Transcripts For KCSM Democracy Now 20150511 : vimarsana.com

Day as the Justice Department announced yet another investigation into Baltimore Police. The first, to immigrants fleeing libya. [indiscernible] will magically stop. We ask there is an action that puts the human being in the center and stop labeling them as illegal. Amy expected to ask the wood secured a counsel to permit military action against human traffickers out of libya, we will look at a new report by mr. Turner national called libya is , full of cruelty stories of abduction, Sexual Violence and abuse from migrants and refugees. All of that and more coming up. Welcome to democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. A new report says the Obama Administration gave a false account of the hunting and killing of osama bin laden. Bin laden was shot dead four years ago this month in a u. S. Raid on his hideout in the city of abbottabad. The white house claimed at the time the u. S. Operatives entered from afghanistan without pakistans knowledge. But Investigative Reporter Seymour Hersh says top Pakistani Military leaders knew about the operation and provided key assistance. The u. S. Also claimed it helped locate bin laden by tracking his personal messenger. But hersh reports a former pakistani Intelligence Officer identified his whereabouts in return for the bulk of a 25 million u. S. Bounty. Pakistani intelligence was reportedly aware of bin ladens location and held him prisoner at the abbottabad compound since 2006. Hershs article also questions the u. S. Account of bin ladens shooting, saying there was never a firefight inside the compound and that bin laden himself wasnt armed. A retired american official says u. S. Claims of finding a trove of information from bin ladens computers and documents was a hoax to give the false impression he was still operationally important. Questions are also raised about whether bin laden was actually buried at sea, as the u. S. Claimed. A fiveday ceasefire is set begin in yemen on tuesday after Houthi Rebels accepted a proposal from saudi arabia. The saudi government offered the truce last week amid mounting criticism that its military campaign and blockade of yemen has caused massive civilian suffering. Saudi foreign minister Adel Aljubeir said the pause could be renewed if it lasts the first round. We announced that we were looking at a fiveday ceasefire in yemen for humanitarian purposes in order to allow the flow of assistance to yemen. We have made a decision the ceasefire will begin this tuesday may 12 at 11 00 p. M. And will last for five days and subject to renewal if it works out. Amy the houthis say they hope the pause will lead to political talks under the guidance of the United Nations. The Saudiled Coalition has escalated air strikes before the truce takes effect, bombing the compound of the houthiallied former president Ali Abdullah Saleh in the capital sanaa. The attack came just after the saudi government declared the province of saada a military zone and ordered all its residents to flee. In a statement, the u. N. s humanitarian coordinator warned the threat to saada could be a contravention of International Humanitarian law that has put countless civilians at risk. Saudi arabia meanwhile has announced its new leader, king salman, will skip a key meeting of gulf nations hosted by president obama this week. Obama had called the summit in a bid to address the concerns of middle east allies over the proposed iran nuclear deal. The white house had said king salman would be attending. But in what is being as a described as a message of protest over the iran talks, saudi arabia said sunday it would be sending lowerlevel officials. The Justice Department has launched a probe of the Baltimore Police department for a potential pattern of unconstitutional policing in the wake of the death of freddie gray. Attorney general Loretta Lynch announced the investigation. Today the department of justice is opening an investigation into whether the Baltimore Police department has engaged in a pattern or practice of violations of the constitution or federal law. This investigation will begin immediately and will focus on allegations of Baltimore Police Department Officers used excessive force, including deadly force conduct unlawful searches, seizures, and arrest, and engage in discriminatory policing. Amy the Justice Department probe comes as attorneys for the six officers indicted over freddie grays death are challenging the role of baltimores top prosecutor Marilyn Mosby. On friday, defense lawyers filed a motion demanding mosby recuse herself because of alleged conflicts of interest and egregious violations. Moby has rejected those calls and vowed to remain on the case. We will speak with attorney Douglas Colbert later in the broadcasting. The u. S. Has said it needs to do more to attack Police Brutality and racism. Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council today in geneva an official in the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division said the deaths of freddie gray, eric garner, walter scott, and several others have challenged us to do better and to work harder for progress. He added we must rededicate ourselves to ensuring that our civil rights laws live up to their promise. The senate is poised to hold a key procedural vote on a measure that would give president obama fasttrack authority to negotiate the transpacific partnership, or tpp. The 12nation pact would encompass 40 of the Global Economy and is being negotiated in secret. Critics say the deal would hurt workers, undermine regulations and expand corporate power. , speaking to yahoo news president obama rejected democratic criticism of the tpp, including a warning from senator Elizabeth Warren that it could roll back financial regulations. Inc. About the logic of that, the notion that i had this massive fight with wall street to make sure we dont repeat what happened 2007 and 2008 and then i find a provision that would unravel it . I would have to be pretty stupid. And it doesnt make any sense. Elizabeth is a politician like everybody else and she has a voice she wants to get out there. I understand that. And almost issues, she and i deeply agree. On this one, though, her arguments dont stand the test of fact and scrutiny. Amy in her criticism, warren singled out the proposed investorstate dispute settlement, or isds. The process would allow Foreign Corporations to challenge countries key regulations before an international tribunal. If obama is granted fasttrack authority, congress would be able to accept or reject the tpp but not make any changes. The Ebola Outbreak in liberia has officially been declared over. The World Health Organization says liberia has gone 42 days without a new ebola case, the threshold for deeming the outbreak at an end. War than 4700 people were killed in liberia the most of any , country. Some 300 to new cases were being 400 reported each week during the outbreaks peak last year. The two other countries worst hit by the outbreak, guinea and sierra leonne, continue to report new cases, but at their lowest levels this year so far. Rival militias in the Central African republic have reached a peace deal with the government after two years of fighting. The country has faced a crisis since march 2013 when Muslim Seleka rebels seized power sparking a backlash from Christian Armed groups. Thousands have died and nearly a million have been displaced. The peace accord calls on the 10 main militias to disarm, integrate into the military, and potentially face charges of war crimes. President obama was greeted with protests against the proposed keystone xl pipeline on friday during a visit to south dakota. A member of the cowboy and Indian Alliance said activists were heeding obamas call on americans to engage in politics. I think it is us enforcing our rights as our freedom of speech and be able to address the president. He made a statement encouraging people to seek change and to address it head on. Amy president obama has delayed a final decision on the keystone xl multiple times during his presidency. There are now reports he will wait until after canadas federal election in october so as not to be seen as interfering in canadian politics. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has urged obama to approve the pipeline. Leaked documents from Edward Snowden show the u. S. Government labeled an al jazeera journalist a member of al qaeda. According to the intercept Ahmad Muaffaq Zaidan was put on a watch list of suspected terrorists in 2012. Zaidan has spent years reporting on al qaeda and the taliban, and has interviewed several top figures including osama bin laden. In a statement, zaidan dismissed the u. S. Claims, saying to assert that myself, or any journalist, has any affiliation with any group on account of their contact book, phone call logs, or sources is an absurd distortion of the truth and a complete violation of the profession of journalism. Four people have been arrested in mississippi for the murder of two Police Officers. The victims were shot dead during a traffic stop on saturday. Two of the suspects are charged with capital murder. It all took place in hattiesburg, mississippi. Extreme weather has brought severe thunderstorms to several u. S. States. At least two people have been killed in a storm in arkansas while more than two dozen have been wounded the texas town of van. Tornadoes hit other states as well. Former president bill clinton has acknowledged polices under his watch have led to overincarceration. Speaking to cnn, clinton admitted faults with his 1994 crime bill, which imposed harsher sentences for drug offenses and expanded the number of prisons and police. The problem is, the way we have written and implemented it, we have too many people in prison. And we wound up putting so many people in prison that there wasnt enough money left to educate them, train them for new jobs and increase the chances when they came out so they could live productive lives. I strongly support what she is doing and i think any policy that was adopted when i was president and federal law that contributed to it should be changed. Amy bill clintons comments come after Hillary Clinton criticized mass incarceration and called for drug sentencing reform in a speech last month, her first major address since announcing her president ial campaign. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has ordered emergency measures to protect workers in the states nail salons, following a New York Times expose on the widespread exploitation of manicurists, many of whom have developed illnesses linked to chemicals in nail products. The times investigation found manicurists in new york routinely work without wages or are forced to pay fees in order to work, toiling for shifts of 10 to 12 hours a day, six or seven days a week, for far below the minimum wage. They suffer from miscarriages, cancer, and respiratory and skin ailments. In response to the report, new york Governor Cuomo announced a new task force to investigate nail salons, Institute New rules to protect workers from chemicals and educate workers about their rights. And those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Today the European Union is expected to ask the United Nations Security Council to permit military action against human traffickers operating out of libya. The u. N. Estimates more than 60,000 people have already tried to cross the mediterranean from libya into europe this year. Over 1800 migrants have died in the attempt, 20 times more than the same period last year. Britain is drafting the resolution that would authorize the mission and today the eus chief foreign and Security Policy coordinator Federica Mogherini will brief the Security Council on plans for a Chapter Seven resolution authorizing the use of force. Meanwhile, the European Commission is due to make a proposal that member countries take in refugees under an eu quota system. The European Commissions migration policy will also propose organizing legal means for migrants to come to europe so they dont turn to traffickers. This policy is expected to be announced wednesday. Germany is one of the main countrys backing quotas. This is german chancellor angela merkel. There are countries which are interested in taking in refugees and which find it right will stop germany is among them and so is italy france, greece, sweden, and malta. So theres a large group of countries and then there are other countries which may be dont see this is this it is urgency, arguing for voluntary basis. But im convinced it will become clear that especially with the countries confronted with refugees from the mediterranean that there will be no alternative to European Solidarity to get to a solution. Amy this comes as a report released today by Amnesty International reveals how migrants are forced to flee libya because of horrific abuse. The report is based on interviews with refugees and migrants across libya who face rape, torture and abductions for ransom by traffickers and smugglers, as well as systematic exploitation by their employers, religious persecution and other abuses by armed groups and criminal gangs. It also finds conditions in Libya Migrant Detention Centers inhumane. As one of the syrian families interviewed said we were facing death in libya so we thought we might as well , face death in trying to get to italy. Well, for more, we go to london to talk to the author of the amnesty report titled, libya is full of cruelty stories of abduction, Sexual Violence and abuse from migrants and refugees. Magda mughrabi is a libya researcher at Amnesty International. Welcome to democracy now talk about what you have found. Good morning. Well indeed, the 17 tribute we conducted with refugees and migrants from all over subsaharan africa, from countries like nigeria but also people who come to libya in order to find better opportunities or indeed those fleeing conflict and persecution in their countries, and their countries of origin like somalia, sudan and syrians as well as that these people face widespread abuses at every single stage of their stay in libya or along the smuggling routes while trying to get into libya to then seek a better life. For the past two years, it was to find better opportunities in libya. But now as the conflict the several interconnected Armed Conflicts taking place in libya continue and the country is sent into further lawlessness, they find themselves more and more at risk of abuse so then they decide to put their lives in the hands of smugglers and then continue the journey to europe in order to find safety there. So the cases we have documented include, for instance, smuggkeeping groups of migrants and refugees in the deserts for several days of joe month in certain cases where there are not given sufficient quantities of food and water, forced to sleep outside without a blanket and a mattress. All of this in order to force them and their families into paying a ransom. We have cases where women, for instance, were subjected to Sexual Violence by the smugglers were coerced into sex in order to be able to continue their journey. So that is kind of the welcome to libya, if you will. Then along the smuggling route once they get into major hubs along the way and the different migration routes, they may be handed over to criminal organized, no groups am at which appear to be transnational in nature. Where again, they can be held for days or up to six months in some cases in order to coerce their families into paying a ransom. Amy where did they come from and why are they going to libya . So as i said, they come from a variety of countries in west africa say, from senegal mali from nigeria, but also the horn of africa as well somalia sudan as well as syria in some cases. Every migrant a refugee has a different story. In some cases, it is really an order for the past two years for many, many years even undercut off feet, libya was reliant upon migrant workers. Some fled in the 2011 conflict in some state. Others came back when things appeared to be on track with the first legislative elections and there was a form of calm in 2012. But others them