only one day after news leaked that the white house is considering nominating prominent iowa jurist jane kelly, whom grassley has publicly endorsed in 2013 during her confirmation to the United States court of appeals for the eighth circuit. The Justice Department has asked the fbi to evaluate whether Oil Giant Exxon mobil broke federal laws by lying to investors and the public about climate change. The move comes in response to a request from california congressmen ted lieu and mark desaulnier, who have sought a investigation of exxon mobil following exposes by inside climate news and the Los Angeles Times revealing exxon knew that fossil fuels cause Global Warming as early as the 1970s, but hid that information from the blic andnstead pred millns into imate deal. Calirnia attney genel Kamala Harris and new York Attorney general Eric Schneiderman have also launched investigations of exxon. The increasing scrutiny of exxon mobil comes as recordhigh temperatures in alaska have forced organizers of iditarod to transport a train full of snow to age because there is not enough snow for the famous dog sled race. Organizers also say the teams will cover only 3 miles on saturdays ceremonial start, rather than the usual 11 miles because of the lack of snow to , sled on. This is the second year that the lack of snow has forced organizers to make changes to the race. There does appear to be snow on pluto, however, nasa scientists say. On thursday, scientists released a photo showing a chain of snowcapped mountains stretching across the dwarf planet. They believe the snow consists of methane that has condensed on the mountain peaks. In news from the legal stand off between apple and the fbi, the tech giant has gained a number of prominent allies in recent days, including leading security experts, the United Nations human rights chief, and the husband of a woman who was injured in the San Bernardino attack. The fbi is seeking to force apple to unlock the iphone of one of the suspected shooters in the attack. One of apple supporters is salihin kondoker, whose wife, anies, was shot three times during the attack last december, and has submitted a letter to the judge in the case, writing that apple is worried that this software the government wants them to use will be used against millions of other innocent people. I share their fear. U. N. Human rights chief Zeid Raad Al Hussein echoed this sentiment during a briefing in geneva on thursday. In order to address the securityrelated issue linked to encryption in one case, the authorities risk unlocking a pandoras box that could have extremely damaging implications for the human rights of many millions of people, including the physical and financial security, and this is not just about one case and one i. T. Company and one country. It will have tremendous ramifications for the future of individuals security elsewhere. Amy in south africa, a court has rejected olympic and paralympic runner Oscar Pistorius right to appeal his conviction of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on valentines day in 2013. Last year, an Appeals Court ruling overturned a lower courts decision to convict pistorius on the lesser charge of manslaughter. Pistorius faces a minimum 15year sentence. In texas, state trooper Brian Encinia has formally been fired 8 months after he arrested 28yearold africanamerican sandra bland, who was found hanged in her jail cell three days after her arrest. Dashcam footage of the arrest shows encinia dragging sandra bland out of her car and threatening to light her up. Sandra bland can later be heard on video accusing the Police Officer of slamming her head into the ground. She tells them she has epilepsy to which Trooper Encinia , replies, good. In january, encinia indicted on perjury charges for lying to a grand jury about the traffic stop. Authorities say bland committed suicide while in jail, a claim her family rejects. In argentina, a Nobel Peace Prize winning human rights activist has called on president obama to change the date of his trip to argentina because the scheduled visit on march 24 coincides with the 40th anniversary of the u. S. Backed military coup. The coup toppled argentinas democratically elected government and installed a brutal dictatorship. Withetails have emerged elliott management, which was one of many u. S. Hedge funds to buy up argentine debt at pennies on the dollar amidst the countrys economic crisis in 2001. Former argentine president cristina de kirchner had long demanded the hedge funds, which she called vulture funds, renegotiate the debt, arguing they were unfairly profiting off argentinas economic crisis. But this week, president macris rightwing government agreed to pay singers fund and three others 4. 65 billion. Singers fund itself netted 2. 4 billion, 10 and 15 times its original investment. In new york city, about people 100 rallied as the coalition of immokalee workers announced a National Boycott of fast food giant wendys. The florida farm workers said they were launching the boycott because wendys has refused for years to join the fair food program, which the immokalee workers established to protect farm workers rights. Other fast food giants, including taco bell, mcdonalds and burger king have already , signed on to the program after pressure. Farm worker and organizer lupe gonzalo explained the new york city rally was targeting billionaire nelson peltz, who is a major investor in wendys. Centre asking for one more from every pound of tomatoes they buy from the farms where we are working the hardest. Were demanding their be a code of conduct that protects the rights of the workers so that we can report abuses and have solutions to them. Were also asking for intelligence to sexual abuse intolerance to sexual abuse and modernday slavery, and as women, were faced sexual abuse. On penow we are focusing ltz, a very big investor in wendys, and has a lot to do with what happens at wendys. Amy nelson felt his chair of wendys board. And finally william h. Schaap, a , radical lawyer, author and publisher has died. Together with his wife and partner ellen ray, who died a few months ago, he published the covert action information bulletin, which reported reported on illegal Central Intelligence agency activities. It also identified cia agents by name from a practice outlawed by congress in 1982. Schaap also represented cia whistleblowers, including philip agee. He and ray also founded Sheridan Square press, which published the new orleans prosecutor jim garrisons book on the trail of , the assassins my investigation and prosecution of the murder of president kennedy, which was a source for oliver stone in making the 1991 film jfk. He was also democracy now s first lawyer. And those are some of the headlines. This democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. I am amy goodman with juan gonzalez. Juan welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. In an extraordinary day for the Republican Party, the gops last two president ial nominees, mitt romney and john mccain, denounced the republicans current frontrunner donald trump saying he is a danger to the nation and the party. Romney spoke in utah. Let me put it very plainly. If we republicans choose donald trump is our nominee, the prospects for a safe and prosperous future are greatly diminished. I understand the anger americans feel today. In the past, our president s have channeled that anger and forged it into resolve, into endurance and high purpose come in into the will to defeat the enemies of freedom. Our anger was transformed into energy directed for good. Mr. Trump is directing our anger for less than noble purposes. He creates scapegoats and muslims and muslims and mexican immigrants. He calls for the use of torture. He calls for killing the innocent children and family members of terrorists. E cheers assault on protesters he applauds the prospect of twisting the constitution to limit First Amendment freedom of the press. This is the very brand of anger that has led other nations into the abyss. Here is what i know. Donald trump is a phony, a fraud. He has his promises are as worthless as a degree from trump university. Amy hours after mitt romney spoke, donald trump came under more criticism at a debate in detroit hosted by fox news. Florida senator marco rubio also focused on trump university, trumps forprofit venture now at the center of a multimilliondollar fraud claim. He is trying to do to the American Voter what he did to the people that signed up for this course. He is making promises he is no intention of keeping and it wont just be 32,000 they lose, it is our country that is at stake. The future of the United States and the most important election in a generation and he is trying to con people into giving them their vote just like he conned these people into giving them their money. Excuse me, excuse me. The real con artist is senator marco rubio. Who was elected in florida and has the worst voting record in the United States senate. He doesnt go to vote. He is absent. He doesnt go. The people of florida cant stand him boast of you could not get elected dogcatcher. I understand the folks were supporting donald right now. Youre angry. Youre angry at washington and he uses angry rhetoric. But for 40 years, donald has been part of the corruption in washington that youre angry about. And youre not going to stop the corruption in washington by supporting someone who is supported liberal democrats for four decades from jimmy carter to john kerry to Hillary Clinton. Youre not when to stop the corruption and the cronyism by supporting someone who has used government power for private gain. Instead, we need a president who stands with the american people. Amy the Republican Debate repeatedly broke down into shouting matches and name calling. Within the first 10 minutes of the debate, trump even defended the size of his penis on while responding to a recent comment from marco rubio about the size of his hands. I also happened to call him a lightweight, ok, and i have said that. So i would like to take that back. Usually not that much of a lightweight. As far i have to say this, i have to say this, he hit my hands. Nobody has ever hit my hands. Look at those hands. Are they small hands . If he referred to my hands they were small, Something Else may be small. I guarantee you, theres no problem. I guarantee it. Juan Ohio Governor john kasich tried to stay out of the fray but also advocated for the most , hawkish Foreign Policy of the night calling for a significant , number of u. S. Ground forces in syria, iraq and libya. Klux fortunately come in libya, there are only a few cities on the coast because most of libya is a desert. The fact of the matter is, we absolutely have to be not just with special forces, thats not going to work. Come on, yet to go back to the invasion when we pushed Saddam Hussein out of kuwait. We have to be on the ground in significant numbers. We do have to include our muslim, arab friends to work with us on that. And we have to be in the air. It should be a Broad Coalition made up of the kinds of people that were involved when we defeated saddam. Now, you to be on the ground and in the air both in area and iraq. And at some point, we will have to deal with libya. Amy despite the growing attacks on donald trump from within the republican establishment, all three of his challengers vowed to support trump if he wins the nomination. Click i will support the republican nominee. Klux mr. Trump, yes or no . Senator cruz, yes or no, you will support donald trump if he is the nominee . Word i because i gave my would. Would you support donald trump . I kind of thing before it is all said and done, i will be the nominee. Amy to talk more about the Republican Debate, were joined by two guests. Lester spence is associate professor of Political Science and Africana Studies at Johns Hopkins university. His new book is, knocking the hustle against the neoliberal turn in black politics. And joining us from irvine, california, is brian levin, the director of the center for the study of hate extremism at California State University in San Bernardino. His recent article in the Huffington Post is, we all must draw a line against hate and violence. Lester spence, your reaction to the debate last night . It was like pulling teeth watching it. I was born in detroit, grew up in the area, and i think it is really interesting that at no point in time during the debate at all did they talk about the policies that are affecting detroit are the policies affecting cities like flint, policies of emergency Financial Management that are kind of reflected of bipartisan consensus but were basically created by Republican Legislature and republican governor. My mom was a substitute teacher at spain elementary. She just retired. Spain elementary had a roach into station, gymnasium crumblin, and it required village genous ellen bieber to gettin it straight now. They did not talk about that. Juan you talk about the Public Education in the country, but on the Republican Debate, very little discussion of education except for trump repeatedly saying were going to get rid of common core. And a Company Department of education. That is how we save money. If you think about the state it is been, suggested because of the lack of regulation, you had significant levels of corruption and a number of Charter Schools that were loud to function long after they should have been closed. We have a discussion we do not have a discussion of any of that. Amy can we get your response, brian levin, to what you watched last night, the Republican Debate, the 11th, i think it was, now down to the four candidates vying to be the republican president ial candidate nominee . What i found disturbing was that with all of the rhetoric coming from republicans of good will if you listen to, for instance, george w. Bush when he visited a mosque after 9 11, john mccain when he was on the arabphobic,il, and its were made. Even the speaker of the house tried to say, look, we have to put a line in the sand with regard to White Nationalist, klansman, neonazis thomas and it was a footnote. It started and said, would you disavow, and what i think needed to be done was something by all the candidates, not to retreat from their positions. We are not we are a nonpartisan center. As a line that we drawn that line is against white White Nationalists, and neonazis. Because ive not in the decade that ive been researching this, a successful mainstream candidate having the endorsement of a virtual whos who of klansman, White Nationalist and others. Were talking about not david duke, but the loyal white front. , storm a tidal wave of support. It is because there are not policy messages that appeal to the was a premises White Supremacists and nationalists, but the xenophobic and racist tones were mexicans are labeled as criminals and muslims are a broad brush to an extent they should not only be excluded from coming into the country, but not even dog whistle that there should be some sociopolitical exclusion of muslims. This is a terrible time for the party of lincoln. Amy when we come back from break, im going to ask you about your attendance at a klan rally and what the members had to say about donald trump. Were talking to brian levin, director of the cter for e study ofate exemism at liforniatate university in san berndino. And leer spenc he is a new book out cald knoing the stle agnst , e neolibal turn in black politics. Stay with us. [music break] amy this is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman juan gonzalez. We are going to turn right now rally, saturday, a klan a chapter in anaheim known as the loyal White Knights or lwk. Dozens of counterprotesters also showed up when a fight broke out. Brian levin, you actually stepped in to shield klan leader bill quigg from being assaulted. For our radio viewers, were showing scenes of the melee. You can go to democracy now. Org for a link. After things calmed down a bit, brian spoke to some lwk members. White lives matter. Everybody on black lives matter and all that cork but what about the klan hate. Can you see why people would be upset . [inaudible] do you have a candidate that you like . Give a president ial candidate that you like . Trump. , yourean levin director of the center for the study of hate and extremism at California State University at San Bernardino. Explain what was taking place. The loyal White Knights, which has had Significant Growth nationally last year, the klan only has maybe 4500 to 5500 members nationwide, far cry from the 4. 5 million to five point million inn 5 previous years. You really had to get a klan endorsement to get a political position. Now they are very small. I think they just have somewhat more than a handful in their chapter. Nationally has grown. In california, their miniscule. Nevertheless, all held broke lose went about half a dozen klansman tried to get out of their vehicle. With woodent upon planks, metal rods, and when the vehicle moved away, there were three klansman left. Two near me were just brutally set upon by a mob, and i interceded with my outstretched hand in my iphone as a camera and said, do not heard this gentleman. Thisbeing said, mr. Quig, grand dragon, the leader of a state chapter, the realm for the california rome, and were talking very small number of people here, was getting kicked in the head, was getting attacked. He is a reprehensible person who believes hitler is a great person and the holocaust did not happen and White Christians are god chosen people and that concentration camps were swimming pools and luxuries. Believes there is a White Genocide going on and also believes that illegal immigration of mexicans is taking our country into a tailspin and that muslims are encroaching on america and destroying it. Amy what did he have to say about donald trump . Interestingly enough, his about donaldoke trump. He was much more cagey. He had effusive, over the top tweet act in september saying how all americans should support donald trump. This time, he joked, Hillary Clinton, then said he is undecided. He is not undecided. He is been quite vocal in his support for mr. Trump, which i think gives mr. Trump an opportunity not to say, how many times you have to disavow, but to say, what does america mean to him . What does diversity mean to him . And what do the people of goodwill and the republican totallyo have just spoken against bigotry . Even Ronald Reagan when running for president and had the klan endorsement, was quite clear. What im worried about is not how many disavows he gives, but more of the authenticity of his rejection of it. It doesnt appear genuine and it doesnt appear deep. Juan but as you say, the klan is a relatively minor organization now compared to what its strength decades ago. You mentioned several other hate groups, all of which are you could say, the extreme fringe of White Nationalism here in the United States. What about the masses of people that are voting for trump . How do you think the positions and the viewpoints of these extreme groups are affecting or reflecting a broader movement, rightwing movement in the country that has a White Nationalist movement that has lined up behind trump . Great question. Look, White Supremacists are showing up to his rallies. In the past, you would never see that. Erily big it was involved a verily to big it was involved in manhattan manhandling an africanamerican woman at a rally. Some of mr. Trump should say, wait, stop, i policy positions, but let me make it clear that. Igotry is unacceptable that really has not been done. If i may, one of the things that the White Nationalists, neonazi movement has left has been a charismatic leader. What i am saying, im not saying mr. Trump is a neonazi, but they view him as a celebrity brand mouthpiece who is parroting what they are saying. And the kinds of rhetoric that we see on these hate sites are being retransmitted into the mainstream. There was a problem when 40 or more republicans believe president obama is a muslim or that muslims are a threat. There really is a need for a leader in the Republican Party who can still take their partisan policy positions where a nonpartisan organization, but with a have to do is disentangle the bigotry that comes with it. This xenophobia, this division toward latinos and broad brushing of muslims as some kind of portable threat. This is just a terrible time for the Republican Party. And i know Republican People of goodwill. People like Lindsey Graham who have made statements. We had george bush the elder sign a hate crimes statistics act and make statement against hate. It is a terrible time, and im hoping the forces of good within the Republican Party who may have your conservative policy positions on affirmative action and National Security speak out. Because what this is doing, it is inflaming and amplifying this fear and anger that exists with a very significant part of the Republican Party that is slipping through the thin ice of bigotry. We cannot have that for a party with us juan i want to ask lester spence, this whole issue of White Nationalism being such a key force, oppressing among the supporters of donald trump. How do you respond to that and how do you sense in terms of the africanamerican community, that this is being received . Saidthink that our brother is right, this is something that we should be really scared of and we should actually be a lot more forceful in articulating it. About as forceful as we are on climate change, this is reflecting a Political Climate change. It is important to know that Ronald Reagan began his political 1980 president ial campaign in philadelphia, mississippi them or right outside of it. The only historical significance was that it was a home for the site of the brutal murder of civil rights workers. Arguedhat announcement strongly for states rights. Amy killing three. While we can say trump represents an outlier, he is very well within the mainstream Republican Party who is had to in chasing republican orhe consertive wte voterave beco more and more extreme. Trump is just the outlier. We should be really, really deeply concerned, but he reflects just the general tendency. He is not some crazy person well, kind of crazy that he is talking about his penis on a debate, but he is not as extreme first. Second, i think black voters, one of the reasons people have been questioning why are black voters supporting Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders, there are theres a lot of really, really interesting stuff going on. Cedric johnson hits this up in a really good piece. But one of the things that could be driving some of the voters is they are seeing trump and they are frightened. They kind of should be. The question is, which of these people can actually have the best opportunity to take trump out and to be kind of a same governor . Theyre making the same position for Hillary Clinton. And because some polls indicate in a matchup, Bernie Sanders would be the one who would be front runner. That is absolutely right. Several fromto bet the polls, that is the type joint amy lets go to this clip, super tuesday night, cnn coverage, then jones and jeffrey lord who is a trump supporter clashed over donald trump hedging around david dukes endorsement. He is whipping up and pushing buttons that are very, very frightening to me and fighting to a lot of people. Number one, when he is playing funny with the klan, that is not cool. I know this man. When he gets passionate about terrorism. I know how he talks about terrorism. Klan the is a Test Organization that is killed you can do whatever label on it you want. That is your game to play. Were not going to play that game. To take au need serious look at the fact that this man is playing fast and loose and footsie when you talk about terrorism, he says, no, this is wrong. When you talk about the klan, google oh, i dont know, i dont know. You came on the air in you said this is like when reverend wright was speaking. He never lynched anyone. He never killed anyone. Reverend wright hold on a second. You never put anybody on a post and you guys are playing these word games and it is wrong to do in america. Juan those were analysts van jones of cnn and also jeffrey lord, a trump supporter, clashing over Donald Trumps hedging on his support of david duke or of david dukes support of him. Last i, donald trump was questioned about his clothing line. Will you promise that you will and how on when y move your clothing colleion of the clothi that isade in china and xico . Thedevalue their cuencies. By the w, i been doing it more and more. They devalueheir curncies, in particular china, mexico is doing aig numbenow, japan is unbelievablehat there dng. They devalue their currencies and they make it impossible for clothing makers in thisountry to do clotng in th country if youook at wt is happened on 7th avenue and you look at wh is happing new rk with the rment instry, souch of the clothing is made in vietnam, china, and other places. It is all because of devaluation. Juan lester spence, your reaction to this . Haseenlly, since trump denizing cna and mico, as he says,ating ou lch, all the te . He was fpfloppi so ofn it w kind ofunny. E one thg i can y about the ne analyst and givhim crit, theyushed ion a number of deathpushed h on a mber opoints aolicy. Started lking abt detroi and flint, two large democratic bodies with a large white population. Lets say we do not focus on detroit, we focus on metropolitan detroiters. If you look at the audience, i saw a couple of black faces but im presuming most of the people in the audience were outside of detroit in the surrounding suburbs. They could have easily talked about labor. Allowing those folks in the suburbs, producing more and more, raising the flat line, right, every they talked about policy, whether Foreign Trade or the irs stuff. All of this stuff was repeat of the 1980s that we know dont work. How can you with a straight face say, we should on the one hand abolish the irs and then secondarily send a massive military presence into the middle east . How can we do that and be same sane . I had to do because you asked me. Im only going to watch because you asked me. It was like, what are we doing . So would we talk about trump as if he is an outlier, what we have to do is be really, really hard line and say, no, this is the tendency, this is what the Republican Party is. Amy lets go to both ted cruz and marco rubio talking about detroit and then about flint. This is ted cruz addressing the economic crisis in detroit. Detroit is a great city with a magnificent legacy that has been utterly decimated by 60 years of failed leftwing policy. The way you bring manufacturing back to americas number one, you lift the regulations. As president i will repeal obamacare, the biggest job killer in america. I will pull back the federal regulators, the epa, and all the regulators that are killing Small Businesses and manufacturing. And my tax plan, a very detailed dcruz. Org,e website te we get rid of all of the taxes, the Corporate Income tax and the death tax and the obamacare taxes and the payroll tax and we replace it with a 16 Business Flat Tax that is border adjustable, which means all exports are entirely taxfree the 16 imports pay Business Flat Tax. Thats a 32 differential. What that will do, chris, is bring millions of manufacturing jobs back to this country, bring the Steel Industry back to this country, create an environment where when we compete on a fair and level playing field, American Ingenuity can beat anyone. But right now, the federal government is not giving us a level playing field. Amy the lead water crisis in flint came up once during last nights debate after fox moderator bret baier asked marco rubio about it. What happened in flint was a terrible thing. It was a systemic breakdown at every level of government at both the federal and partially the state the state and partially the federal level as well. The politicizing of it, i think is unfair because i dont think that someone woke up one morning and said, lets figure out how to poison the water and hurt someone. But accountability is important. I give the governor credit. He took responsibility for what happened and he is talked about people being held accountable and the need to change, governor snyder. Heres the point, this should not be a partisan issue. The way the democrats of try to turn this into a partisan issue that somehow republicans woke up and decided, it is a good idea to poison some kids with lead will stop it is absurd. It isnt true. All of us are outraged by what happened and we should Work Together to solve it and there is a proper role for the government to play the federal level in helping local communities to respond to a catastrophe of this kind, not just to deal with the people impacted by it, but to ensure that Something Like this never happens again. Amy lester spence, you are born in detroit. I had use the bathroom when those two guys [laughter] wh czuggesteds basically, rublican licies warmed or, like u signicantly reduce the redu regulati, signifantly rece taxe this ishere chris ireally od. Heasdjusting suggsting at more ney woulbeained d actual there w mey the ne item budget,ight, is that it it doesnt work for any set of bck populions. Y black pulationmuch les the white populaon. What is going on in detroit is not the result of failed democratic policies, it is the result of a bipartisan consensus that has been reproduced and crystallized under republican administration. Thats it. Thats it. You should sort of be able to claim it, but they cant because that is the only policy line they have and they cannot also because the racial resentment that theyre using to pull voters, they would require a city like detroit in order to say, ok, that is an example of failed government, vote for us. As far as what rubio suggested, it is clear every bit of doubt we have suggests that, no, we do know it wasnt a matter of the governor michigan saying, damn, really dont like people in flint, im going to poison their water. But what we know is in every single city with a significant majority black population, they basically, the state has taken it over, rendered broken, dysfunctional. Whether youre talking about detroit public schools, flint, saginaw, whether youre talking about pontiac everywhere. That is republican project. Amy we have to leave it there but we will continue to cover all of these issues. The democratic debate is in flint on sunday night. We will be bringing you highlights and response on monday. And check out our website at democracynow. Org. We came back recently from flint thirsty for democracy. Lester spence, thank you so much. Respect professor of Political Science and Africana Studies at Johns Hopkins university. His new book is, knocking the hustle against the neoliberal turn in black politics. I think you to brian levin professor at the department of , criminal justice and director of the center for the study of hate extremism at California State University in San Bernardino. When we come back, the murder, the assassination of a leading honduran environmentalist. Stay with us. [music break] amy this is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman juan gonzalez. Juan honduran indigenous and environmental organizer Berta Caceres has been assassinated in her home. She was one of the leading organizers for indigenous land rights in honduras. In 1993, she cofounded the National Council of popular and indigenous organizations of honduras, or copinh. For years the group faced death , threats and repression as they stood up to mining and dam projects that threatened to destroy their community. Last year, caceres won the goldman environmental prize, the worlds leading environmental award. In a video released by the foundation, she described how she helped organize indigenous communities in honduras to resist a hydro dam on the gualcarque river because it could destroy their water supply. Klux and more than 150 indigenous assemblies, our community decided it did not want that hydroelectric dam. There to file complaints with the hundred government and organized feasible protests in the nations capital, as her visibility increased the she became a target r the government. Dams andounced these were threatened with smear campaigns, prison meant, and murder. But nobody has heard our voices until we seup a roadblock to take back control of our territory. Klux for well over a year, the link up maintain the roadblock with standing harassment and violent attacks. Tragically, Community Leader tomas garcia was shot by the honduran military at a peaceful protest. Murdered,these men the community became and it met indignant, forcing a confrontation. The company watold they had to get out. Here. Have 500 people we will defend our lands and not let them pass. The companyis how left our lands, but it cost us in blood. 2015that was a profile of goldman environment apprise wehner Berta Caceres, narrated by robert redford. Excepting the ward, she vowed to continue standing up for the rights for mother earth and indigenous communities. Juan that was Berta Caceres speaking less than a year ago which you receive the goldman environment apprise. She was gunned down in her home early on thursday. Today, protests demanding justice for caceres are scheduled from washington, d. C. , to tegucigalpa, honduras. On thursday, the Goldman Environmental Foundation released a statement that read in part we mourn the loss of an inspirational leader, and will honor her lifes work by continuing to highlight the courageous work of goldman Prize Winners like berta. She built an Incredible Community of grassroots activists in honduras, who will carry on the campaign she fought and died for. Meanwhile, democratic senator Patrick Leahy of vermont called caceres death a great loss for the people of honduras and warned that the honduran governments inability to protect her would weigh heavily on future u. S. Aid to the Central American country. Amy last year, a report by the Group Global Witness found that honduras is one of the deadliest countries for environmentalist. According to the report, at least two people working to save the environment were killed each week in 2014. In total, the Group Global Witness documented the murders of at least 116 environmental activists last year. Threequarters of them were killed in central and south america. For more we are going to san francisco, california, where were joined by Berta Caceres nephew, silvio carrillo. He is a freelance video journalist in the bay area. And in albuquerque, new mexico were joined by beverly bell. , she is a longtime friend and colleague of Berta Caceres. Shes currently the coordinator of other worlds, a social and Economic Justice organization. Silvio, our condolences. Were so utterly devastated by the death of your aunt. I know youre flying down to honduras. Thank you for state for this conversation. Can you talk about can you significantertas and what she was trying to do in her life . That is a big ask. She was china do many things in her life. She was trying to be a mother, a aunt, be a human being respect human beings. And this is what she did every day for the Indigenous People of honduras and across latin america. I mean, she helped coordinate indigenous Solidarity Networks throughout latin america and around the world. In fact, she was always asked to speak around the world. Many people knew her throughout the world stop if you look on social media, there are reactions from everywhere. She was always on the go. Go. Ow we have to be on the knewis how it is and she this is how this was going to end. , are theerly bell importance of her work in the role of the honduran government and the current government that exists in honduras . Overstates no way to the importance of bertas work. She was working very closely with the democratically elected refoundzelaya to democracy interesting and this in the same way that she did everything, which was through grassroots mobilization of workers, of women, of significantly Indigenous People the population represented in the organization as she founded some 20 years ago. She was working for a wholly new form of government in honduras, not just a new government, but a new system whereby people had the say and the riches of the country would to benefit them, instead of the tiny elite. Laya,s for this that mel ze large pt for th, that h was oted and must add wh verylose helof the u. Govementbert contie to wor for that change for troop participatory democracy that empowered women, empowered lgbtq individuals, that empowered those who have always been left on the margins excluded from political processes and from economic benefits and it was for that reason in part that she was assassinated by the government. Amy in 2013 with the backing of the transnational corporations that she the group ran that were opposing. Amy in 2013, Berta Caceres spoke to democracy now the population today, those who have been in ristancere challenging the represse apparatus. But now these peop are vong enthiastical for the libre party that we hope wi be distinct from other politic partie this snario islaying o in ,lof the rions in honduras women, feminists, artists, indigenous communities. We although how these people of in hdhit, especially the journalist, lgbt communities, indigenous communities. Here there is a policy of the state to instillerror and political persecution to punish the hundred people some people do not opt for the other ways in the for changes to the political, Economic Situation and the militarization. Amy that was Berta Caceres and 2013 an. Silvio carrillo, you covered for al jazeera, the coup in 2009 in honduras. Talk about what happened then, the also the democratically elected leader zelaya, the president , how that has set the tone for what is happening, the murders that are taking place today in honduras. Is set a precedent for chaos that the u. S. Was apparently, very willing to accept. They did not like zelaya. They thought he was too allied with chavez. And did not overly support the coup, but did not denounce it, either. Barack obama was asked about it in the white house and he says, legal. P is not of course it is not legal. No coup is legal. By definition, that is what a coup is, illegal. And they did nothing to help the situation in honduras. Clinton the state Department Spokesperson is not even know what to say. It was an embarrassment. They were it not even called out on it. It was a shameful, shameful exhibition. By the u. S. And in honduras on the ground, it was complete chaos when zelaya tried to fly back in, i was there when the military sought a boy in the head. They kill temples that i followed the family back to their hometown where they buried him and mourned the loss. There was no justice for the boy. They never figured out who shot him. It was quite clear it was a military gun that fired the bullet that went into his head. The autopsy for the boy was conducted by the government officials, and no one was there to oversee that. Autopsy lasttas night, there was a request from the family to have an independent forensic expert there, and they denied it. You know, it is just a culture where these things happen and must sadly, that is what it is going to continue to be. Juan beverly bell, really have a minute or so group of gunmen supposedly that brokerage or her home and kilter an initial killed her an initial reports from the please it was probably robbery. Your sense of whether this was a targeted assassination occurring here . This was a targeted assassination. Berta caceres received so many death threats, it would be impossible to count them. She lived under constant her nepw, as ar said, well knew e was gog to be assassinated i begawriting r eulogy months ago. Two is absolutely assassinated. I would like to say the single continues h cme to be held by the government. I just spoke to his wife a few moments ago and they have your released them. They say for questioning, now, more than hours ler. Th is a trendous ccern that this man be allowed to leave and go back home safely to mexico. Amy you mention the coup. At the time, Hillary Clinton was the secretary of state and was very involved in what was happening in honduras. Know, i dont know what she was involved in, she was involved lanny davis was also involved in getting payments from the honduran government and his closely allied to Hillary Clinton. This is does this is why was never called an outright push for them to say was a coup. They backed off of that. They did not know what to do. It was a very confusing situation for them, but i think it is pretty clear now in hindsight what they should have done. Amy i want to thank you both for being with us, silvio andillo, the nephew of beverly bell the close friend captioning sponsored by annenberg cpb narrator since 1980, latin america has been one of the most rapidly urbanizing regions on earth. Nowhere are the results more dramatic than in sao paulo, brazil, the Third Largest city in the world. In this anatomy of a megacity, well explore the urban geography of immigration and Ethnic Diversity, squatter settlements and selfconstruction. Sao paulo, brazil. With its crowded boulevards and massive skyscrapers, it seems as wealthy and sophisticated as any city in the world. Sao paulo is unique among latin american cities. In the early part of the 20th century, when places like Rio De Janeiro copied traditional european styles of construction, sao paulo was following a distinctly american model of urbanism. Imitating the forms of chicago and new york, sao paulo built upward, growing vertically very quickly. But in a huge ring around the central city lies a very different urban environment. Here, stretching for miles, is a city of selfbuilt structures in various stages of completion. They line hillsides and rocky streets where some of sao paulos newest immigrants struggle to build homes from brick and cemen where some of sao paulos alaide and her family came to sao paulo from northeastern brazil. alaide speaking portuguese translator from there my father came first to work. Thene came. I worked as a maid, my mother was a seamstress. Narrator alaide married jose franquelino, a northeastern migrant like herself. They couldnt afford even the cheapest rents in the city, so they decided to build a home on unclaimed land on the outskirts of sao paulo. They began building this house 11 years ago, when their first daughter was born. alaide speaking portuguese translator when she was eight months old, we moved to this house. First we made three rooms. Then we rented them out to help things a bit. We then built four rooms on top, and thats where we are now. We will continue to build on top. Narrator they will continue to build. But its not clear if poor migrants like alaide and jose will ever be part of the wealthy city that seems so far away. Tokyo in east asia, along with los angeles in the u. S. And mexico city, are defined by geographers as megacities for their enormous size. The country of brazil, the megacity of sao paulo has joined the ranks of these worldfamous metropolises, with a population of 18 Million People at the start of the 21st century. Sao paulo is a city of immigrants, who built it neighborhood by neighborhood. The first immigrants to arrive were portuguese explorers and jesuit missionaries, who settled here in 1554 and brght with them brazils language aeligion. Bureal growth did not begin until the 19th century. Between 1880 and the 1950s, more than five million italians came to sao paulo, attracted by jobs in a booming coffee industry. Along with these Agricultural Workers came Small Business owners and craftsmen who established an italian enclave called bixiga on the oat the time,the city. It was one of the poorest neighborhoods in sao paulo. Geographer francisco scarlato studies immigration patterns, assimilation and the expansion of sao paulo. For him, this is not only academic. Translator my paternal grandfather came at the beginning of the century. He was an artisan and he set himself up in furniture factory. Narrator the factory is still in the family today, bigger and more successful than ever. Bixiga, too, has both flourished and remained an italian enclave. As sao paulo grew around it, the neighborhood became an important part of the citys mainstream. But the italians did not have bixiga to themselves for long. drummi sambaea after slavery was abolished in brazil in 1888, freed slaves moved into the city. They were attracted to bixiga by its inexpensive housing. Their afrobrazilian legacy is still evident today in vaivai, the neighborhood samba school. speaking portuguese translator the for the black culture,ool. The school is part of the neighborhood community. It represents the neighborhood, the black community. The neighborhood is not only italian; it has blacks, africans, and vaivai is an expression of that. sambastyle drumming speaking portuguese translator the city absorbed the different waves of immigrants, but each group had trouble integrating into the city, because it was so diverse. So each group created its own little world. You cant say the city has one identity today; each group built its own identity. wild cheering narrator although they began arriving in 1908, japanese immigration to brazil accelerated following world war ii. The devastation suffered by japan sent a wave of immigrants looking for new opportunities outside their country. Sao paulo was a popular destination. The japanese settled in a neighborhood called liberdade. Today, sao paulo boasts the largest population of japanese people and their descendants outside of japan. But do people here consider themselves to be brazilian or japanese . Translator i feel more brazilian than japanese. Eu tambem. Translator me, too. Interviewer por que . Translator because i was born here, live here. Ive never been to japan. Translator more japanese, but also brazilian, because my children and grandchildren are all brazilian. But when japan and brazil play against each other, i cheer for the japanese my children, for brazil. speaking portuguese, laughing spkingortuguese translator i was born in japan, but now ive been in brazil for many years. Im now brazilian. Narrator by 1960, when this wave of immigration had slowed, the city, bulging at its seams, boasted 13 million residents. And then yet another group of immigrants began to pour in. children shouting this group came from brazils poor northeastern states. Between 1955 and 1980, more than five million arrived, attracted by the promise of work and a better life. But an already crowded city could not absorb them. So they began to build their own homes and neighborhoods, brick by brick, on the periphery. This socalled selfconstruction caused the city to spread even farther. scarlato speaking portuguese translator the gigantic size of sao paulo, in a horizontal sense, is a result of selfconstruction. In a chaotic, disorganized way, without planning, it spontaneously extended the horizons of the periphery in all directions. Narrator today, sao paulo has swelled to encompass over 3,000 square miles, stretching more than 50 miles from end to end. Many of the new neighborhoods were built on steep, unstable land. Most were not recognized by the city and received few, if any, services. But some neighborhoods did progress. Jardim valkiria, or garden of the valkyries, was founded by squatters more than 30 years ago as a collection of cardboard shacks. Slowly, solid buildings appeared. Stores and churches opened, streets were paved and some utilities were installed. Bus routes connected the neighborhood to the city center. But without official recognition and nd ownership, these people remain squatters. So their Community Leaders are negotiating with the City Government for land titles and city services. speaking portuguese translator the first things we want here are day care, a Health Clinic and a school. These are the three things we need most urgently. Narrator if these newest migrants receive official recognition, they will be following a path behind generations before them, a path toward assimilation and integration. Translator i want to stay here, finish the house and continue. The kids will grow and study thats what i want. Narrator immigration to sao paulo has slowed again, but birth rates continue to increase the population. speaking portuguese translator so after the 1980s and especially in the 1990s, we get a slowing down of internal migration, and the growth of the city is a result of vegetative growth, that is, the natural growth of the population that inhabits the city, which, in either case, has decreased. Narrator with a projected population exceeding 20 million by 2015, sao paulo will continue to be one of the worlds megacities. The urban geography of immigration and Ethnic Diversity reveal a complex pattern of squatter settlements and selfconstruction. With luck and hard work, the newest residents will get their chance to share in the wealth and sophistication that is sao paulo. Narrator in equatorial regions around the world, large tropical rain forests are quickly vanishing. None is larger than south americas amazon. For centuries, it seemed boundless, inexhaustible no more. 16 of brazils rain forest has already vanished. In 2002, over 10,000 squareiles of rain forest weesoyed thaabout 16 of brazils rain forest halfilbeone dades. Is rate. Atngheevelopment and w might it chang here we examine several themes, including Tropical Forest ecology; human environmental interaction; all to eherospts of sustainable development. Infrastructure and transportation costs; the for its richnessst and its diversity of life. D the forest ecosystem is a delicate balance of plants and animals, soil and water. Like geography, ecology is an integrative science, bringing together many problems into one view. Ecologist Daniel Nepstad is researching the effec of worsening droughts in the amazon. Whether hes gathering data in the forest canopy or mapping it on a computer, a spatial perspective is essential to undstandi the future. To understd the future of the amazon, we really have to go back in time and think about the first people who arrived in the amazon, who came up the rivers and even these presented obstacles. If youo north on many of these tributaries orouth you into waterfalls and rapids thatrevent boa om navigating. Narrator much of the river traffic begins in the city of belem, which is located near. When european settlers arrived in amazonia in the 16th century and built cities like belem, the rain forest was seen as a rich, but impenetrable resource. Until the 1970s, belem was accessible to the rest of brazil only by water. Then came a wave of road building. So far, the Major Investments in infrastructure eeconcentrated along the eastern end of the basin and along the south. With roadsou have cheaper access to the forest, and with cheaper access, a lot of Economic Activities become profitable. Narrator two of the biggest activities are cattle ranching and farming. chain saw buzzing but the one that clears the land for Everything Else is logging. wood splintering so whole new towns sprang up here, towns like paragominas, located in para state. This is a boomtown, home to more than 80 sawmills. This is brazils frontier, a land of opportunity nortamericas ontier of 100 years ago. On the map, each round saw blade represents diffused mostly along the roads in the south and east. But many of the most important new roads into the interior are still dirt and not paved. Paving greatly accelerates the change. Nepstad and what were going to do is just look a little bit into the future, imagining that these roads, which are still dirt roads, are all paved, as is slated by the federal government of brazil. Narrator in this simulation, the growing red area represents new deforestation every two years up to the year 2020. So as these roads are paved, deforestation is basically going to march up along those roads. Instead of all the deforestation being concentrated along the east and south, weve made inroads into the core of the basin. Narrator at the southern edge of that core, a new Economic Force is pushing the pavement north. From space, we see fields of soybeans etched in the shrinking forest. Brazil is about to overtake the u. S. As the worlds leading producer of soy, exporting their crop to millions of chinese consumers and european livestock growers. The soy farmers of mato grosso are very keen on having asphalt so that they can ship their soybeans to the santarem port and put it on oceangoing freighters and serve the World Markets that way. Its much cheaper that way than to go south to the big brazilian ports down south. As that pavement goes through, the ancillary effect of paving, of course, will be to make it cheaper for everyone to do business along that corridor. But lets just imagine for a second two different trajectories for this road. Here we see the portion thats not yet been paved santarem up here, mato grosso down here. In a businessasusual situation, as paving goes in here, people will move in along the highways, driven largely by land speculation interests, putting cattle pastures, shifting cultivation. And we can see the deforestation frontier rapidly expanding along this road. But there is reason to think that another scenario is possible. Narrator the lower rates of deforestation are based onheovernmen effectively rcing the environmental laws on the books. Brazil has received some help from some new technology and from other ecologists, including chris uhl. Uhl is the founder of imazon, a Research Institute located in the city of belem. The law in para state says that 50 of all private land must be maintained in forest. Until recently, that was very hard to monitor. Now, using a system of satellites called the global positioning, researcher carlos sousa cado just that. Man okay, gps is really powerful tool fors. What it allows us to do is to pick up signals from the satellites. And through a process of triangulation we can locate ourselves very precisely on the ground and through a process to within about ten meters. Four. Theyve got four satellites now. We are. Probably. In this. Area. Mmhmm. Narrator if the government chooses, it can use gps to locate property lines on satellite photographs of the landscape. They can then determine how much of a farmers land has been cleared but enforcement is spotty. Rest. Another big problem is the inefficient way the cleared land is being used. The most common farming and grazing method here requires the farmer to cut the forest and let it dry. Llit capre thousands of fires from space, set by farmers during the dry season to release the nutrients from the vegetation. But the soils productivity disappears, sometimes in one or two years. It forces settlers to abandon their land and cut more forest elsewhere. Because this requires more land all the time, it is a form of extensive agriculture. Its called shifting, swidden or slashandburn cultivation. Its practiced in many developing coues until the forest runs out. This land was abandoned by shifting cultivators a few years earlier. The sight of new trees led chris uhl to a surprising and controversial revelation. Uhl when i first started working down here, i really thought that these lands were extremely fragile. And yet, if you look over here, this is a site that was used for a pasture for about ten years. It wasnt a ve sssfu sture, it was abandoned. I would have guessed that this piece of land would have stayed sort of as a degraded old field, and yet its clearly going back into forest. This is really a surprise for me. I ditgineat theort uld co back. Soallyd me my who vw of the fragiliofhe ss to retnk and as i began to think, it occurd to me that gee, yoknow, maybe ese systemarnot as fragile as i had expected and, in fact, that might imply th perhaps thecould used. So it began really a whole noth line ofesearch. Narror uhls Research Helps him and his colleagues to devise Development Guidelines for ranchers, farmers and foresters. For example, if loggers would cut trees more selectively and plan their logging roads less destructively, trees would regrow more quickly in areas wherehey have worked. Satellite images show why that is so important. Here is an area where loggers worked the oldfashioned way. When they cut, many surrounding trees were entangled in the same vines and came down as well. Bulldozers damaged large areas trying to remove and store the trees. But in this area, vines were cut from selected trees the year before. Narrow access roads allowed rubberwheeled skidders to remove just the desired trees with much less damage. Uhl now, if we look into the following year, the forest scar, the logging scar here has disappeared. Up here, we can still see some of that scar. Openings up here are so big that one year later, they still havent been covered by regrowing vines and regrowing forest vegetation. Here they have. Narrator the method allows the logger sustainable harvests over many decades, and it helps everyone in the amazon avoid a growing problem. The reduced canopy from the indiscriminate harvest allows the sun to dry the forest floor, just adding to the fire hazard. Fire and smoke plus reduced vegetation actually change the microclimate, decreasing the rainfall and further increasing fires. Its a vicious cycle that is broken by careful tree harvests. As chris uhl learned, the trees grow back if you give them a chance. But his discovery led to an even bigger thought if ranchers and farmers could use their land more efficiently and for longer periods of time, perhaps they could avoid cutting new forest in the first place. Perhaps both developmental and Environmental Needs could be accommodated. It has to do with the difference between extensive and intensive agriculture. What were thinking about as a viable alternative is an approachwhicis m, and by innsive we mean that a giv pof land wi produ and by innsive we mean it wl ode, uita ivl dunstaear afteyear now, the real chalngin this, of course, is t ts innsive approach sustainable. Narrator already, there are some successful models. Near belem, small farms have been practicing intensive agriculture for decades. By mixing a variety of crops and by using locally produced organic and mineral fertilizers, they can continue to farm the same piece of land and by grovae ops, an increase their income nepstad these systems include trees or other perennial crops, fruit crops, black pepper, cacao which is chocolate. Even cattle ranching can be made to be more or less sustainable. Narrator intensification means experimenting with new breeds of cattle and grasses, and it mean allowing some pastures to recover while cattle graze in others. speaking portuguese translator because grazing was degrading my fields, the farm didnt have a means to produce new grass. continuing in portuguese so, i decided to research what id seen done in other places and i intensified my planting. Of course, there was an initial cost, but the return has been good, and its paying for itself. Narrator these practices work well on a small scale in the eastern amazon, but can they be used throughout amazonia . This remains to be seen. The first results of this research showed that we have around 50 to 60 of the state appropriate for logging. And when we put together. Narrator imazon has determined that, overall, about 20 of para states land area could potentially be developed. With the use of regional maps, imazon is helping to plan a future that is acceptable to both environmentalists and developers. In doing so, they walk a thin line. That are not appropriate for logging. I guess id characterize my approach as a pragmatic approach, u approach whh certainly values tremendously the wondernd diversity athe fort represents. Oach, u t prmac in these approach whh certainly values tremendously i rlize that this landscape is inhated, will continue to be inhabited. And the goal is to come up with a win win situation in the sense that conservation of the forest occurs, that biodiversity is preserved, and also that people that live in this landscape have a high and just quality of life. Narrator this balancing act must take place in an environment that is more resilient than scientists once thought. At the s the pressurenetad he forest are mothey incdeging. Ever. They include further drying provoked by deforestation, by el nino, by Global Warming. They include extensive agriculture, which provides abundant sources of ignition for forests that are rendered flammable by drought or by logging. And all of those are coming together in an expanding frontier thats going to move up along the roads that are being paved into the heart of the Worlds Largest rain forest. Captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org hasyou look healthyd, you and you feel fine, health . But that may not be the full picture. Colorectal cancer is the number two cancer killer. It doesnt always cause symptoms, but it can be prevented. Get screened. Make sure you are the picture of health