It is now 100 years since drugs were first banned in the United States, and i went on a journey to figure out why they were banned in the first place what caused this addiction and what are the alternatives, and what i discovered is almost everything we need we think we know about the subject is wrong. Johann hari on the first and last days of the war on drugs from the governments targeting of Billie Holiday to new efforts to decriminalize all drugs. All that and more, coming up. Welcome to democracy now democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. The Islamic State has released a video showing a captured jordanian Fighter Pilot being burned alive inside a cage. First lieutenant moa alkasasbeh was captured in december when his f16 crashed in Northern Syria during an airstrike as part of the u. S. Led campaign against the Islamic State. Speaking before the video was confirmed, obama said it would only increase u. S. Efforts against the Islamic State. I do not know the details of the confirmation, but should this video in fact be authentic it is one more indication of the viciousness and barbarity of this organization, and it, i think, will redouble the vigilance and determination on the part of a Global Coalition to make sure that they are degraded, and ultimately defeated. Jordan had hoped to free the pilot by exchanging a female prisoner held for an attempted suicide bombing. Early this morning, jordan executed sajida alrishawi along with another prisoner. Jordanian Government SpokespersonMohammad Almomani has vowed revenge on isis. Has vowed to wage a firm response. Whoever doubted that jordans response will be firm, tough and strong, we will show them the proof and we will show them the anger of jordanians will shank their ranks. The martyred palette does not belong to a specific tribe but pilot is not does not belong to the specific tribe but he is the son of all jordanians. A call has been issued for the shopping of limbs of Islamic State terrorists. Meanwhile the united arab emirates, a key ally in the u. S. Led fight against isis, has suspended its role in the airstrikes over concerns about pilots safety. Unnamed officials told the New York Times the country has stopped them in december. An imprisoned former al qaeda operative has issued new allegations about ties between the group and the royal family of saudi arabia. Zacarias moussaoui volunteered to testify as part of a lawsuit filed against saudi arabia by relatives of those killed in the attacks of september 11. His testimony, gathered inside a u. S. Prison where he is serving a life sentence on terrorism charges, was submitted as part of a legal brief tuesday. Moussaoui said in the late 1990s he had created a database of al qaeda donors which included thensaudi intelligence chief prince turki alfaisal, prince bandar bin sultan, longtime ambassador to the United States; and billionaire investor prince alwaleed bin talal. He also described meeting with an official who worked for the Saudi Embassy in washington, to discuss a possible plan to shoot down air force one. The revelations come just days after president obama wrapped up a short visit to saudi arabia, where he welcomed the new king salman. A u. S. Drone strike in somalia targeted a top leader of the militant Group Al Shabab on saturday. The pentagon did not confirm the attack until tuesday, and has not said whether it killed the target, yusef dheeq. Unnamed officials have said dheeq and at least one other leader were killed. In eastern ukraine, at least four people have been killed amidst heavy shadow amidst heavy shelling that damaged a hospital and a school. More than 200 people have been killed in the past three weeks alone. In argentina a draft request for , the arrest of argentine president Cristina Fernandez de kirchener has been found at the home of a late prosecutor who was investigating the 1994 bombing of a Jewish Center that killed 85 people. Prosecutor Alberto Nisman had accused fernandez of helping to cover up irans role in the bombing in a bid for oil. He was found dead of a gunshot wound the day before he was due to testify before congress on his findings. The arrest bid for fernandez and her foreign minister was found in his trash. So far, two judges have refused to take up nismans findings and the prosecutor investigating his death has announced she will take a twoweek vacation. Pope francis has declared salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero died as a martyr to the catholic faith, a step that paves the way for romeros beatification and possible sainthood. Known as the voice of the voiceless, Archbishop Romero was a prominent advocate for the poor and a leading critic of the u. S. Backed salvadoran military government. He was killed 35 years ago, on march 24, 1980, by members of a u. S. Backed death squad while he delivered mass at a hospital chapel. His assassination was ordered by salvadoran military officer roberto daubuisson, a graduate of the u. S. Run school of the americas. In the 1989 film romero, actor raul julia reenacts a dramatic moment in romeros life, one day before his assassination, when he called on the Salvadoran Army to heed the words of god, thou shalt not kill. No soldier is obliged to obey an order contrary to the law of god. In his name, and in the name of our tormented people that have suffered so much, and whose laments cry out to heaven, i implore you, i beg you, i order you, stop the repression. Actor raul julia in the film romero reenacting the speech delivered by Archbishop Oscar Romero a day before he was assassinated. Romeros supporters have long called for him to be placed on the path to sainthood, but rightwing Church Leaders who opposed his ties to liberation theology, a religious movement opposed to economic and political injustice. In the United States cia , whistleblower John Kiriakou has been released from prison. Kiriakou exposed the bushera cia torture program and became the only official jailed over it. In january, 2013, he was sentenced to two and a half years after pleading guilty to confirming the identity of a covert officer to a reporter who didnt publish it. His supporters say he was unfairly targeted as part of the Obama Administrations crackdown on whistleblowers. In 2007, he had become the first cia official to publicly confirm the bush administrations use of waterboarding. A twitter post tuesday shows kiak smingith s dr, wi t mn th king jr. Quote free at last free at least, thank god almighty, im free at last. He remains under house arrest for three months. The Obama Administration has announced a series of minor surveillance reforms that will leave its bulk spying operations in place. The reports limit retention o data on foreigners and limiting the use of intercepted data to data. Critics point out obama could and it himself. The Environmental Protection agency has warned the Keystone Xl Oil pipeline would fuel Climate Change by increasing Oil Production in the canadian tar sands. An earlier state Department Analysis found the pipeline would not have an impact because the oil would be moved through other means. But the epa concludes the recent drop in oil prices means much of the oil in the tar sands would remain in the ground if the and it estimates the pipeline could increase Greenhouse Gas emissions by nearly the equivalent of eight new coalfired power plants. Obama has said Climate Change will play a key role in his final decision on whether to approve the pipeline. Congress has approved a bill to address suicides among military veterans. An estimated 22 veterans kill themselves each day. The measure would impose independent reviews of v. A. Suicide prevention programs, launch a peersupport program, and gives incentives to psychiatrists who work for the v. A. Obama is expected to sign the bill, which passed both houses unanimously. A new York City Police officer has been indicted for assault after he was caught on video stomping on the head of an unarmed African American who was pinned to the ground and pleading for help. The attack took place in brooklyn july 23, less than a week after the Police Chokehold death of eric garner in staten island. Garner was also pinned to the ground while pleading, i cant breathe. A grand jury declined to indict a white police officer, daniel pantaleo, for garners death. But on tuesday, officer joel edouard, who is black, was arraigned on charges that could carry up to a year in jail. Cell phone video shows edouard and another officer pinning Jahmiel Cuffee to the ground while he pleads help me. Stop. Officer cuffee briefly removes his gun before replacing it in the holster. He then walks away and returns to cuffee before stomping on his head. Cuffee was charged with resisting arrest. Police accused him of drinking on the sidewalk and trying to throw away a joint. His case was later dismissed. The announcement came just days dismissed. Alabama is poised to become the 37th state to allow samesex marriage. A federal Appeals Court tuesday rejected the states request to stay a Lower Court Ruling that struck down its samesex marriage ban. The ban will remain in effect until monday as the state appeals to the supreme court. And the pulitzer prizewinning author harper lee will publish a new novel this summer. Lee, who is 88, says she wrote a novel in the mid1950s called go set a watchman, which focuses on an adult woman named scout, but her editor persuaded her to focus on a younger scout, and that novel became the classic, to kill a mockingbird. Lee says she thought the old manuscript was lost until her lawyer discovered it. Both novels are set in the fictional town of maycomb, based on lees hometown of monroeville, alabama. And those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now, democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. And i am juan gonzalez. Welcome to our listeners around the world. President obama has unveiled a 4 trillion Budget Proposal for next year that calls for raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations in order to help Fund Education and fix crumbling infrastructure. The plan includes tax cuts for some poor and middleclass families. It also seeks to recoup losses from corporations that stash an estimated 2 trillion overseas by taxing such earnings at 14 percent, still less than half of the 35 percent rate for profits made in the United States. Obama announced his plan tuesday. The budget i have sent to Congress Today is fully paid for through a combination of smart spending cuts and tax reforms. Let me give you an example right now are tax code is full of loopholes for special interests like the trust Fund Loophole that allows the wealthiest americans to avoid paying taxes on unarmed unearned income. I think we should fix that and use the savings to cut taxes for middleclass families. That would be good for the economy. Obamas proposed budget also takes aim at the high cost of prescription drugs, proposes a new agency to regulate food safety, and seeks 1 billion to curb immigration from central america. It also calls for a 4. 5 percent increase in military spending, including a 534 billion base budget for the pentagon, plus 51 billion to fund u. S. Involvement in syria, iraq and afghanistan. Speaking at the department of homeland security, obama said acrosstheboard cuts known as sequestration would hurt the military. Just last week, top military officials told congress that if congress does nothing to stop sequestration, there could be serious consequences for our National Security, at a time when our military is stretched on a whole range of issues. That is why i want to work with congress to replace mindless austerity with Smart Investments that strengthen america, and we can do so in a way that is fiscally responsible. Well for more, were joined from washington, d. C. , by dean baker, economist, codirector of the center for economic and policy research and author of getting back to full employment a Better Bargain for working people. first, your overall assessment of the budget president obama has presented. Overall, im saying it is the best he has presented since he has been in office, ignoring the stimulus, which had good things in there. He has increased spending, trying to increase spending on infrastructure that we think of for the future, but will also help low and middle income people. He has tax increases for the wealthy. He is raising the tax rate on Capital Gains and dividends to 28 . Currently it is about 22 . It has been as low as 15 . That is a big tax increase. These are middle income people do not have a lot of Capital Gains or dividend income, so that is a big deal. He has increased Corporate Tax proposing you would one time tax 14 on the foreign earnings of u. S. Corporations stashed overseas, and then 19 thereafter. That is not ideal, there are other ways to structure that, but it is a lot more than people have been talking about. That is a positive. The negative is we are still on austerity cap. He said this is he is against mindless austerity. That is good. This is more thoughtful austerity. I say that cryptically. One reason we have not the government has refused to spend more following a severe recession. Every other recession we have done that. Instead of spending more, we are spending less, and we are still well below full employment, well below the economys potential. We are throwing 720 billion in goods and services we could be producing into the garbage. So, that does not really change. In terms of the spending the investment portion of the budget, Discretionary Spending that is not going down as fast as it would absent the increase president obama has proposed, but we are still looking at spending less relative to the size of the economy than we did at any point in the 1990s, the 1980s, 19 70s i do not know how far you would have to go back to find us spending less. The baseline was very low. On the whole, a very mixed story. Dean, i wanted to ask you about the military part of the budget. We are talking about 51 billion for ongoing activities in iraq, syria, afghanistan, even though the United States is supposedly withdrawing troops and ending those wars we are still talking about spending 1 billion a week, essentially next year . Well, i do not know when we will see an end to those wars, but if i had my choice it would have been a long time ago and we would not have been there to begin with, but nobody asked me. At the peak, we were spending 180 billion 100 90 billion a year, so we are spending less, but 50 billion is not an insignificant chunk of change. The point is is this a good use of resources, are we doing something positive that is much more important. How does sequestration fit into this . I wanted to turn to president obama speaking about his Budget Proposal, addressing the issue of sequestration, and claiming republican lawmakers are playing politics with the issue of funding homeland security. Im not going to accept a budget that locks in sequestration going forward. It would be bad for security and growth. I will not accept a budget that severs the vital link between National Security and economic security. Someone capital hill would say we would be willing to increase defense spending, but were not going to increase investments in infrastructure, for example, or basic research. Well those two things go handinhand. If we do not have a vital infrastructure, if we do not have wrong band lines across the country, it broadband lines across the country, a smart read, all of that makes us more vulnerable. America cannot afford being shortsighted, and im not going to allow it. That is president obama on sequestration. Dean baker, how has sequestration affected the country . It was a phasing thine phasing down of spending. We are in a situation, in my mind a perverse one, we have people running around washington saying we want to get the budget deficit down, and there are patting themselves on the back after reducing the budget so much, but what we need is demand in the economy, so you are patting yourself on the back for pulling money out of the economy, reducing growth, reducing employment. I am not happy about that. In washington, the debates here, getting the deficit down is a goal in itself, so it does not matter how many people you throw out of work. Sequestration is a big part of that story. It has both military budget and domestic discretionary on his downward path over the next decade, and that certainly slowed demand, Economic Growth and meant fewer jobs. President obama is proposing move away from that, and proposing ok, i want to spend more on the military side and also the domestic discretionary side. Whether that is political i cannot speak