Transcripts For KCSM Democracy Now 20150430 : vimarsana.com

KCSM Democracy Now April 30, 2015

Rebellion. We will speak with him about protests around the United States as well as his new book listen, yankee why cuba , matters. As republicans mount that first major challenge to president obamas efforts to normalize relations with cuba for the first time in half a century. The problem with being part of the 1 is you are so sure of yourself that you dont listen to the 99 . You certainly dont listen to the cubans who are in this little island, little Tropical Island that will obviously fall under the domination of the United States someday. And so it was written in a cuban voice, basically, demanding the United States listen. And i thought 55 years later, the same issue was before us and that was whether barack obama would become the first yankee to listen. The first yankee president to listen, which he did. Amy tom hayden is a longtime antiwar activist and one of the founders of students for a Democratic Society. As today marks the 40th anniversary of the fall of saigon and the end of the vietnam war and the 50th anniversary this past month of the first antiwar teachin at the university of michigan he is , set to address a major conference in washington, d. C. Called, vietnam the power of protest telling the truth. Learning the lessons. What kind of people would have said, this is a smart move . I will tell you, they and their descendents on the state department, cia now. The policies are not that different. An old judy collins question when will we ever learn . Amy all that and more, coming up. Welcome to democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. In baltimore, maryland thousands of people have continued to peacefully protest over the Police Custody death of freddie gray. Gray died of spinal injuries a week after he was arrested for looking a Police Lieutenant in the eye, then running away. His family said his spine was 80 severed at the neck. Overnight, thousands of police and National Guard troops continued to enforce a 10 00 p. M. Curfew. Newly confirmed attorney general Loretta Lynch said the Justice Department would provide whatever resources are needed to control the protests. I have been in direct contact with officials in maryland, including the governor, and i directed this department to provide any assistance that might be helpful in restoring calm and resolving the unrest that broke out across the city. Amy after arresting more than 200 people overnight on monday baltimore was forced to release half of the protesters wednesday, amid a spate of legal challenges. Some of the prisoners said they were held without food for 18 hours. In 18yearold shown in a picture smashing a police car with a traffic cone, is being held on 500,000 bail after his stepfather convinced him to turn himself in. Schools reopened in baltimore after they were closed following monday nights uprising, which saw cars and buildings torched. But the public was barred from attending a Baltimore Orioles baseball game at camden yards, meaning the teams played to an empty stadium. The Associated Press called it one of the weirdest spectacles in majorleague history. Thousands of people marched in cities from boston to chicago to ferguson, missouri to show solidarity with baltimore and connect the case of freddie gray with Police Killings of unarmed African Americans across the country. In boston, protesters gathered in front of police headquarters, chanting being black is not a crime. Same story every time. In minneapolis marchers carried a coffin. Here in new york city, at least 120 people were reportedly arrested as protesters shut down parts of the holland tunnel, west side highway, and times square. Protester al patron said attention was focused too heavily on the tactics used during monday nights uprising in baltimore, and not enough on the underlying problems. It is getting worse. It is getting worse. Instead of looking at the root were looking at the right when the route is more important. A life was taken. I think we need to start paying attention to that instead of and put more on preservation of life and preservation of buildings or whatever and property. At all care about that. Amy it remains unclear how freddie gray received the spinal injuries, which killed him. Bystander Video Shows Police dragging him into a van as he screams in pain, his body apparently limp. According to a police timeline, gray asked for an inhaler as he was going into the van, but a medic wasnt called for more than 40 minutes. Now the Washington Post has obtained a Police Document which contains an affidavit by a fellow prisoner who was in the van with gray, but who couldnt see him because they were separated by a metal partition. The document, written by a Police Investigator, says the fellow prisoner told police he could hear gray banging against the walls of the vehicle and believed that he was intentionally trying to injure himself. Jason downs, an attorney for grays family questioned the police account, saying we disagree with any implication that freddie gray severed his own spinal cord. Downs continued we question the accuracy of the Police Reports weve seen thus far, including the Police Report that says mr. Gray was arrested without force or incident. Hillary clinton has criticized addressed the issue and criticized the u. S. System of mass incarceration in her first major policy speech since announcing her president ial bid. Speaking at Columbia University in new york, clinton called for all police to wear body cameras, and said harsh sentences for drug offenses should be reformed. Talks we have to come to terms with some hard truths about race and justice in america. There is [applause] there is something profoundly wrong when africanamerican men are still far more likely to be stopped and searched by Police Charged with crimes, and sentenced to longer prison terms than are meted out to their white counterparts. There is something wrong when a 1 3 of all black men face the prospect of prison during our lifetimes. Amy Hillary Clintons remarks contrast sharply with statements she made in as first lady, when she supported her husband, president bill clintons socalled toughon crime agenda, including a 1994 law which led to harsher sentences , for drug offenses and expanded the number of prisons and police. In nepal, a 15yearold boy and an 11yearold girl have been rescued from piles of rubble. They were trapped for five days following the devastating earthquake. The girl was reportedly rescued in the devastated town of bhaktapur. In the capital kathmandu rescuers worked for hours to save the teenage boy. The death toll from the 7. 8magnitude earthquake has continued to rise, and now stands at 5,500. Bad weather has stalled the arrival of aid to remote villages. A new report says the u. S. Military operation in afghanistan extends far beyond the terms described publicly by the white house. While the Obama Administration has declared an end to the war in afghanistan, the New York Times reports the u. S. Military has actually transformed the war into an Ongoing Campaign of drone strikes and special operations raids. Publicly, officials have said the u. S. Role is confined to counterterrorism against groups like alqaeda and protection of u. S. Troops not continuing to fight the taliban. But last month, u. S. And nato forces conducted 52 airstrikes in afghanistan, many against low to midlevel taliban fighters. One unnamed official alleged the u. S. Is putting troops on the ground in afghanistan to justify strikes under the guise of protecting them. The wall street journal has revealed the fbi helped facilitate a ransom payment from the family of u. S. Hostage Warren Weinstein to al qaeda in 2012, in apparent contradiction with its own policy against paying ransoms for hostages. Weinstein, a u. S. Government contractor, was killed by a u. S. Drone strike in january. The family of james foley, a u. S. Journalist executed by isil, has said u. S. Officials threatened them with criminal charges if they attempted to raise ransom money to free him. Japanese Prime Minister shinzo abe delivered a speech to congress wednesday, pressing lawmakers to support the Transpacific Partnership trade deal. Abe said the implications of the tpp go far beyond the economy. Furthermore, the tpp goes far beyond just economic benefits. It is also about our security. Long time, its sure to took value. Amy the tpp would encompass 40 of the global economy. It has faced a tidal wave of opposition from groups across the political spectrum who say it would undermine environmental and Health Regulations and grant special rights to corporations. Lawmakers are considering whether to grant obama fasttrack authority to push the deal through Congress Without any amendments allowed. In brazil, more than 200 people have reportedly been injured in clashes between police and protesting teachers in the city of curitiba. The teachers are protesting over changes to their state pensions. Police fired tear gas and stun grenades, while the mayor tweeted that the city looks like a war zone. The Obama Administration appears to have curbed its deportations of undocumented immigrants following public protests denouncing him as the deporter in chief. Obama has deported more people than any other president including a record of well over 400,000 in 2012. But according to the Associated Press, the pace has been slowing, with 127,000 deportations over the First Six Months of this fiscal year. If the slowdown continues, this year could see the lowest number of deportations since 2006. That would be under president george w. Bush. California governor jerry brown has issued an executive order to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions to 40 below 1990 levels by the year 2030. His target marks the most ambitious benchmark set by any government in north america to reduce dangerous Carbon Emissions over the next 15 years. This comes as one of the worst droughts in decades continues to ravage california, with 98 of the state now suffering from a water crisis. Well talk more about browns plan with tom hayden later in the broadcast. The u. S. Supreme court has upheld the right of states to ban judicial candidates from personally requesting campaign contributions. The ruling allows 30 states where state and local judges are elected to keep their restrictions on donations. Chief justice john roberts, who supported the courts previous decision in Citizens United to allow unlimited corporate political spending, supported the restrictions on judicial candidates, writing judges are not politicians. A federal judge has struck down a pennsylvania law restricting the speech of prisoners, calling it manifestly unconstitutional. The law was enacted after journalist and former black panther mumia abujamal, who is imprisoned in pennsylvania, gave a pretaped commencement address at Goddard College in vermont. The law authorized the censoring of prisoners public addresses if judges agree letting them speak would cause mental anguish to their victims. Judge Christopher Connor called the law unlawfully proposed and patently overbroad. Supporters of the law plan to appeal. Pope francis has taken on the gender pay gap. Speaking in st. Petes square pope francis called wage inequality a pure scandal. As christians we must become more demanding about these issues. For instance, we must support decisively the right to equal pay for equal work. Why is it taken for granted women must earn less than men . No, theyre the same rights. The discrepancy, pure scandal. Amy pope francis has rejected the possibility of equal work for women within the church, saying the door is closed to women becoming priests. In mexico, human rights activists have called for urgent action to address violence against women. As the rule of law has collapsed in many areas of mexico, amid corruption and Cartel Violence during the ongoing u. S. Backed drug war, thousands of women have been killed or disappeared. The violence is particularly intense in the north, along the u. S. Mexico border. In the Northern State of chihuahua, there were 23 murders for every 100,000 women in 2012. Maria de la luz estrada, director of the National Citizen observatory on femicide, said the government has failed to address the crisis. Were talking about a National Emergency because women are being brutally murdered more often. Another is the pattern of them going missing. This happens because the government has not generated the mechanisms, the protocols, the search record to immediately find them enter prevent more crimes from being committed. Amy newly released documents show u. S. Officials had raised concerns about the germanwings pilot who crashed a plane into the french alps, killing all 150 on board. The federal Aviation Administration questioned whether Andreas Lubitz was fit to fly based on his history of depression. After his doctors said lubitz had recovered, the faa allowed him to travel to the United States to continue his Pilot Training with lufthansa airlines. New research has found Insurance Companies are failing to provide adequate coverage to women and transgender people in violation of the Affordable Care act. The National Womens law center reviewed 100 Insurance Companies in 15 states, revealing more than half were violating the law. When it came to birth control, the center found Insurance Companies are still not covering all methods or are imposing outofpocket costs. And those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. I am amy goodman. It is great be back in new york. Juan welcome to all our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. As protests continue in baltimore and around the country over the death of freddie gray in Police Custody, were joined today by one of the leading longtime activists in the country, tom hayden. He is no stranger to police and protest in 1968, he was a major organizer of protests against the vietnam war to the Democratic National convention in chicago. Amy he became one of the chicago 8, convicted of crossing state lines to start a riot. The george does the judge ordered one of his friends to be bound and gagged to his chair. Tom hayden joins us for the hour today in our new york studio. We will talk about protest movements and their effect. We will also talk about cuba. Today also as before it anniversary of the fall of saigon. But first, to these protests. Protest around the country around the death of freddie gray. Juan, you are in baltimore at a labor conference. It certainly passed through the holes of juan it was a big topic among labor leaders who would come from around the country, especially from baltimore itself. Everyone was talking about the curfew and the police presence. In critical of the mayor of baltimore for some of your best of her remarks calling the protesters thugs. It showed a Class Division that exists in baltimore between elite leadership, even african leaders, and the masses of people who are sick and tired of the divide and not only the economic divide in baltimore but also the continued Police Repression of black community. Amy as the officials advise people to wait to read to remain calm some of that information will be coming out reports will be coming out a report was leaked to the Washington Post of the prisoner who was the in the police van about five minutes at the end of freddie grays journey in that van after he was arrested. According to this leaked the report, the prisoner said that freddie gray was thrashing about, maybe trying to injure himself. He could not see him. There was a petition in the van. And the family and the lawyer are they saying that freddie gray actually fractured his own spine . How would that explain his crushed voice box . Juan clearly, those who have seen the video of him being taken into the van wonder, what kind of ability he had to do anything because he was clearly limp when he was brought into the van. Amy they also pointed out he did not have on a seat belt. Juan and those familiar with Police Reports know that when youre having a Police Investigator supposedly transcribing the testimony of someone else, there are there is all kinds of room for manipulation of what has been said. It is amazing that so much time has passed and we still dont know, really have any official report of what happened to freddie gray, why he was injured to begin with. I think the length of time it is taken have any kind of official r

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