i just broke the geneva convention." listen carefully. the ldier who shot the afghan man has claimed he believed the man was already dead. the senate has approved a landmark bill to ban workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. democratscans joined in supporting the employment nondiscrimination act. house speaker john boehner has opposed the bill, casting doubt on whether he will leave and get a vote in the house. the fda is taking steps to effectively ban harmful artificial trans fats from foods. the agency has proposed restrictions which would target transect containing oils found in products from frozen pizza the microwave pop corn. the fda chief said the rules could prevent 20,000 heart attacks and 7000 deaths from heart disease each year. the pakistani taliban has chosen a hardline militant commander as its new leader, dealing a blow to renewed peace talks with the pakistani government. theah fazlullah order assassination attempt on the pakistani schoolgirl malala yousafzai. the united states lost its voting rights today the global cultural agency unesco after failing to pay its dues for three years in protest over the agency's recognition of palestine. u.s. law compels the automatic withholding of funds from you and agencies that accept palestine as a member, which unesco did in 2011. unesco protects sites with cultural significance and promotes issues ranging from press freedom to girls education. u.s. contributions, which accounted for nearly a quarter of the agency's overall budget, the forced it to slash number of programs. the heads of britain's three spy agencies faced questions before the british parliament or state about surveillance practices revealed by edward snowden, including collaboration with the u.s. national security agency. of mi6, sawyers, head claimed snowden's leaks have caused damage. havee leaks from snowden been very damaging. they have put our operations at risk. it is clear our adversaries are rubbing their hands with glee. al qaeda is laughing it up. >> brazil and germany introduced a united nations resolution to curb unfettered electronic surveillance. according to snowden's links, both countries have been targeted by u.s. spying, including surveillance of their leaders. results ambassador to the united nations spoke before you in committee that deals with human rights. >> as president dilma rousseff stated, we are facing a situation in grave violations of human rights and civil liberties as the result of mass surveillance and personal communication and collection of data. she made clear in the absence of the right to privacy, there can be no true freedom of opinion and expression and no effective democracy. surely, all of those in brazil and latin america who fought against authoritarianism and censorship are keenly aware of this reality. >> new revelations highlight the spying efforts of u.s. agencies beyond the nsa. ,"cording to "new york times the cia pays at&t more than $10 million a year to mine its phone records database, which includes international calls involving americans. the company cooperates voluntarily with the cia, turning over records from a vast collection that extends beyond its customers to include calls handled by its equipment. new details have emerged on the fbi's surveillance of antiwar.com. documents received under a records request by the aclu of northern california show the fbi monitor the site for at least six years, in part because it mistakenly believed a founding editor had threatened to hack the fbi's website. in aclu attorney says the surveillance violated federal law. the federal aviation administration has released an initial plan for drones to be used in u.s. skies more widely by 2015. the rules require agencies that will oversee domestic drone testing to release plans for privacy, but it does not lay out what the practices should be. in a statement, an aclu legislative counsel called for concrete restrictions on how data from drones can be used and how long it can be stored. more thanto the faa, 80 law enforcement agencies are already authorized to use drones. the toronto star has released a new video of embattled toronto mayor rob ford engaging in a profanity-laced tirade about how he wants to murder in unidentified person. >> [indiscernible] >> toronto mayor ford has faced months of controversy following reports of another video showing him smoking from a crack pipe and making bigoted remarks. ford apologized for the latest video, saying he was extremely inebriated. he is facing increasing calls to resign. illinoisrosecutors are refusing to bring criminal charges against a chicago police officer who fatally shot an unarmed african-american man in june 2011. flint farmer's death was the third shooting and a second totality in a span of six months by officer gildardo s. s admitted having multiple beers before work that night. video from a dashboard camera appears to show officer s standing over farmer and shooting him in the back. he fired 16 shots, seven hit farmer. prosecutors say he reasonably this took the cell phone for a gun. police in our fatally shot an unarmed 19-year-old in a pickup truck on the campus of iowa state university on monday. tyler comstock's father called police after his son took off in his truck following a dispute to buys father's refusal him cigarettes. police a comstock rand accuser -- a cruiser and refused to turn the truck off. the dispatch audio shows police were twice told to back off. this is the second of two warnings. so weknow the suspect, can probably back in awe. >> less than a minute later, a voice announces comstock has been shot. comstock's stepgrandfather told "the des moines register" -- truckdn't shut the damns off. so let's fire six rounds at him? were confused, and we don't understand." in springville, illinois, anticorruption activists range fake money onto the state house of representatives. director josh silver said in a statement "money talks in illinois, so we decided to speak to house members and the only language they seem to understand." and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. >> welcome to all our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. we begin today with a look at how tuesday's election signaled a seachange in new york city as voters chose a candidate who repeatedly emphasized papers -- his progressive vision. the city's public advocate, bill de blasio, crushed republican joe lhota and the remainder world race to replace billionaire mayor mike bloomberg. de blasio is set to become the first democrat to lead new york city in two decades. in his campaign, his signature message focused on what he called a talent is cities. last year, the poorest 20% of new york households earned about 9000 dollars, and the richest 5% earned an average of nearly 400 $37,000. -- 430 $7,000. during his victory speech in brooklyn, de blasio bow to tax the rich and service of universal prekindergarten. >> the best and brightest are born in every neighborhood. we all have a shared responsibility and a shared state and making sure their destiny is defined by how hard they work and how big they dream and not i their zip codes. -- and not by their zip codes. [applause] call on the wealthiest among us to pay just a little more in taxes to fund universal creek a an afterschool programs -- universal pre-k and afterschool programs -- [applause] threatening anyone's success. we are asking those who have done very well to ensure that every child has the same opportunity to do just as well as they have. [applause] that's how we all rise together. [applause] safety is a prerequisite for the thriving neighborhoods that create opportunity in the city, and so is respect for civil liberties. [applause] the 2 are not mutually exclusive. in fact, we must have both. we must work to promote a real partnership between the best police force in the world and the communities they protect from danger. be it local or global. new yorkers on both sides of the badge understand this. we are all hungry for an approach that acknowledges we are stronger and safer as a city when police and residents work hand-in-hand. the rich tong challenging stop and frisk, mayor elect de blasio rose to power with the help of the working families party, in independent political coalition sponsored by labor unions and focused on reducing social and political inequality. since it launched 15 years ago, the party helped elect progressive candidates throughout the state and work to increase the minimum wage and raise taxes on the rich. of 21 new city council members elected this week, more than half were backed by the working families party. >> the party's grassroots organizing efforts are not limited to new york. the group recently won landmark a just nation to tackle the student debt crisis in oregon, fought to corporate -- fought the corporate education reform agenda in bridgeport, connecticut, and one paid six in new jersey.ys voters in new jersey also approved a constitutional amendment to raise the minimum wage by one dollar. danmore where joined by cantor, executive director of the working families party. welcome to democracy now! in new york, you could vote for bill de blasio either on the democratic line or you could vote on the working families party. >> correct. new york has an unusual voting system in which the candidate can appear twice on the ballot. it is a way for the minor party to add some oomph. the votes are added together for the final tally. it is just a way to put a little extra message into the boat. but the real work is a must always inside the credit party primary, and that is where working families has focused its efforts oath in new york and other states trying to get progressives elected. that is how you do it. it is hard and messy, but when it works, as it did this last week in new york, it is a very exciting moment. >> one of the things i rate; and "the daily news" earlier this week, this is perhaps -- not only is it the first of the credit mayor in 20 years, but perhaps the most progressive overall government the city of new york has seen and maybe 50 years. you have to go back to the lindsay -- john lindsay, the liberal republican, to see a comparable situation. it is not just the mayor, but the public advocate you supported, all of these members in the city council that there settingential here for legislation. >> elections are supposed to be about the society pausing and saying, how are we doing? the fact de blasio and his team and council members did, they recognized that things were not going so brilliantly for everybody. there has been the gilded age of bloomberg, in which things worked well for certain parts of society, the real estate crowd really understood they were on a major role. the de blasio said, no, it is not rking well for everyone and we need to pause and say that. what was beautiful about this election is that people heard it and responded overwhelmingly. getting elected is easy compared to governing. de blasio has the wind at his back and the city council that is made up of some first-rate people. proxy of a democratic of owner, andrew cuomo, who out of the gate said he is not going to necessarily back de blasio plus signature call for raising taxes on the rich to fund pre-k, so -- what is going to be supposedly a fellow democrat in albany. >> this will be the big battle, the big question mark going forward. we favor what de blasio has been saying but to make these investments in sjogren and other also favor we progressive taxation. the governor, for whatever reason, has come out against it and we think that is not the right place to be. we will fight that out in albany. i like our chances. >> it is interesting the way de blasio put it. all over the country, candidates get defeated when they say, tax the rich, tax the rich. ,hat he made it very specific and inclusive. when he talked about taxing those who have the greatest wealth to help children in kindergarten. it was hard for even those who will be having their taxes increased to oppose that. >> and in reality, even rich people know they are not being tight -- taxed quite enough if we're going to have a society that works for everyone. we are probably under doing it. i know the conventional wisdom is it is debt for any candidate to say they are in favor of higher taxes, but it is not true, particularly when you say money is going to be used in a way that will provide bride betterment. -- broad betterment. he still has to deliver. he won by 73 against joe lhota, who was 24%. 73%. this is one of the largest margins in the country. >> i can't remember one this large and long time in a major race. it is new york city. it has got a pretty progressive minded electorate. we have a public financing system. all of the candidates had the same amount of money. when they have the same amount of money, it means the best ideas have a better chance of being heard. >> to what degree do you think the relative success the past two years of the working families party can be replicated in other parts of the country? i know you have had some victories in a few states that you may want to talk about more, but how is the lesson of what you been doing here possible to expand to other municipalities and other states? >> the core idea is that people actually like commonsense progressive ideas. if you can get them heard over the money dan, over the media din, they will respond. that is the message. people actually like what we're talking about when we say, wages ought to be higher, people's lives on to be a bit more secure, transportation ought to be massive investment, so on and so forth. , quitere common sense popular, ideas. the trick is, are we patient enough to build a political for all of the things that over the last decade have produced this change in new york? it turns out we can. a very poor city in connecticut, bridgeport, around school privatization in which parents and working families and teachers rebelled against the no child left untested crowd cometh that really wanted to privatize, and they won. a shocking victory. i think it will reverberate at least in the school reform wars around the country. >> oregon? >> in the legislative session, there have been some great victories. the most prominent one has to do it this notion of debt-free higher education in which students go to public college tuition-free and pay back out of their income afterwards, percentage based on if they went to a two-year or four-year college. it allows young people to get going with their lives instead of being saddled with these enormous debts. >> i want to ask you about the effect of occupy. a change in the conversation, even on the working families party. the time, new york city's public advocate, he visited. sure the is to make city government of new york is treating people properly. it is all of our jobs to protect the first amendment and to honor the movement of a heartfelt movement that is speaking to what people are feeling all over this country. i say to the mayor, this is not the right way to proceed. you need negotiations. we have seen for weeks -- i want to show equal respect to the police department of new york city and the protesters move for weeks have worked together, have shown respect to each other and the surrounding community that is how we need to proceed. we need negotiations. there is still time to do it. it is up to the mayor and everyone at city hall now to change course and sit down with the from occupy wall street and find a peaceful way forward. >> that was bill de blasio visiting occupy wall street in october 20 7 -- 2011. worldre living in the occupy made, for sure. whether or not they're still in jakarta park, there are not, but we are the beneficiaries of what they did in terms of making this inequality. which is the core issue of our time, racial inequality, economic inequality, and so on. that is a magnificent a congressman by the young people who did that. now it is our task to bring that into the electoral moment, into governing, and so want to try to redress some of those things. i think it is impossible to overstate what that 99% meant in terms of people's conscience. >> i want to ask you about the role of the organized labor unions in terms of helping people to spawn and nurture irking families parties. a handful of unions have been like be pivotal groups who have finance and get working families going. how is that relationship in terms of the governments of the working families party? >> we describe ourselves as a community labor coalition. as such, we have a rule. you don't get to sit at the table if you don't represent someone other than yourself. we think it is important people have a base. -- leaders people are people that are followed. it is environmental organizations, issue activist, unions. the unions are integral to both our culture -- >> but not all the unions. >> it is a fraction of them. the more progressive minded ones are under attack. i think they alized they need a political voice as well. but i would not say it is a labour party. it is a party of labor, but not a labour party. you can't do any of those things in america. it is too complicated of the country to just the one constituency. you have to try to build the big 10. in our case, imbued with progressive values and ideals. >> thank you, dan cantor, for joining us, former community and union organizer whose executive director of the working families party, a third party that began in new york state and has now spread to five others. we will be back in a moment talking about "change the mascot" movement. ♪ [music break] >> this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. well, for decades members of many indigenous tribes have called on the washington redskins football team to change its name, it is based on a racial slur. now the pressure has reached new heights. thursday night, nearly a thousand native americans and their allies protested outside the metrodome stadium in minneapolis as the team played the minnesota vikings. day, minnesota governor mark dayton suggested members of congress put pressure on the team's owners by boycotting its games. this came after what shenton, d.c. lawmakers voted tuesday to call on the team to change its name. >> neapolis mayor released a statement thursday saying the name disrespects indigenous people, and this week six members of the minneapolis city counsel sent a letter to the team's owner and nfl commissioner roger goodell calling the nickname nt mascot racist. this groundswell comes as bob costas of nbc sports spot about the topic during halftime as he anchored a game when washington's team played last month. >> objections to names like braves, cheese, warriors and the like strike many of us as political correctness run amok. the state names on her for a than demean. they're pretty much the same as vikings, patriots, or even cowboys. seminoles, while potentially more problematic, can still be ok provided the symbols are appropriately respectful, which is where the cleveland with accommodation of their name and logo have sometimes run into trouble. a number of teams, mostly in the college ranks, have changed the names in response to objections. the stanford cardinal in the dartmouth big green were each once the indians. the st. john's redman have become the red storm. and the miami redskins hush that's right, redskins -- are now the red hawks. still the nfl franchise that represents the nation's capital has maintained its name. but think for a moment about the term redskins. and how it truly differs from all of the others. ask yourself what the equivalent would be if directed toward african-americans, hispanics, asians, or members of any other ethnic group? when considered that way, redskins can possibly honor and -- can'tor noble descant o possibly honor heritage. it is a slur. it is fair to say for a long time now, and certainly in 2013, no offense has been intended. but if you take a step back, isn't it clear to see how an offense might legitimately be taken? sports anchor bob costas speaking at halftime during a game last month in which washington's team played. this week, the minnesota american indian movement took legal action to call on the state to refuse funding for the new vikings stadium if the word "redskins" will be used there. despite the massive outcry, the team's owner, daniel snyder, has refused to change its name. during an interview, he said -- "we will never change the name of the team. it's that simple. never. you can use caps." byfor more we're joined clyde bellecourt, founder and director of the american indian movement -- known as aim. organized with the national coalition on racism in sports and the media. aim helped organized last night's protest as part of the change the mascot movement. in new york we're joined by dave zirin, sports columnist for "the nation" magazine and radio host. one of his latest piece is, "dump the 'redskins' slur!" he has also written about "the nfl's bullied problem." first two clyde bellecourt, tell us what happened last night in minneapolis. >> first of all, my spirit name then by the greater is thunder before the storm. when i was born 77 years ago, i was not allowed to have an indian name. we cannot pray, sing, dance, carry on our traditional spiritual way of life. night, when the monumental walk took place in the heart of the indian community in south a thousandover mostly native people, some in full regalia from to show the beauty of our culture, went along with us and marched on the stadium. "r"ied banners saying the is no different than the "n" word. little red sambo has to go. though black sambo is gone, and now it is time for little red sambo to go. it is not really the names. it is not just the names. it is the behavior created when they get a little bit behind the washington team or cleveland, themstart hollering "scalp children grab our hands and say, let's get out of here. it has a tremendous psychological effect on indian people. , if you truly understood where the name redskin came from, he would make that change. know what genocide is and the holocaust is my going back to the 1500s when they start their western expansion, the indian people were in their bounty ony put out a indian people as perfectly legal to kill indians then. they were bringing the man by the wagon loads. women who didn't have any rights back then and the church started speaking out about it, it became to cumbersome financially to bury them. to say your prove -- for proved you killed an indian, all you had to do was bring in their scalp. they said they were bringing them in by bushel baskets, wagon loads to collect their bounty. the women spoke out again to put andsure on the governor said to prove you are killing indians, that's all you have to do now is bring in a lock of their hair. so when they cut that scalp of the indian people, now they could go out to little children, babies, and collect more money. blood would run down their face, that red blood, and down their bodies. they put counters on their legs -- they put patches on their legs and collected the scabs. dan snyder should understanding jewish himself. their jewish people still here, but there are tribes that have been totally decimated. that is where the word "redskin" comes from. we are demanding that change. the "r" word is no different red the "n" word and little sambo has to go. >> i want to ask you but almost the belligerent response of dan snyder to these calls for the change of the name. he claims it's honoring the tradition of the redskins from a that there were several native americans on the original first team and native american culture. can you talk about his particularly strong opposition to even considering a name change? >> first of all, dan snyder has been teaching a master class in anti-public relations. he is one of the reasons why this has become such a bigfolks, folks in the indian movement have been working on this issue for decades, yet in the last six months, we have seen this massive seachange for all of the sun folks like all cost is, sports illustrated peter king, christine brennan, are no longer using the word. it is an amazing thing to have happen to see this kind of progress. and snyder is one of three reasons why. every time he speaks about this issue, folks who want to change the name get more committed to doing it, and folks who would be likely to stand with dan snyder started think to themselves, do i really want to stand with this guy? there are a couple of other reasons why we've seen such a tremendous change and activism. the first is the active and confident intervention of indigenous voices. moreing with the idol no movement in canada, you have seen this upsurge in indigenous activism and in this issue in particular, in new york, the top type -- choctaw tribe have been adamant that this has to go. the second reason is the team is relevant for the first time in 20 years. this name has been protected by the foot all teams own mediocrity for years. they have been better recently. they have a star quarterback. that is turned in an international discussion. the last reason is what you said, dan snyder, every time he opens his mouth, it is liking midas in reverse. everything he touches turn to whatever we would say on fly television is the opposite of gold. >> this is president obama weighing in on whether the washington football team should change its name. >> honestly, people get pretty attached to team names, mascots. i don't think there are any redskins fans that mean offense. i've got to say if i were the owner of the team, and i knew there was a name of my teen, -- team, even if it had a storied history, that was offending a sizable group of people, i think i would think about changing it. >> there's president obama calling for changing it. there's a call for broadcasters not to use the name. i think "mother jones" talked ."out "red-acted >> one thing you've seen in the last few months is the presence of native american voices. one of the things that has done is it has changed the polling on this dramatically. it is like the last refuge of the scoundrel of people who would say that this word is not racist and the team name should be defended. they say, look at the polling. 90% of the country say the name is fine over 80% of native americans say they are fine with the name. they point to old polls to show this. but the most recent survey shows the more people think about this, the more they are confronted with this, the more they're confronted with the fact that this word is no different for native americans than the "n " word, the more people say, you know what? maybe this should change. in a recent poll, 23% of residents and the d.c. metro area say they would be more likely to root for the team if the team name changed. that is a colossal seachange. >> clyde bellecourt, i would like to ask you, because the washington team is in washington, d.c., with so many senators and congressmen who like to go to the games as well ts, areington lobbyis you putting pressure on congress to take a stand themselves on this issue? >> we are putting pressure on the whole world about these continuedrs in this genocide policies of this government. error over 2000 high schools -- there are over 2000 high schools, colleges, and diversity set have changed. a said they would never change, never change their name, just like dan snyder, but they have changed. every single one of them have changed. and so will happen to this washington team. take this for example. what if i have a lot of money, millions and millions of dollars -- something i wouldn't do -- but what if i created a thechise and called it white earth reservation the saints and had a mascot dressed up and forward dalia, caring -- forward dalia, caring a crucifix. and i would sprinkle holy water on all the drunks. instead of slapping their mouth and making some ridiculous sound, maybe the crowd could wave crucifixes up and down and saying "ave maria" or "the lord's prayer"? how long do you think that would last? how long do you think if they call them sambo's or use the "n " word? millions of people would be marching on that team and that change would take place overnight. i never want to put themselves in our shoes once. what effect it would have on our children. our children don't even want to go to a football game. hockeyn't want to go to when the drunks with horns on their heads and gold here and half their faces purple and the other side is yellow or gold, and they start saying "massacre " and allez, scalp 'em the slurs and the children want to get out of there. just think of what effect that would have come the same effect on your children with the use of the pope or mascots like that, something we would never, ever do, what effect that would have on the christian communities of america. >> clyde bellecourt, what about the other names. for example, like the cleveland indians, the atlanta braves, the syracuse chiefs. have mohawks. we don't paint our face red. we don't know what war paint is. there's no such thing as work were paint. george armstrong is gone. george armstrong custer is gone. john wayne is dead. little black sambo is gone. i think it is time for america to let it go. >> dave? >> dan snyder always talked about the history of the name, but he never explains what that history is in the context of the team. listeners need to know the word redskins is a legacy of jim crow, a legacy of the team's original owner george preston marshall who was an arch segregationist. the team was the last team to integrate in the nfl. when he passed away in 1969, george preston marshall put in his will know money from his urbanization could go toward an organization a promoted integration. this is in 1969. that is the legacy of this team name. if for no other reason, it really does belong in most any museum, and probably in the dust of history. >> and the bully issue. if you could talk about the nfl and the miami dolphins. >> this is huge. what is happening right now in the locker room of the miami dolphins, the players are coming tother and what i call an act of bully solidarity to support their teammate richie incognito. >> explain what happened. >> it started with two guys in the locker room, jonathan martin and richie incognito. jonathan martin let the team because of what he later revealed to the a series of racist voicemail messages that threatened him, threatened his family from and that richie incognito, the accused bully in the story, said it was all a big joke and really only being done to toughen up jonathan martin. >> that he was told to toughen him up. >> that is an important part of the story. nothing happens in an nfl locker room that doesn't happen with the orders of the coach himself. remember, these contracts are not guaranteed these players locker room.fl nothing is going to happen without a very vertically structured arrangement. richie incognito is now widely believed was told by his coaching staff -- and by the general manager of the team. said jonathan martin was "soft." like being a man means you're willing to brother be violent and being soft means you don't want to be part -- i would argue, to be a deeply homophobic, deeply sexist culture that takes place in the locker room. jonathan martin who has been derided as soft for billowing dust blown the whistle i would say is showing tremendous courage by coming forward. and the more that comes out of the dolphins locker room, the worse it looks. >> i want to ask you specifically about this culture of the nfl. we have seen it over and over with sean payton and the new orleans saints being suspended for ordering his players to hurt other opposing players, deliberately take them out of the game. michael vick with the situation with his attacks on dogs. aside from the individual violent actions, this culture of impunity and constant violence and bullying and the nfl is really at epic proportions, yet it is really not being discussed as a huge trend. >> it needs to be discussed. the u.s. marine corps is at a uniform code against hazing since 1997. even the whispering core relies in a needed to have some sort of structure -- even the u. roaring core realizing they need to have some sort of structure. the nfl has no kind of guidelines against hazing whatsoever, no kinds of guidelines against bowling. let's call it what it is, it is racist harassment. anyone listing who thinks this is just a sports issue for what have you, think about other recent stories like steubenville or in connecticut where you have this connection between jock culture and a rape culture. this idea where you get young man in a very violent kind of group mentality that says, frankly, things like violence are theirs for the taking. women are theirs for the taking by any means necessary. i think it creates a very destructive climate that puts terrible social cues out to the general public. >> this is what the bears wide receiver brandon marshall had to say about the miami dolphins bullying scandal. >> a little boy falls down. the first thing we say's parent is, get up, shake it off, you'll be ok. or don't cry. when the little girl. and, what do we say? is going to be ok. we validate their feelings. from that moment, we are teaching our men to mask their feelings, don't show their emotions. it is that times 100 with football players. can't show your heard. can't show any pain. so for a guy who comes in the locker room and shows a little vulnerability, that is a problem. so that is what i mean by the culture of the nfl. that is what we have to change. >> that was the bears wide receiver brandon marshall. >> if this can produce anything, hopefully it will produce a discussion about this gender binary that we have this has been need to act one way, women act another. the results leave a terrible body count. >> thank you, dave zirin, for being with us, and also the clyde bellecourt, for being with us, founder and director of the american indian movement, also with the national coalition on racism in sports and the media. we will continue to follow this story. when we come back, we look at the lessons from the washington state gm oh debate. stay with us. ♪ [music break] >> this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. with this week's vote in washington state against a measure that would have required mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods. washington would've been the first eight to pass along to mow labeling. the campaign over initiative 522 drew millions of dollars from out-of-state and was the costliest initiative fight in state history. major corporations and other opponents of gm a labeling spent $22 million to defeat the measure. on center donated over $5 million, and dupont gate almost $4 million. the opposition outspent supporters about three to one. >> a recent poll found 93% of americans want labels on food containing gm owes. 64 countries require it. for more on the implications, we go to san francisco where we are joined by david bronner. he is the grandson of dr. bronner who founded dr. bronner's magic soaps, which is the largest donor to the "yes on 522" campaign. david bronner has been the president of the company since 1998. how much did dr. bronner's continue? millionntributed $2.3 to the yes side. we knew what the other side was going to do and we had to step in and help. this debate so important to you, the labeling of gm foods, and what are the lessons you have learned from this campaign battle? basically, six chemical companies ha bought the seed industry in this company -- engineering are resistance to the weedkiller. often times you hear it is spun like it will be vitamins and rice or nitrogen fixing, but that is not the reality. the reality on the ground is it is about chemical companies selling weedkiller. most of these crops, 80% of the genetically engineered acreage is to resist roundup. --ruse of this is recalling resulting in super weeds that aren't being killed by normal doses or applications, so evermore weedkiller is being poured onto our fields. -- next education generation, these are much more toxic weed killers. ingredient major from agent orange. direction asrong society we need to be going in. we need to get off the chemical treadmill. genetic engineering is doubling down on unsustainable chemical model. >> given the fact the public does want the right to know on labeling of gmo products, where the chemical companies -- what arguments are they able to use in initiatives like what happened in washington to defeat these measures? >> it is, the classic playbook on the no side, the big money corporations. they don't really take on the right to know. that is a big loser for them. but they will kind of raise these false inspectors of your food costs are going to go up by $500 a family, you know, that this initiative is written poorly in a bureaucratic nightmare -- and a bureaucratic nightmare. they don't really take on issues, to say it might be a good idea, but this initiative is terrible. fearsanipulate people's and kind of take away their confidence in voting for their own interests. it is a very sophisticated propaganda machine. $22 million in a state like washington, mean, you cannot turn around without being bombarded with their garbage. former washington state attorney general ken eikenberry said in an adipose to 520 two that it would provide misleading information on food to consumers. let's go to that clip. >> i worked to protect consumers from misleading product information. that is why and oppose initiative 522. it would require some foods to be labeled as genetically engineered even if they're not. but he gives special exemptions to many foods that contain or are made with ge products. that is the exact product of truth in labeling. it would give consumers misleading information about the foods they buy. >> what about those charges, david bronner? it was former washington state attorney general ken eikenberry. >> and republican. it is ridiculous. basically, the disclosure of genetic engineering would apply to all foods that currently have to disclose ingredients and nutrition information, and doesn't apply to foods that don't. it just follows general labeling guidelines. when he is saying we are exempting foods, what is being exempted? restaurant food, stuff that isn't labeled. you don't label when you order out at a restaurant, that's not labeled. they're making hay like, oh, we are exempting restaurant foods. >> we only have 30 seconds. where do you go from here? are there other such campaign battles going on around the country? >> yes. there are 26 states considering legislative strategies, both connecticut and maine have labeling laws that will trigger as soon as five other states enact labeling. washington is not done yet. ballots and mail votes are still being counted. we are up like two do one. the late surge, especially from king county, the urban central, we are starting to see to do one come in. now.e up to 47% we may close the sale with the victory. >> we will continue to follow it, david brenner, thank you for joining us. that does it for our broadcast. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made possible by democracy now!] tavis: good evening. from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. tonight, a conversation with actress nia long about a career that will stand the test of time. she is starring in a sequel called "the best man holiday." a group of friends reunite after years of being separated. we are glad you have joined us. coming up, right now. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. tavis: nia long was one of the reasons the best man was a huge hit in 1999. working years later, the sequel is finally here. it reunites all the actors from the first film. timehis sequel, the long- friends a strange for nearly 15 years come together for a long holiday weekend where they discover how easy it is for rivalries and romances to be reignited. ooh. take a look at the clip from "best man holiday." >> i have to do they'll on dinner tonight. lex i get it. you could have called or e- mailed. it you could have sent the text. >> the damnedest thing. and none of my devices were working so i figured i should deliver the messages myself. i changed my flight so i can come to you -- come with you. if it is important to you, it is important to me. >> do you want me to wait outside? >> don't worry about it, i have to go anyway. i will talk to you later. i will see you this weekend. >> i hope so. to ski in vermont with my devices. >> i hate you so much. >> was that you kissing a white man? >> it was not my first white man. i know, but just -- >> i like all flavors, tavis. tavis: we know one piece of the story line here. what is your character doing 15 years later? segment producer in the first film and now she is sort of running the network. she is doing her thing as a producer. taking her time, focused on her career. she put love and relationship on the side burner to be this amazing producer. she made it and is realizing through the story -- i don't went to give too much away, but she sees that she truly is recognizing that there is power in being vulnerable and finding love. finding a partner. career isn't everything. that is something a lot of women struggle with. tavis: was there something or some things that you needed to see to come back to this? i am just a hollywood fan. sometimes people do stuff a second or third or fourth time and i wish they would stop after the first time. what did you need to see in this script to make you want to come back and do it again? thing was that the entire cast supported the idea of doing a sequel. that was it for me. i don't think any of us would've really done it if we had not been part of it. all friends and we have grown our careers. terrence howard as a grandfather. life has changed.

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