for support of the transpacific partnership. or did she? issue for it or against it yucca we will speak with public citizens lori wallach and economist jeffrey sachs. just before the yuan is set to issue its report on the 20 14th israeli assault on gaza, israel issues its own report come defending the attack as "lawful and legitimate." >> whoever wants to know the truth, let them read this report. let them also be the report of the senior generals. whoever wants to continue with tasteless, automatic laming of the state of israel, let them waste time by reading the commission report. amy: and the magna carta turns 800. we'll go to lincoln castle in england, where the original document is housed. we'll speak with people's historian peter linebaugh, who will speak at the festivities there today. he's the author of, "the magna carta manifesto: liberty and subsistence for all." >> honored to be able to share with you on this 800th anniversary, our views and our thoughts and our experience, especially from the last year since the black lives matter and how the magna carta and the charter reports in the emancipation proclamation mean so much to us. amy: all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now! democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. u.s. airstrikes in libya have targeted an algerian man accused of orchestrating the deadly seizure of an algerian gas plant, which left 38 foreign hostages dead in 2013. the libyan government said u.s. airstrikes killed mokhtar belmokhtar and an unspecified number of other militants. but belmokhtar has been reported killed in the past and u.s. officials say they are awaiting forensic confirmation. a u.n.-backed talks aimed at resolving the crisis in yemen have opened in geneva. representatives for shiite houthi rebels, who claimed the provincial capital of hazm in yemen over the weekend, have not yet arrived for the talks, after reportedly declining to board on schedule. the pentagon is set to store heavy weaponry including tanks in eastern europe for the first time since the end of the cold war. "the new york times" reports the plan would see enough weaponry for as many as 5000 soldiers stored across several countries, from estonia to bulgaria and poland. it's seen as a deterrent to potential russian aggression amid the conflict in ukraine. the plan still requires approval from the white house and defense secretary ashton carter. in a major blow to president obama's trade agenda, house democrats have derailed attempts to speed through approval of the secretive trans-pacific partnership free trade deal. protesters from across the political spectrum have raised concerns it would undermine health and environmental regulations and hurt u.s. workers. on friday, democrats rejected a measure to give financial aid to displaced workers in a strategic move to block another bill giving obama fast-track authority to ram the tpp through congress on a yes-or-no vote. house minority leader nancy pelosi sided with fellow democrats who opposed fast track. >> for these and other reasons i will be voting today to slow down the fast-track to get a better deal for the american people. bigger paychecks, better infrastructure, help the american people fulfill the american dream. democratic presidential candidate hillary clinton broke her relative silence over the tpp this weekend, urging president obama to listen to democratic critics, including minority leader nancy pelosi. >> in order to get a deal that meets these high standards, the president should listen to and work with his allies in congress starting with nancy pelosi who have expressed their concerns about the impact that a week agreement would have on our workers to make sure we get the best, strongest job possible. and if we don't get it, there should be no deal. amy: clinton's remarks came after she failed to address the tpp in her first major address kicking off her presidential campaign. we will have more on hillary clinton's speech and her stance on the tpp after headlines. the israeli government has issued a report concluding its actions during the military assault on gaza last year were lawful and legitimate. the report comes ahead of the imminent publication of a united nations investigation into possible war crimes during the conflict, which killed more than 2200 palestinians, almost all of them civilians. the military also closed its probe into the killings of four palestinians on a gaza beach. the father of one of the children mohamed bakr, condemned , the move. >> israel decides for itself what is true and not true. our children are the same as other children around the world. like children in britain france, germany, and america. all of the free nations are supporting us. we had the right. our children were playing at the beach. what have they done to be killed in cold blood? amy: israeli army jeep has struck and killed a palestinian in the occupied west bank. the military said the jeep accidentally hit the man after he threw a petrol bomb at it but witnesses said the man was walking to work when the jeep ran him down. meanwhile, israel has approved a bill to allow the force-feeding of palestinian prisoners on hunger strike. we'll have more on israel later in the broadcast. sudanese president haslett south africa despite attempts to keep him there as he faces an international arrest warrant for alleged war crimes and are for. his departure to find a court order to remain in south africa as international criminal court weeks to try him for crimes including genocide. in hong kong, thousands of pro-democracy protesters have returned to the streets to demand free election. sunday's protest came three days before a vote by lawmakers on a reform package backed by the central government in beijing. it would let hong kong residents choose their city leader from restrict their options to candidates approved by a beijing-friendly panel. in japan, thousands of people rallied to protest japan's participation in the tpp, and to condemn prime minister shinzo abe's push to expand japan's military role. despite japan's pacifist constitution, enacted after world war ii, abe is backing legislation to let japanese troops fight overseas. his approval ratings have dropped to their lowest level since he took office. a federal appeals court has ordered former black panther albert woodfox, the longest-serving prisoner in solitary confinement to remain behind bars while louisiana officials appeal a judge's order for his immediate release. woodfox has spent 43 years in solitary confinement for the murder of a prison guard, a crime for which he and his late, fellow angola 3 member herman wallace say they were framed for their political activism. woodfox's two previous convictions for the crime have both been overturned, but louisiana officials are now seeking a third trial. on friday, the fifth circuit court of appeals extended a stay on the judge's order for his release, meaning it could be weeks or months until woodfox is potentially released. his attorney carine williams expressed her disappointment. >> we are deeply disappointed that after 40 years of incarceration under the harshest conditions possible, mr. woodfox will not be released today. the district court decision, we believe, is the correct one. it is sound, well reasoned, relies on clearly established law. the facts of this case are extraordinary. at this stage, the only outcome that could serve the interest of law and justice would be mr. woodfox's immediate release will stop amy: six yemeni prisoners have been transferred from guantanamo to oman, marking the first release from the prison in five months. the six men have been held without trial for more than 13 years. one of the prisoners, emad abdullah hassan, has staged hunger strikes since 2007 over his imprisonment without charge. despite obama's 2009 vow to close guantanamo within a year 116 prisoners now remain. the largest professors' group in the united states has censured the university of illinois at urbana-champaign over its ouster of professor steven salaita. the university withdrew a job offer to salaita last year after he posted tweets harshly critical of the israeli assault on gaza. on saturday, the american association of university professors voted overwhelmingly to censure the university, a -- saying it has not " has not adhered to generally recognized principles of academic freedom and tenure." in spain, leftist women have been sworn in as mayors in the country's two largest cities. ada colau, a former anti-evictions activist who has been arrested for protesting banks, has become the first woman mayor of barcelona. in the capital madrid, manuela carmena, a retired judge and former member of spain's underground communist party, has become the city's second woman mayor. both women have vowed to oversee sweeping reforms, including slashing their own salaries and stopping evictions. to see our interview with ada colau, go to democracynow.org. los angeles has become the largest city in the country to enact a $15-an-hour minimum wage. the measure signed by mayor eric garcetti requires employers with 26 or more workers to pay at least $10.50 an hour beginning next july, then raises the wage each year until it hits $15 in 2020. in dallas, texas, police shot and killed a man they say planted pipe bombs outside police headquarters and opened fire on officers. james boulware reportedly had a history of domestic violence and blamed police for taking away custody of his child. the head of the naacp chapter and spoken, washington has continued to insist she is black, despite reports by her parents she actually white and is been faking an african-american identity for years. after rachel dolezal's actions sparked an outcry, she told the news she considers her self black. >> would you identify yourself as an african-american? >> i don't like the term african-american, i prefer black. i would say, you know, if i was asked, i would definitely say yes, i do consider myself to be black. amy: the chapter has postponed the meeting scheduled for tonight were rachel dolezal was due to address the controversy. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now! democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. former secretary of state, senator and first lady, hillary clinton has kicked off her white house bid to become the first woman u.s. president. in a major address on new york's roosevelt island on saturday clinton highlighted her support for gay marriage, women's rights, income equality, clean energy and regulating wall street. she also vowed to fight for a fairer economy for ordinary americans. >> prosperity can't be just for ceos and hedge fund managers. democracy can't be just for billionaires and corporations. prosperity and democracy are part of your basic bargain, too. you brought our country back. now it is time, your time, to secure the gains and move ahead. you know what? america can't succeed unless you succeed. [applause] that is why i am running for president of the united states. amy: on saturday, hillary clinton did not broach the one issue that has split the democratic party from its leadership, the issue of trade and more specifically, the trans-pacific partnership deal. the secretive tpp deal involves 12 countries and nearly 40% of the global economy. clinton's silence on the issue had garnered strong criticism from some members of her party and rivals seeking the nomination, including senator bernie sanders of vermont. on sunday, clinton finally broke her silence and expressed sympathy for critics of the tpp, saying their concerns about free trade are valid. >> in order to get a deal that meets these high standards, the president should listen to and work with his allies in congress starting with nancy pelosi, who have expressed their concern about the impact that a weak agreement would have on our workers, to make sure we get the best, stronger still possible. and if we don't get it, there should be no deal. amy: clinton's statement on the tpp marks her most significant break with obama since her presidential campaign began. her comments come just days after the u.s. house of representatives delivered a major blow to the tpp. on friday, house democrats overwhelmingly rejected the first in a series of trade bills , despite president obama making a personal plea for his own party's support ahead of the vote. for more, we go now to washington, d.c. where we're joined by lori wallach, director of public citizen's global trade watch and author of, "the rise and fall of fast track trade authority." and we're also joined by jeffrey sachs via democracy now! video stream. he's a leading economist, the director of the earth institute at columbia university, and author of many books, including most recently, "the age of sustainable development." we welcome you both to democracy now! lori wallach, can you talk about what happened on friday with the democrats splitting from president obama, including specifically, nancy pelosi? in an address hillary clinton's comments on the issue of tpp. issue for it or against it? >> first on friday, what happened requires a little bit of information about how we got there. fast track, the transpacific partnership, but fast-track in general has been very unpopular. so to get it through the senate, to get a few democrats to support it required also combining the same piece of legislation a program called trade adjustment assistance which provides benefits for the workers who lose their jobs to the trade agreements the fast-track would enable. though senate democrats required to be part of the package as well as other guarantees. that built them what to the house. it in the house, fast-track is enormously a popular as well and republican leadership, knowing that would get very few democrats to support it, had to maximize republican votes. the republicans do not like tia. number one and provides a body count of all of the workers hurt by bad trade policies, but they also see it as welfare for unions, because it gives it the training benefits, etc. they decided to do an incredible procedural gimmick, that is literally called the self-executing rule, and divide the question. they temporarily broke the trade package passed by the senate and sent over to the house into three pieces. one piece was a $700 million medicare had. that was when a funny taa. and then another was fast-track. in order to pass the bill that was into the house and senate to the president to be signed, all of the pieces had to be passed and in that rule automatically put them all back together. the idea was, was a way to let the republicans of her fast-track but against taa. there was just one complication. the democrats decided not to play by the republicans roles. if you think about it, why would the democrats who passionately, most of them oppose fast-track for the tpp vote for the taa portion that makes it possible to sin the fast-track that they hated the president to create fast-track for tpp? it is said that taa had to be voted down as the way to do that. it is a program that would provide may be 70,000, 80,000 workers a year, some kind of benefits, for those who have lost their jobs to past agreements, but the price of doing that would have been enacting a tpp that will cost hundreds of thousands of jobs and pushed out all of our wages, plus and a fast-track to the next six years for whoever is president to do few knows what other job killing trade to congress? the way the stature this works is, because the taa title of the bill did not work, the self-executing rule could not put everything back together and so the entire proposition failed , as we all fall in the newspaper, and fast-track is not passed. -- as we all saw in the newspaper, a fast-track is not passed. amy: i want to turn back to comments made on the transpacific partnership speaking sunday in des moines, iowa, she laid out what she believes needs to be done in order to reach a trade deal. >> first, let me start by saying, no president would be a tougher negotiator on behalf of american workers either with our trading partners or republicans on capitol hill then i would be. -- then i would be. in my time, eight years in the senate, i voted for some trade agreements and i voted against others. i think i have a pretty good idea of what we can do to meet the test i believe any trade agreement, especially tpp mama must meet. it needs to, number one, protect american workers. number two, it needs to raise wages and create good jobs at home. number three, it needs to be in our national security interest. i have been saying that for months. amy: that is hillary clinton speaking on sunday in des moines. we're joined by economist jeffrey sachs as well. can you explain, although she says it has to include all of these things and she has to read it, are people actually able to read the deal that is been proposed, jeffrey sachs? and doesn't satisfy you what hillary clinton has said considering your anti-tpp position? >> well, you can read parts of it on wikileaks, but you can't read the real current documents, except if wikileaks gets its hands on them. this is extraordinaire lace secretive. for that reason alone, in my view, the trade promotion should have been defeated as it has at least provisionally been. why are we agreeing to fast-track something that the american people have not seen and debated? and when president obama said it is not true, it's not secret, he is not really leveling because he says, well, dammartin people will get to review it. that is only after it is complete and subject only to an up or down vote fast-track were to prevail. the secrecy is re-worrisome because we know the lobbyists have sworn all over these negotiations. this is basically about corporate prerogatives and investor privileges. and it includes many many worrisome factors such as intellectual property boost for pharmaceutical industries and notorious provision called the investor state dispute settlement act which really good way against governments turning other proper regulatory functions. and republicans snuck in the last moment of provision that said nothing about feynman change can be part of this trade agreement. so there are many many traps snares landmines in this secretive agreement in any event, and it should not go to fast-track until the american people first have seen it and debated it because there is lots to worry about. now, hillary's statements yesterday, fine, the real heroes of this are sander levin, nancy pelosi -- who showed great leadership on friday -- and elizabeth warren. they have been carrying this torch without much help from anybody else among the national leaders, including hillary up until yesterday. but i'm glad she stated what she did yesterday because it is a help. we are not out of the woods yet because there still is another boat coming -- vote coming. a lot of arm twisting. we have to hope the democrats hold their position because they got it right. amy: lori wallach if you hillary clinton had come out yesterday and said, i am opposed to the tpp. would it have killed it? what does it mean, her raising concerns with looking at her record? was she deeply involved with the tpp and trade deals like this as secretary of state? >> well, i think having a candidate say something that is help all to the current debate that cast suspicions on what is going on is good. there brought more attention to it. i think for her and for any candidate who is running for president who says those kind of slightly amorphous things, that is where we get back to the fast-track and what was said about the next stage going forward in congress. let's just say citizen or clinton is elected as president, and then the question under what authority should be up to make trade agreements, tpp or otherwise, and so going back to what is going on in congress, the most important thing everyone can do to start with is to thank every member of the house of representatives who did the right thing. jeff is right. the white house, the big corporate coalition, the gop caucus -- they are coming back, the leadership, for another round this week of trying to revive the vote they lost. and the leader of this fight has been congressman rosa delauro. she has done an amazing job. a lot of members of congress are really opposed to fast-track. they were disgusted by the taa put in front of them. it was underfunded, cut out lots of categories for workers. it was accompanied by a cut in medicare dialysis funding. all around, i think our main piece of business is to thank those members of congress who voted to vote no on tpa but critically those who voted on taa deserve ourthanks. and when this vote continues, we need them to do the right thing is save us from fast tracking the tpp. it is a lot of pressure. the white house spent the whole weekend browbeating democrat and trying to get them to flip their votes on taa. if the taa part of the bill is passed, that was in the fast-track package to the president's desk. the revote will be on taa first and then who knows what the republican leadership will come up with next, so stay tuned. amy: jeffrey sachs overall hillary clinton's rollout speech on roosevelt island on saturday and then in des moines iowa on sunday, can you talk about the approach she has taken? you have written about and talked about the clinton foundation. she is clearly affected by her running mate bernie sanders adopting a lot of the language -- rather, her competitor, her opponent for the democratic presidential nomination. clearly, it has made a difference. can you talk about where her support comes from and what she said, for example, about hedge funds, the top -- what was it, the top five hedge fund investors have more money than all the kindergarten teachers throughout this united states and actually pay less taxes? >> first, i want to thank lori for reminding us a great leadership of commerce woman rosa delauro, which was absolutely spectacular. shame on me for not mentioning her among the top congressional leaders. you know, the democratic party sold at least part of his soul or part of the party's sole back in 1992 when president clinton trying to related and brought wall street into the fold. and that has been a part of the party the clintons have an associated with for a very long time, dealing with the big bankers on wall street, a campaign financiers, a lot of triangulation -- of course, they have promoted these trade agreements for years. they have been triangulating, but she has two strong progressive opponents, bernie sanders and martin o'malley. they're both running against tpa strongly, calling for a new approach of the democratic party. clearly, that message is reaching hillary. i am glad with what she said yesterday. it is a much better policy message. they given the past history, it is not where she and president clinton brought the democratic party over the past generation so it remains to be seen what this really means. it is a very good sign, though about what it is when it take to win the democratic primary. amy: i want to thank you both for being with us, jeffrey sachs, speaking to us through international trips, thank you for joining us, leading a cedric of the earth institute at columbia university. among his books "the age of , sustainable development." and lori wallach director of , public citizen's global trade watch and author of, "the rise and fall of fast track trade authority." this is democracy now! it is the 800th birthday of the magna carta. in our last segment, we will go to where the magna carta's house. we will speak with historian peter linebaugh. stay with us. ♪ [music break] amy: "tpp = corporate power tool of the 1%," a remix of the classic "abc" by the jackson five, produced by public citizen. this is democracy now! democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the israeli government has concluded that its military actions in the 2014 war in gaza were "lawful" and "legitimate." the report was released sunday, just ahead of an imminent united nations investigation into the 50-day conflict. israel has refused to cooperate with the united nations human rights council's inquiry, which prime minister benjamin netanyahu has dismissed as biased. >> whoever wants to know the truth, let them read this report. let them also read the report by the senior generals. whoever wants to continue with baseless, automatic blaming of the state of israel, let them waste time reading the report by the yuan commission. amy: more than 2200 palestinians were killed in the 2014 assault, the vast majority civilians. on israel's side, 73 people were killed, all but six of them soldiers. during the 50-day operation, more than 20,000 palestinian homes were destroyed, and hundreds of thousands of people are still displaced. in the report, israel says it made substantial efforts to avoid civilian deaths, saying that hamas was to blame for the high number of civilian casualties. the report accuses hamas militants of disguising themselves as civilians and of converting civilian buildings into military centers. in gaza, hamas dismissed the israeli report. this is spokesperson sami abu zuhri. >> these really report by which the occupation trust a clear south of committing war crimes in the gaza strip is an attempt to control the international public opinion to preempt a report of the international council of human rights regarding the committing of war crimes in the gaza strip. israel report has no value because the israeli war crimes are obvious. they were committed in front of a live and direct broadcast. amy: to talk more about the significance of the israeli government report, we talk to two guests. on the telephone from tel aviv we're joined by gideon levy ha'aretz columnist and a member of the newspaper's editorial board. his latest article is headlined, "israel washed itself clean of gaza's dead beach children." he is also the author of, "the punishment of gaza." and in washington, d.c., yousef munayyer is the executive director of the u.s. campaign to end the israeli occupation. he is the former executive director of the jerusalem fund. welcome both of you to democracy now! yousef munayyer let's begin with you. your reaction to this report -- that's place it in context. israel has investigated itself with this report. it is just about -- it is expected to you and is about to release a report. >> you are right in that israel has investigated itself and this fits into a very familiar pattern that we've seen time and again, really going back to the early days of the israeli state after various massacres there are investigations which all must always result in israel declaring itself completely innocent or finding some miniscule charge to put on people that are then prosecuted and further have those charges mitigated, even after that much of the point where there is nobody held accountable for anything at all. this is a pr stunt, is what it is. i think it speaks volumes that that is the approach the israelis are taking, precisely because they know there is no way they can convince the world that what took place in gaza last year, wiping out 89 entire families killing 504 children that that is justifiable. they can't. certainly not, given the fact this was done through massive weapons of war against the state was population. that can't be done. the best they can hope to do is to obfuscate and confuse and a cloud people's perception of the issue by trying to issue a report that attempts to balance out or counteract a report that is done by an independent entity. if the israelis believe the only way they can get a report that supports the conclusions that they want and finds them innocent of all war crimes, is to orchestrate the report but himself or have a put together by their friends, i think that tells year thing you need to know about israel's conduct in the gaza strip. amy: gideon levy, your latest article is headlined "israel , washed itself clean of gaza's dead beach children." talk about what happened on that beach in gaza and what this report has to do with that. >> [indiscernible] four children shelled on the beach in front of international journalists, who were screaming "those are children!" no way these are the army with more sophisticated devices could not see they were children. and then [indiscernible] to make someone accountable. nobody [indiscernible] there were at least two bombs. in a nutshell, the whole story report is embarrassing. they underestimate the world. it is really almost shameful to suggest this kind of report when, [indiscernible] more than 500 children being clear, can blame all of the killing on hamas. amy: gideon levy, you are an israeli-jewish reporter. you're an editorial board of these really newspaper. -- he's really newspaper. how is the population taking this report? >> [indiscernible] no discussion, no debate, even. [indiscernible] amy: last week these really -- the israeli military announced it was closing its investigation into the killings of four palestinian children on a gaza beach last year. the four boys, all cousins aged 9 to 11, were killed while playing on the beach off a coastal road west of gaza city during the war last summer. i want to turn to comments made by mohamed bakr, the father of one of the boys who was killed. >> israel decides for itself what is true or not true. our children are the same as other children around the world. children of the bakr are the same as children around the world, like in britain, france germany, and america. all of the free nations are supporting us. we have the right and we will achieve history because we have the right. our children were plain at the beach. what are they done to be killed in cold blood? amy: that is mohamed bakr, the father of one of the boys who was killed. is israel participating and were cooperating with the u.n. investigation that should come out at any moment? and also, is the report coming out, is that aimed at all at the international criminal court with the body, country investigating itself? are they hoping to head off any kind of icc investigation? >> to answer your first question, no, they are not participating in the u.n. inquiry. they refuse to participate in the u.n. inquiry. that has been pretty much the standard of israeli policy over the last number of years were they have refused to even participate with the united nations inquiries because they simply believe it is not going to reflect the outcome they would like to see, so they refuse to speak to them altogether. we saw that after the last major war on gaza in 2008-2009 and other instances as well. obviously, what we're seeing here is an effort to try to mitigate the isolation of israel through a variety of different arenas, including the international criminal court. but also in other arenas in the international system and among civil society around the world as well. these release are increasingly -- the israels are increasingly isolated, fearing being isolated, and i think we are seeing in the government today and in the discourse today, a reflection of that. i think they're only going to move further to the right. it is going to be a more draconian government. we are seeing laws that are being initiated now to further silence dissent -- even among israeli ngos that raising a bit of criticism against the government. but i think this is the kind of pressure that absolutely has to happen before there is any change in israeli policy, but we have to realize it is one to get worse before it gets better because the people who are in power in israel are not going to relinquish the power for a more equitable, or just solution easily. they're going to continue to lie and deceive not just the international community, but also their own people, into believing they can sustain the system into the long-term. and with those boys on the beach, i think it is a perfect example of how monstrous this war was, even by the israel's military's own statement on the issue. they concede they were firing at figures, that they did not even identify. they could not even see what they were shooting at. in a space where the vast majority of people are civilians, where 50% of the population is children, and lo and behold this country, which brags in all corners of the world about its high-tech abilities, is unable to identify that these are children playing soccer on the beach and knowingly fires at what it cannot even identify, the end of the day, for chairman are dead on the beach along with 500 other kids at the end of that war. and the israelis want us to believe they did nothing wrong in this process. amy: and your response to the wrenching -- you in general --u.n. general ban ki-moon injuring children during conflicts, the decision to find me reclamation of the un's special envoy and following intense pressure from israel and the united states? gideon levy did that surprise you? >> it doesn't surprise me because as long as united states [indiscernible] automatically and blindly the u.n. and other instruments other international institutions -- [indiscernible] he knows somebody children were killed in gaza [indiscernible] shameful decision by the united states. amy: gideon levy is a ha'aretz , columnist and a member of the newspaper's editorial board. his latest piece is headlined "israel washed itself clean of gaza's dead beach children." he is also the author of, "the punishment of gaza." and thank you so much to yousef munayyer executive director of , the u.s. campaign to end the israeli occupation. he is the former executive director of the jerusalem fund. this is democracy now! democracynow.org. when we come back, we go to england where the 800th anniversary of the ceiling of the magna carta is underway. stay with us. ♪ [music break] amy: this is democracy now! democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we end today's show in england, where celebrations are underway marking the 800th anniversary of the magna carta, or great charter, considered by many to be the foundation of parliamentary democracy, human rights and the supremacy of the law over the crown. it was sealed june 15, 1215. thousands are gathering in the town of runnymede near windsor berkshire, to commemorate the text. dignitaries include the queen of england and prime minister david cameron. but we are going to lincoln castle where the finest originals of the magna carta and the charters of english liberty are kept in a lockstone vault. and we are joined there by democracy now! video stream, people's historian peter linebaugh. he will speak there today about the relevance of the magna carta to the black lives matter movement as well as guantánamo. he is the author of "the magna , carta manifesto: liberties and subsistence for all." describe where you are right now as you go into the significance of the magna carta. >> yes, i am in the bishop's palace, 50 feet from lincoln cathedral, adjacent to lincoln castle where the magna carta is. lincoln castle became a prison, and this, for me, is an opportunity to read for us and our listeners from magna carta. no freeman shall be seized or imprisoned were stripped of his rights were outlawed were exiled were deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him or send others to do so, except on the lawful judgment of his fears and the law of the land. amy, those are the words from which habeas corpus, prohibition of torture, trial by jury, and due process of law have stemmed from the last 800 years. amy: so describe the magna carta. some people might think it is 800 pages, not 800 years old. but it is a simple document. who wrote it? who was it presented to? >> it was an armistice, and it was about 20 inches by six inches. i just saw it recently. it is an armistice that concluded the civil war in england. bad king john had squeezed the people of the forest of england for their money in order to recover lands in france and in order to enhance his own coffers. in reaction to that, the barons of england resisted. it was basically a conflict within the english ruling class church and state. in fact, it was written in good part by stephen linton, the archbishop of canterbury. however, both the big charter and the little charter depend and recognize the 90% of the people of england who were serfs and poor people and forrester's and commoners. it took about 40 serfs to produce the food just for one horse of those barons and those nights. so while it was a document settling scores in the ruling class, that ruling class had to recognize the principle of the commons and had to recognize well, in fact, it abolished capital punishment for killing of deer in the forests of england, a great step forward. a prohibited the disparagement of women. it seventh chapter basically it meant she could have her fuel, could have tools, she could have repairs for her house from the forest. and remember, the forest and woods, that was the petroleum of that epoch. similar materials, so much wealth came exclusively from wood. so for a woman were a widow, particular, to have access to the commons meant survival. amy: relate it to the movements happenings -- and happenings today. for example, the over 100 men who are held at guantánamo, how habeas corpus relates to the magna carta, and then talk about the black lives matter movement. >> ok. habeas corpus was a sheriff's writ in adjustment, giveth the body. that is the latin. but a few hundred years ago english law began to see this writ as a principal deriving from that chapter, which i read you, that you can't -- the sovereignty cannot seize a person or imprisoned them were sent force against them except by judgment of their equals work, you know, trial by jury. this pertains to the people in guantanamo bay who have not had a charge. there is been no indictment, no criminal law has been violated. the state has not been forced to explain itself. certainly, they have not had a trial. so even the u.s. supreme court in one case referred to magna carta as being violated by this practice. as concerns black lives matter and the movement so far i think this your 400 624 people have been killed by the police, this is sending force against people without trial by jury, not in accordance with the law the land, and so when black lives matter began after last august after the killing of michael brown, many of us remembered that slavery itself came to an end thanks to frederick douglas references to magna carta. the magna carta has played a major role in american history and the freedom struggle -- in the freedom struggle led by former slaves and the african-american population. this is why black lives matter is so important, not only against the racist power structure and the forms of white supremacy that exist in so many ruling institutions, but it is also a recovery of this long tradition of struggling against sovereignty in the name of habeas corpus, trial by jury and prohibition of torture. i think amy, it is significant for another reason, which we have seen the guardian newspaper has -- is now crowdsourcing the police killings. in other words, the fbi and the federal government is incapable and has neglected to keep count of those whom authority has slaughtered war has killed. now, the guardian is showing us an english newspaper is taking the lead in providing us with this important information of state killings. amy: peter linebaugh, today the prime minister, the british prime minister david cameron spoke of the need to reform u.k. human rights, to safeguard the magna carta's legacy. the guardian reports his speech was seen as a sign of the government's commitment to break the link between the british courts and the european court of human rights. >> well, this is a subject many, many people and great britain are outraged. remember, david cameron is a very small minority of the popular vote in the recent election. he has committed to withdrawing from the european human rights. i haven't heard the speech myself so i can't comment in detail about it. but it seems to those of my colleagues here that this is a profound and unpopular retrogression. amy: amy: the new york times headline" today, scholars argue guiding principle or just a useful myth? under the photograph of the magna carta, says a photo of the version of magna carta and the national archives, some legal scholars believe the charter is no big deal. were you fall, peter linebaugh? >> the magna carta is not just the foundation of our liberties in restricting sovereignty, but it is also a place where if we read it carefully, we can see a principal for our future. and that principle is the principle of the commons, which you will find in the little charter, the charter of the forest. the common principle is that subsistence is available for all. the common principle is that of mutuality all." . the common principle is not a competition, but of cooperation. and this principle may also be found in the charters of english liberty. amy: you are sitting in a room right now, but i'm taking a risk because this is live television and radio, could you pick up the computer and show us what it looks like right outside? i think your window looks over lincoln palace where i was just speaking to you right before the broadcast. so here is peter. he is walking over to the window. and we are looking outside. and describe -- that is very good. lower it a little bit. describe what it is we see out there. >> well, you see a very well-to-do teegarden that would do for jane austen movie. then you see workers housing and you see some roofs of factories which at one time was a foundry and then beyond you see link in common. so you see an area similar to your central park in new york, which is land for the use and recovery of all. amy: peter, you are about an hour or so away from where the official celebration is underway with the queen, with the prime minister. explain the significance of runnymede, where they are, and why you are at lincoln palace? >> i met lakin palace, thanks very much to ann, whose voices from lincoln is leading festivities here and i'm also grateful to two artist, and i think the significance that significant for us it is artist around the world who are helping us to restore our imagination. and it is people like ann were calling out ordinary voices and to lost and common folk to bring to us the meanings of magna carta, the meanings of the common. we can't rely on the queen and the prime minister and their ilk for this knowledge. amy: peter linebaugh, thank you for joining us people's , historian, retired from the university of toledo. author of, "the magna carta manifesto: liberties and commons for all." he joins us from lincoln castle in england where in a lockstone vault are kept the finest originals of the magna carta and the charters of english liberty. he speaking there tonight about the relevance of the magna carta to the black lives matter movement. we will link to details on her website as well as our previous interview with professor linebaugh guantanamo and habeas corpus. 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. 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