Legendary folk singer and activist has died at the age of 94. Realized that Little Things lead to bigger things. This wonderful parable in the scatterament, the sower seeds, sump on the pathway and get stamped on and dont grow. Some fall on the rocks and they dont grow, but some seeds fall on how the ground and grow and multiply a thousand fold. Who knows where some good little thing that you have done they bring results years later that you never dreamed of. Pete seeger in his own words and song for the hour. All of that and more coming up. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. The legendary folk singer and activist pete seeger has died at the age of 94. He helped found the American Folk Music movement. He played with Woody Guthrie and the almanac singers in the 1940s, stood up against senator Joseph Mccarthys witchhunt in the 1950s, and oppose the vietnam war in the 1960s. He inspired generations of protest singers to come. We will spend the hour remembering pete seeger after headlines. Ukraines parliament has voted to repeal around of antidissent laws in an effort to calm opposition protests that have gripped the country. The measures are unlikely to appease protesters who have demanded the resignation of president yanukovich. Earlier today, ukrainian Prime MinisterMykola Azarov offered to resign. Yanukovich had previously offered Mykola Azarovs poston opposition leader, who rejected it. Talks in geneva between the two sides in syrias conflict remain deadlocked over the future role of president bashar alassad. Another issue at stake is the delivery of aid to the besieged city of homs. U. S. State department theesperson jen psaki said situation there is desperate. We firmly believe the steering receive must approve the convoys to deliver badly needed humanitarian assistance into the old city of homs. The situation is desperate and the people are starving. What the regime has proposed is an evacuation of women and children from the old city is not sufficient post up civilians must be about to come and go freely, but the people of homs must not be forced to leave their homes and lit up their families before receiving muchneeded food and aid. A new report says the was congress is secretly voted to fund the delivery of arms to zirin rebel factions through the end of september. Reuters reports weapons supplied by the United States including small arms and antitank rockets are flowing to certain rebel groups in the south of the country. Egypts top military body is given its approval for military to rungeneral elsisi for president after he led the coup that ousted president Mohammed Morsi last year. Morsi appeared in court today for the second time since his ouster to face charges related to his escape from prison in 2011. He was shown inside a metal cage in the courtroom. Earlier today, senior official with Egypts Interior Ministry was gunned down outside his cairo home. President obama is said to announce an executive action to raise the minimum wage for some federal contract workers from 7. 25 an hour to 10. 10 an hour. Obama will make the announcement during his state of the Union Address tonight. He is also expected to renew his push for immigration reform. The Obama Administration has loosened restrictions on what Internet Companies can reveal about how frugally the government secretly demands information about users. But the new rules still bar companies from revealing details, including the nature and amount of data the government collects. The new rules come after Tech Companies sued for permission to release the data on the requests. The aclu called the roles a critical step is that more transparency is required, including about request the Tech Companies are not aware of. A new report from Glenn Greenwald and nbc news based on leaks from Edward Snowden reveals the British Government can spy on social media sites, including youtube, in realtime, without the knowledge of companies. Another round of news reports based on snowdens disclosures found the nsa and its british counterpart are targeting smart phone apps including the popular game angry birds for personal information about users, from their sexual preferences to their zip codes. Edward snowden has continued to speak about spying from russia, where he is to bury asylum. This past weekend, snowden told the german broadcaster the United States conducts spying for economic gain. I dont want to preempt the editorial decisions of journalists, but what i will say thehere is no question that u. S. Is engaged in economic spying. If theres information at siemens that big would be beneficial to the national interest, not the national security, of the United States, they will go after that information. House and Senate Lawmakers have reached a deal on a new farm bill that would continue heavy subsidies for crops like corn and soybeans while slashing food stamps by about eight dollars 8 billion in the coming decade. The bill would end billions of dollars in direct payments to farmers while expanding governmentsubsidized crop insurance. Antihunger group said the bill corporate welfare while cutting food aid for many families by about 90 per month. In honduras, right wing president hernandez has been torn into Office Despite claims of Election Fraud by the opposition. Hernandez has pushed for militarizing honduras as part of the fight against drug cartels, raising concerns about potential human rights abuses. Thousands of people protested outside his swearingin monday, including members of parliament, while soldier stood by him by in closeood proximity. The protest was led by president zelaya, who was ousted in the to in 2009 and whose wife ran against hernandez for the libre party. No one can detained people organized in resistance. All the libre party owns has been gained. Four years ago, we were repressed in the streets. Today, we are a recognized institution and we walking forward little by little in order to overthrow the dictatorship from power in honduras. [applause] here in new york city, police are investigating an attack on an openly gay journalist as a possible hate crime. Dy gener has reportedly reported and rid for National Public radio, the new york times, the New York Daily News and other outlets. Earlier this month he was found lying on the ground unconscious with a massive head injury that required him to undergo brain surgery. His sister said her brother could not remember the assault. Answer the questions of what happened that night. He doesnt exactly know who we are. It is really very painful to see him here the way that he is because he is the most articulated person. The attack on randy gener comes amid a spike in apparent hate crimes against lgbt people in new york city, including the murder of mark carson last may and the killing of elan nettles, a transgender woman, last august. These really civil rights leader and longtime politician Shulamit Aloni has died at the age of 85. Shulamit aloni was a longtime champion of palestinian and womens rights in israel. She served as a member of the Israeli Parliament for nearly three decades, holding a number of positions. In 1991, she helped found israels meretz party after splitting with the labour party. She called on the Us Government to end its support of the Israeli Occupation of Palestinian Land while on democracy now in 2002. Billeting your government will understand the one thing they have to give to the conflict in israel is to stop the occupation, to stop the settlers, to tell mr. Sharon to stop the crimes against humanity and against individuals and to stop taking the way citizenship from people which is a criminal thing to do. Shulamit aloni, the former Israeli Parliament member, died on friday at the age of 85. And those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. If i had a hammer id hammer in the morning id hammer in the evening all over this land id send it in the morning bring it in the evening all over, all over this land ring out danger my brothers and my sisters all over this land the legendary folk singer and mondayt pete seeger died the age of 94. For nearly seven decades, he was a musical and political icon who helped great the modern American Folk Music movement. In the 1940s, he performed in the almanac singers with Woody Guthrie, then he formed the weavers. In the 1950s, he opposed senator Joseph Mccarthys witchhunt and was almost jailed for refusing to answer questions before the House Unamerican Activities Committee. Pete seeger became a prominent civil rights activist and helped popularize the anthem we shall overcome her coke he was a vocal critic of the vietnam war and inspired a generation of protest singers. Later in his life, pete seeger was at the center of the environmental and into nuclear movement. With his wife toshi, he upped found clearwater, a group to clean up the hudson river. Year juster died last weeks before their 70th wedding anniversary. In 2009, pete and Bruce Springsteen performed this land is your land on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at an inaugural conference for barack obama. Pete seeger joined us just four months ago. We will play highlights from that interview later. First, i want to turn to pete seeger in 2004 1 he joined us in our firehouse studio. I asked him about his parents and her philosophy of raising him. My father said, let peter enjoy himself and well see what happens. He knew i liked music. Mother just let instruments all around the house so i could bang on a pn or organ or squeezebox or pennywhistle or an autoharp and at age seven i was given a ukulele. Joined the jazz band. A few years later, my father took me to a square dance. Ill square dance festival. I realize there was a wealth of music in my country that you never heard on the radio. Old time music, my brother called it. It was all over the place, depending on where you are, you could hear different kinds of oldtime music. And i still feel that i like to see people not forget the old songs at the same time theyre making up new songs. Do you remember any of the songs that you heard then that you would like to play now . I cant play them my fingers are froze up and my voice free here, i cant really sing anymore. Get i do these days is i the audience singing with me. If im singing with children, the list to say, i say, kids, you know the song. Shell be coming round the mountain when she comes toot too pretty soon theyre all doing that. The last verse is commemorative, so you ar repeat all the previous ones. Shell be wearing red pajamas when she comes scratch scratch shell be wearing red pajamas when she comes scratch scratch toot toot and even if the kids have never heard the song before, theyre doing it with me. Withu traveled the south alan lomax. That may not be familiar name to many people. He was the son of a texas fellow who collected cowboy songs 100 years ago. That is how we know home on the it. E and other songs like in 1908 he got Theodore Roosevelt to write a short forward for his book of cowboy songs. Had a son and, he his was only 22 years old, father got him installed as the curator of the archive of american folk song the library of congress. Years, did what most people would take a lifetime to do. The utmost selfconfidence come he calls of the head of colombia radio and says, you have a school of the air, what are you spend year learning about American Folk Music . Columbia symphony can play the music after you have read some old person croaked out the ballots. If he could not find an old person to do it, he got young me, age 19 and 20, and i still think of some of the songs i learned then. Advertised in boston, new york and buffalo, 500 american singing blow you wins of the mormonmornin blow blow blow he interviewed a woman who collected that song when she was a teenager sailing on her fathers whaling ship in the 19th century. As an old woman, she came out with a beautiful book songs of american sailors sur. Alan got me started and many others. He is the man who told Woody Guthrie, Woody Guthrie, your mission in life is to write songs. Dont let anything distract you. You are like the people who wrote the ballads of robin hood and the ballad of jesse james. You keep writing ballads as long as you can. Woody took it to heart. He was not a good husband. He was always running off, but he wrote songs. Do you remember when he first met Woody Guthrie . Ill never forget it. It was a benefit concert for california Agricultural Workers midnight. Y post up at burl ives was there, the golden gate quartet, josh white, leadbelly, a Square Dance Group with my wife dancing in it. I sang one song very immature shall he and retired and confusion to a smattering of polite applause. Woody took over and for 20 minutes, entranced everyone cannot does was singing, but storytelling. I come from oklahoma, you know. Its a rich state. He was some oil, go down in the ground and get some oil. If you want lead, weve got let in oklahoma. Go down in a hole and get you some lead. If you want coal, we got oklahoma. If you want food, clothing, groceries, just go in the hole and stay there. And you would sing a song. When did you form the weavers . That was after world war ii. Lee hays from arkansas and his roommate and i started a group called the almanacs. I said, woody, come join us. We were at Madison Square garden singing for striking transport workers. Woody, once again, deserted his us. And joined woody would say, the almanacs are the only group that would rehearse onstage. We were badly organized. After world war ii, lee says, do you think we could start a group that would actually rehearse . Enough toe fortunate run into one of the worlds greatest singers, ronnie gilbert, early 20s from a beautiful alto voice and a strong alto voice. I have to be two inches from the microphone and she could be two feet from the microphone and drown me out. She stood up to three strong voiced men. The four of us were about to break up when we did the unthinkable. We did the unthinkable. Weve got a job in a nightclub. Well, little greenwich elledge playset is still down there Village Place that is still down there, the village vanguard. The owner paid he did not want me at first. He says, i cant pay for quartet and ill pay for you 200 like i did two years ago. I said, what if all four of us would come for 200. That was low pay for even then. He laughed and said, well, if youre willing. We got 200 and free hamburgers until a month later the cell the size of the hamburgers and said, lets make that 250, but no more free hamburgers. Months. D six here the end of it, we met an extraordinary bandleader Gordon Jenkins who love their music and got us signed up and we had a record. On the other side was irene atdnight which stayed number one for three months, the biggest hit since world war ii. Can you talk more about irene . It was the theme song of the great black singer leadbelly. He died in 1949. If you only live another six months, he wouldve seen his song all over america. It was an old, old song. He simply changed and adapted it come at december says and changed the melody. Lawyers adapt old laws for citizens, cooks adapt recipes to fit new stomachs. Anyway, i learn these 12 string guitar from leadbelly. High string and low string together. They played together to give a new town. And the song i really like to is always have to do with it. I dont sing it anymore, i give the words to the audience and they sing it. I says, you know the song, to turn, turn, and turn, there is a season timere is a season and a for every purpose dieme to be born, a time to time to reapnt, a laugh,to kill, a time to a time to weep old. Words are 2256 years i did not know that at the time. Julius lester, an old friend of mine, i dont know if you know him, he is a black man who officially is a jew. He became fascinated with the bible. I asked him, when were these words written . Meansd the mans name convoker and in the greek translation they called him ecclesiastes. It is a type of poetry which is greek. Oria is the greek name. It means you start off the line with a word or phrase. You dont have rhyme at the end of the line, but you do have it becomes poetry by the way it is organized. I i did not realize liked the words, but i realized that, those are some of the most fundamentally important words that anyone could learn. You see, you and i are all descendent from killers. But killers, the ones were not good killers did not have descendents. We are descendent from good killers for millions of years our ancestors were good killers. If they hadnt been, we would not be here today. , a time you period might say the human race he did have good killers. Now if we dont change the way of thinking, there will be no human race. Science acts very responsibly. Information is good ,ha ha ha [captioning made possible by democracy now ] they dont realize some information is very important, some, frankie, forget about until you solve other problems. Einstein was the first person who said it. Everything has changed except our way of thinking and weve got to f