05/11/18 05/11/18 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! >> iran crossed a red line. our response was appropriate. carried out a very broad strike because the iranian targets in syria. amy: tension mounts between israel and iran a day after israel launches massive airstrikes against iranian targets inside syria. israel said the attack was in response to no iranian rocket attack, but is that true? just hours after president trump pulled out of the iranian nuclear agreement, it was israel who bombed iranian targets near damascus.

we will get the latest. then to black mama's bail out day. >> to be able to free our people from these cages using the conditions from our ancestors that brought each other's collective freedom to get our folks back home and to highlight the crisis around the cash failed system, put pressure on all of these institutions were making money off about people's suffering. but most importantly, restore the life that this cash failed system has taken from our people. amy: and as the trump administration officially announces it will detain asylum seekers and separate them from their children at the border, we'll look a case that shows how some minors who arrived alone to seek asylum were put in adult detention. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the white house has set june 12 as the date for a meeting

between president trump and north korean leader kim jong-un, to be held in singapore. the unprecedented summit comes just months after trump and kim traded insults -- "little rocket man" and "dotard" -- and after trump threatened to totally destroy north korea, a nation of 25 million people. in yemen, at least 11 civilians were killed in a 24-hour period in separate airstrikes by the u.s.-backed, saudi-led coalition. in the first attack, an airstrike hit a home in yemen's northern province of sa'ada late wednesday, killing five people inside. this is eyewitness abdallah al-fasly. >> we heard the sound missiles at 2:00 a.m., but we did not expect it was a strike. we went outside to investigate and found it had hit this building here. we waited for a little bit and then entered the building. what we saw inside was painful. something that will make you hate your self. we saw children underneath the rubble. amy: in a second assault, bombs ripped through a residential area of the capital sana'a early

thursday, killing a family of four and two other civilians. the killings come as the u.s. continues to support the saudi-led coalition in its war on yemen's houhti rebels, and after "the new york times" reported that u.s. army green berets secretly deployed to yemen late last year. saudi-led airstrikes have devastated yemen's health, water and sanitation systems, sparking a massive cholera outbreak, leading to more than a million cases and pushing millions of yemenis to the brink of starvation. former vice president dick cheney said thursday that the u.s. should restart torture interrogation tactics, telling a fox business anchor "if it were my call, i'd do it again." call, i wouldmy not discontinue this program. i would have them active and ready to go. i would go back -- amy: cheney's comment comes a day after president trump's nominee to head the cia, gina haspel, repeatedly refused

to call the cia's post-9/11 treatment of prisoners torture and declined to state whether she believes torture is immoral. gina haspel's prospects for confirmation remain in doubt, after republican senators rand paul of kentucky and john mccain of arizona issued statements opposing her nomination. mccain, who is battling stage 4 brain cancer from his home in arizona, is a former prisoner of war who was tortured by his vietnamese captors in the 1960's and 1970's. on twitter he wrote -- "haspel's role in overseeing the use of torture is disturbing & her refusal to acknowledge torture's immorality is disqualifying." mccain's opposition set off a backlash among republicans. this is fox news military analyst lieutenant thomas mcinerney speaking on fox business network thursday. >> the fact is, john mccain -- it worked on john. that is why they call him

songbird john. the fact is, those methods can work and they are effective as former vice president cheney said. amy: fox news later apologized, saying mcinerney, who's known for his birther and islamophobic -- anti-islamic comments, will no longer comment on the network. his comments came as the hill newspaper reported that kelly sadler, a member of the white house communications team, dismissed mccain's criticism, saying -- "it doesn't matter, he's dying anyway." in 2015, then-candidate donald trump mocked john mccain, saying -- "he's not a war hero. he's a war hero because he was captured. i like people that weren't captured." the british government has formally apologized to a former libyan rebel leader and his then-pregnant wife, who were kidnapped by cia agents in 2004 with the help of the british intelligence service mi6, and rendered to libya, where they faced severe torture in one of muammar gaddafi's prisons. britain's attorney general read a formal statement of apology from the house of commons

thursday, saying the government was profoundly sorry for the treatment of abdelhakim belhaj and fatima boudchar. the couple rejected an offer of a half-million pound payout and instead spent years fighting for an apology. belhaj said thursday his case should serve as a warning to other torturers. >> my message is to all governments to carry out torture and who do not recognize human rights and violate this legitimate right. we must all unite together and raise our voices and work towards achieving this humanitarian requirement, which is the implementation of human rights. amy: his wife, fatima boudchar, was pregnant at the time of her kidnapping and rendition. op-ed, she called on trump's nominee for cia chief to account for her role in the agency's torture and rendition program.

"the washington post" reports that president trump's personal lawyer and fixer michael cohen's covenant was paid $600,000 just days after trump's inauguration to advise the telecom giant over its planned merger with time warner. this follows reports that cohen used the promise of white house access as he brought in a total of $4.4 million in payments to his shell company, essential consultants llc, the same company that cohen used to pay hush money to the adult film star stormy daniels, also known as stephanie clifford, who says she had an affair with donald trump in 2006. the powerful law firm greenberg traurig said thursday that former new york city mayor rudy giuliani no longer works there. giuliani says he took a leave of absence from the law firm last month to join president trump's legal team in robert mueller's special counsel investigation. but partners at greenberg traurig were reportedly rankled by giuliani's recent comments on fox news, in which he admitted that a $130,000 hush money payment to stormy daniels was funneled through michael cohen's

law firm before trump personally repaid the funds. in a statement, the law firm's communications chief jill perry said -- "speaking for ourselves, we would not condone payments of the nature alleged to have been made." the united states has apologized to canadian cabinet minister navdeep bains after transportation security agents ordered him to remove his turban during a screening at detroit's international airport. a travel policy issued in 2007 allows members of the sikh faith, like bains, to keep their turbans on as they pass through metal detectors or other airport scanners. in immigration news, a viral video shows the moment that - california, viral video shows the moment heavily armed immigration and customs enforcement officers raided the

san diego home of an immigrant family, mocking residents for demanding to see a warrant, as an officer pried the door open with a crowbar. the raid was captured in a dramatic cell phone video captured by an 11-year-old girl, one of seven children inside the home. >> i want to see the warrant. they don't want to show us the warrant. we have to see the warrant. >> ma'am, you're watching too much movies. amy: the ice officers then forced their way through the door and entered the home with guns drawn and a riot shield raised. >> let me see your hands! turnaround! turn around. don't move! amy: the ice officers arrested

31-year-old alberto alonso-hernandez, an undocumented immigrant who had returned to san diego to rejoin his family after being deported. under federal rules of criminal procedure, officers are required to show an arrest warrant to anyone they take into custody at the time of their arrest. hawaii's governor has readied plans for a mass evacuation of state's big island, as an eruption at kilauea volcano strengthened thursday. officials say levels of toxic sulfur dioxide are rising, as is the threat of an explosion that could send lava, rocks and even large boulders into residential areas. in beaumont, texas, a bomb exploded on the front steps of st. stephen's episcopal church overnight, shattering windows and sending shrapnel flying into office walls. no one was hurt in the explosion, which came as police were heading to the church to investigate reports of a suspicious package. the explosion came two weeks after police say they found a suspicious package in a beaumont starbucks store with a threatening note inside.

in sudan, a court has issued a death sentence to a 19-year-old sudanese former child bride who killed her husband as he tried to rape her. noura hussein was forced into marriage at age 16 by her family. she escaped the marriage and fled to her aunt's home, where she remained for three years before she was tricked by her family into returning home. she was then forced to return to her husband, who recruited his family members to hold hussein down while he raped her. when he attempted to rape her again the following day, hussein fended the man off with a knife, stabbing him to death. noura hussein's case has drawn international attention, with the hashtag #justicefornoura trending on social media. back in the united states, a new survey finds sexual harassment is rampant in the airline industry. the association of flight than a third of flight attendants experienced verbal sexual harassment within the la year. 18% said they'd been subjected to physical harassment or assault. novelist junot diaz is stepping down as chair of the board of the pulitzer prize just weeks into his term, as the board said thursday it has opened an independent review of sexual

abuse allegations against diaz. the author was publicly accused of sexual misconduct during the sydney writers' festival, when diaz was confronted by the writer zinzi clemmons, who said diaz had forcibly kissed her when she was a graduate student. meanwhile, the streaming music service spotify has announced that it will stop promoting or recommending r. kelly's music after a growing number of women of color demanded the music and entertainment industries cut all ties with the musician. a number of women of color accused him of rape and sexual assault in cases that stretch back decades. the federal election commission ruled thursday that candidates can now use campaign funds for childcare expenses. the ruling came after new york congressional candidate grechen shirley requested that the fec allow her to use campaign donations to pay for childcare. shirley said the unanimous decision in her favor was "a game changer for women and parents considering a run for office." in mexico city, hundreds marched in the streets for mother's day on thursday, demanding justice

for tens of thousands of mexicans who have gone missing since the nation declared its war on drug traffickers in 2006. mothers of the disappeared, an organization of mothers whose children are missing, asked the government act to stop the crisis. this is lucrecia galicia rodriguez, one of the marchers. >> i am searching for my who leftjacqueline home and never came back. she has four children and is 35 years old. i wanted to come to this march so they would help me find my daughter. she has been disappeared for a year and a half and her children are waiting for their mother to come back. that is why i came to the protest. they invited me and i came to the march. amy: and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we begin today's show in syria where tension is mounting between israel and iran. on thursday, israel bombed dozens of iranian targets inside

syria in the largest attack by israel since fighting began in syria in 2011. israeli authorities said the attack was in response to iranian forces firing 20 rockets at israeli forces in the israeli-occupied golan heights. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu said iran had crossed a redline, though israel has offered no evidence the rocket attacks were carried out by iran. the international community must prevent the entrenchment of iran's quds forces in syria. we must unite so we can stop the evil. i repeat, whoever hits us, we will hit back sevenfold. whoever prepares to strike at us, we will act to strike at them before hand. this is what we have done and this is what we will continue to do. amy: earlier today iran's , foreign ministry said israel's claim about an iranian rocket attack is "freely invented and baseless." meanwhile, more evidence is emerging that it was israel, not

iran, that began the escalation this week. "the new york times" reports an israeli missile strike on wednesday hit a village in the syrian golan heights. the syrian observatory for human rights also reports israel carried out a missile strike on tuesday near damascus killing at least 15 people, including 8 iranians. that strike occurred just hours after president trump announced the united states would pull out of the iran nuclear agreement. to talk more about the rising tension between israel and iran and what is happening in syria as well as israel and gaza, we go to london where we are joined by the iranian-american professor laleh khalili. she is a professor at soas university of london. she's the author of a number of books, including "time in the shadows: confinement in counterinsurgencies." welcome to democracy now! can you start off by talking about these latest developments between israel and iran in syria? >> yes. thank you very much for having me. i think it is really important to note two things about this.

there's one element that has directly to do the trump announcement about the u.s. pulling out of the nuclear deal. before i get to that, i want to mention that what israel has done over the course of the last few days -- as you mentioned, just in your preceding introductory remarks -- israel's modus operandi is to try to provoking,nflict by by acting group or rockabilly. this is a long-standing activity of israel. what they boasted about, their ability to actually get the syrians to shoot at them between 1948 and 1967 when golan was a demilitarized zone. famously talked about the israelis would send tractors into the demilitarized zone and if the syrians would not to back, they would in them and further in order to provoke an encounter. this is quite a familiar activity of the israeli

military. it is not something they have just started doing. having said that, it is important to note this is in this particular moment a very trump,us outcome of president trump, pulling out of the nuclear deal with iran. in effect, what his pulling out of the deal has done has given a green light to israel to do as it wishes. as you mentioned, just hours after trump announced this withdrawal from the deal, be israelis started attacking. we have no idea whether the rockets fired into the occupied iranianwere actually rockets or syrian rockets. if they are it iranian rockets, than there probably more than anything else a kind of symbolic activity by the hard-line military advisers that are in syria. tellinge is really no that this is in iranian activity, especially given the weakness of the firing.

i mean, if they wanted to attack, they probably could have done a lot more damage than just a bunch of rockets and probably would have gone farther than occupied golan. it is said that, interesting because i was reading this morning before extensivelyria so with a number of airplanes and hitting something like 50 military bases and depots, that , netanyahuovernment himself, specifically warn the russians about what was coming. apparently, the russians flew to iran and warned them about what was happening after the firing of the rockets. part of the reason that we see so few casualties on these military hits. the numbers range between -- well, three syrians have been killed in them between 10 to 20 iranians apparently haven't killed as well, but we don't ask we know the exact numbers and the iranians have not acknowledged any kind of

casualties in this. there's a lot of stuff going on in the background that we don't hear about. what we see on the stage is a lot of posturing by the in thist active parties quite sordid drama, really. amy: let me go back to benjamin yahoo! speaking yesterday. -- benjamin netanyahu speaking yesterday. crossed a redline. our response was appropriate. the idea carried out a broad strike against the iranian targets in syria thanks to correct preparedness of our forces both in attack and defense. the and iranian action failed. no rockets landed in israeli areas. the people of israel are proud of the idea and the people of israel trust the idea of. we're in the midst of a protracted battle in our policy is clear. we will not allow iran to introduce self in syria. yesterday i sent a clear message to the assad regime. we are aiming at iranian targets

in syria but a syrian army will attack against us, we will act against it. this is exactly what happened yesterday. batteries of the syrian army fired ground to air missiles against us and we had them. they make a professor, your response? >> it is quite interesting because on the one hand, this is quite frank on his behalf. these really military very often attacks and a moment when internally domestically there some sort of dispute or some sort of conflict. yet know who is been under investigation to the military often attacks in order to make some domestic gains. i think there's something else at work. there is increasing and happiness in ways israel conducts itself both internally and in the region. we see a lot of that with gaza. this kind of militant activity by the israeli security establishment is a standard modus operandi in the sense the onaelis keep the operation

side by engaging in acts of war. having said that, i also have to say the state of israel is not exactly worried about those millions of syrians that have been attacked by the syrian iraniansupported by and russians. they a displaced. they don't care about the internal repression in syria. what they're really worried about is the balance of the power of region -- power in the region. for a time it was the only arab ally iran had in the region. it has acted as a kind of lands of probably -- when supply bridge to hezbollah. has lost an enormous amount of credibility because of the ways in which it has supported the syrian regime but nevertheless, it does pose as a threat to israel and part of the activity that israel has this.aken is precisely there is another element of this that does have to do with the

trump announcement of withdrawal. as your viewers know very well, after h.r. mcmaster stepped down or was fired as the national security adviser to president trump, president trump choice of national security adviser has been john bolton -- one of the most long-standing neoconservative proponents of some sort of a head on confrontation with iran. given a head-on confrontation with iran is not only books right now, certainly, i don't think the u.s. military would support such a thing, what we see is a kind of two-pronged action by the trump regime, trump administration. and that is putting economic pressure on iran by the sanctions, which are going to be reinstated now or strengthened now because a lot of the sanctions were not removed yet. it is important to note that as well. and the second is to actually -- tory good implant

conduct military activities against iran. it is not like israel has started conducting military activities against iran. there is been a long period of israeli assassination of scientists, for example. there have been proxy wars between iran and israel, again, primarily by hezbollah in lebanon. i think this is part of a longer range strategy of people like john bolton and his allies and supporters within the u.s. in order to sort of generate a degree of instability for iran both economically and militarily. what would be interesting is the extent to which iran would be willing to take the bait on this. there has been some interesting response of very divided responses from iran. i was looking at some of the iranian newspapers and it seems some of the revolutionary guard commanders in iran have been quite celebratory about trump pulling out of the nuclear deal

because they feel this essentially lays out clearly .here the u.s. stands whereas, president rouhani and others who support him have been conciliatory and have tried in some ways to maintain the nuclear deal with the other five signatories. the three european states plus china and russia. so what is interesting is in some ways, this is 11 dimensional tests. are all sorts of calculations going on by all sorts of actors. to be totally honest, none of the actors, whether they are states or government are acting as unitary, cohesive unit. in the u.s., there's going to be some pushback. or sample, if trump wants to start a full on war, there is going to be pushed back from the military. the same is true, i think, a in israel and of course syria does not act with one voice and it

rent is divided. there is quite a lot of politicking that is going on behind the scenes, which is at the moment quite murky to actually cut through and things by become a little more clear in the future. i think it's important to note the europeans are also playing a very interesting role in this. i have been reading the germans have spoken about extending lines of credit to the businesses that might be heard by the new sanctions regime. there has been at least drawn up of what sorts of support or protection can be put up against extraterritorial censures the trump administration may be enforcing against european powers. there is been some a waiver for european firms engaging in business in iran. amy: this is extremely significant when you talk about for people to understand about european businesses. the european countries who are part of the iran nuclear deal

say they're wholeheartedly behind it, they came to the u.s. to lobby trump not to pull out. he did. i this means those european companies that are doing business in iran because they can and it is legal will now are afraid of being sanctioned by the u.s. for doing this. >> yes. that is correct. at the moment, the only sanction that has been revoked in some senses, put in place, has been a sanction against a sensibly a number of businesses that are in some way, the trumpet administration claims, tied to the revolutionary guard. but there is been very big concern and the european side about what might happen to companies like to tell, the french petroleum company that has deals, or with ranult or audi. airbus. it is really important to note that although some of this anxious have been softened up

the jake the coa went into effect, not all of them have been removed. a lot of iranians would talk about how difficult it was to still get any money transfer to iran, for example. in some ways, what the trump administration is doing is ensuring that no more of softening of the sanctions happens and of course europeans are quite concerned about this. who might be the beneficiary is the chinese and the russian businesses that tend to have workarounds around these forms of sanctions. it would be interesting to see whether a, the trump administration will really take its trade work rhetoric further and implement these sanctions against european countries -- not just iranians, but european countries and businesses -- and, the, whether there would be other non-atlantic states like russia and china that would benefit from these reinstitution of sanctions should they happen to the extent that many fear.

amy: we have to go to break that we will come back to this discussion. let me ask you one more question. do you think there's going to be a war between israel iran and iran in syria? >> i really, really hope not. -- one thing, if the arena the series have suffered enough from the repression is as a regime, from the bombing from all sides, from it opposition divided and quite little and from all external powers that have been using it as a kind of proxy for their warfare. i hope there is no warfare between iran because ultimately, the victims will end up being the people who have nothing to do with the decision-making process that are being made right now. less --o be slightly part of the reason i am less optimistic is both iran and israel recognize the extent to which such war had actually damage them internally. there might be some who think such a work could bolster the power of the hardliners on both

sides, but i really do think part of the clear heads -- clear heads will prevail. amy: we're going to go to break and come back to the discussion. we want to also talk about what has happened in gaza. 47 people have been killed by is really forces. thousands shot. laleh khalili is a professor soas university of london. we will be back with her in a moment. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. row,eventh within a pellets and protesters are gathering and gaza near the israeli border as part of an ongoing nonviolent protest called the great march of return. since the protest began, israeli forces have killed at least 47 palestinians, wounded nearly 7000 palestinians. the protest are leading up to a

massive rally next week timed to the 70th anniversary of what is called the day of catastrophe when palestinians, more than 700,000, were forced to flee or were expelled from their homes. still with us, laleh khalili, professor at soas university of london. she's the author of a number of books, including "time in the shadows: confinement in counterinsurgencies." can you talk about what is happening -- in the united states -- but there's a list no coverage of this mass killings by the israeli military of these nonviolent protesters. 47usands in addition to the israelis killed, thousands shot. -- 47 killed, thousands shot. >> i'm surprised this is not covered often. littlerobably covered more here than in the u.s., but this is something that those of us who study israel and palestine are quite accustomed to.

and your audience probably are aware, the demonstrations began on what is called the land day, which is number of 1976 when a palestinian citizens of israel, not refugees and gaza were west bank or elsewhere, but palestinian citizens of israel demonstrated against the confiscation of their land, despite the palestinians had not left and were still there. in that demonstration, number of palestinian citizens were shot by the israeli state. that date was chosen by palestinian grassroots organizations inside gaza as a kind of demonstration of the palestinian will to resist the israeli constant expropriation and imprisonment with the help of egypt by sealing the borders of gaza in gaza. those demonstrations began every friday. the reason the demonstrations occur on fridays is because that is a kind of weekend day, a day

that meant the sabbath, if you will. so people are gathering and it is a peaceful demonstration. what is interesting is this movement has been organized by grassroots organizations and have nothing to do with hamas and what the israeli state has tried to do is trying to continually call them supported by hamas in order to paint them as being, i don't know, the usual kind of epithets that israel throws at hamas. one has also been quite terrible about this, but what has revealed -- again, noting that -- in addition to the 40 something people that have been shot dead, often by sniper fire, often through the eye or the forehead, has been a number, the vast number, surprising number of people who have been injured, many of them maimed permanently. some have been shot in their

spine and therefore they will not ever be able to walk again. this has also been modus operandi of the israeli state. such casualties often don't get too.ch attention as deaths it places an enormous economic cost as well as emotional and those who on not only have been injured, but also on their families. this is a complete and total ands operandi of insurgency engages in military warfare along with other kinds of activities that tend to have enormous economic and social costs. what has been quite interesting is the extent to which this has upon.ncommented in london there are ngos that address these kinds of specific medical needs. they then tried to highlight some of these enormous economic and social costs that come from

the injuries of palestinians but we don't hear much of it. again, in some ways it is profoundly disappointing that the press is that more interested in this. one of the stupid cliches we often hear is "where's the palestinian gandhi?" they are rejecting their own leadership who are profoundly problematic. and yet nobody is taking notice of this. it is for a disconcerting and disheartening. in some ways it is quite important. palestinians are ultimately going to be the ones were able to remove this system of apartheid. amy: quickly as you talk about the palestinian youth and the people leading this, talk about the conventional, traditional as well just overall of the plo. >> the plo is a much more complex body. it is supposed to include exile

leadership who tend to be far more radical and less compromise and those sitting in the west bank and run a lot. -- ramallah. it has had little credibility. the leadership of fatah has been kept in place not because he is popular or supported by palestinians, but precisely because he makes the perfect kind of foil for israelis. he has acted as a kind of subcontractor for israeli security. when he says anti-semitic craft like he did a couple of weeks ago, he exactly fulfills the kind of still typical role the israelis would like to show is being palestinian. but it has nothing to do with the majority of the palestinians who are struggling for their own dignity and freedom. in gaza, palestinians are led by hamas. ms has a little more support probably because they have not capitulate it so completely to the israeli state.

it is important to note in gaza, there is a vast majority of younger people who are disillusioned with the inability of their leadership to organize them in such a way the inability of the leadership to come up with innovative and new methods of mobilization. so there has been grassroots organization in order to try to highlight the plight of palestinians. it is been very disappointing that there is not enough attention being paid outside of israel have in palestine. amy: the significance of u.s. moving their embassy on monday from tel aviv to jerusalem and in what amal was inspired, they've announced to do the same? >> yeah. significant and it is not significant. symbolically it shows the u.s. is essentially giving up any pretense whatsoever of even believing in a two state solution any longer because one of the fundamental issues at stake in the two-state

negotiations were -- was the final status of jerusalem. on the other hand, it is not that significant. anybody was been following the negotiation's no or the oslo peace process, has long been dead. the complete inflexibility shows there's nothing going on and certainly the u.s. is not ever been a never going to be a kind of honest broker or objective mediator between these groups. on the one hand, it is profoundly important symbolically showing u.s. has absolutely no compunctions about setting aside international laws , the occupied status of jerusalem to ignore all of that and move their embassy there. but on the other hand, ineffective terms, it just goes to show oslo is dead. amy: laleh khalili, finally, the issue of gina haspel to be had of the cia.

you have written a number of specifically your book "time in the shadows" is about torture. --r thoughts on what she is she has done yet go you specifically look at black sites. >> i do. it is incredibly harrowing. what is devastating about what her nomination has done is to essentially rubberstamp the use of completely and utterly brutal and harrowing modalities of torture on people, whether or not they're guilty. legals never sort of a process that will allow us to adjudicate whether these people are in any way culpable of anything. loads of innocent people have been subjected to these black sites. what is ironic is gina haspel's confirmation hearing, what is happening on december the british government was apologizing, was issuing an official apology to a man and

his wife --fatima boudchar have --n four months pregnant sorry, several months or number for four month she even held in thailand -- presumably under the reign of gina haspel while she ran a black site there. her confirmation is going to signal should it proceed, all of those countries in the world that acted as black sites, a number of those countries are members of nato and there is turn your the and states, members of nato, but also -- among thee eu most specifically, poland and romania. but those that are not part of the eu and were engaged in these to beof -- they allowed used by black sites, thailand for most among them but there were others, as well as those countries that did as extraordinary -- that acted as countries of which were near rendition, even syria, all of

these countries are essentially carteto see this as a blanche for conducting torture. another they ever really needed it, but this is essentially -- one of the things one hears all the time in the middle east is, well, if the u.s. is doing it, why doesn't anybody care about why sisi we do it? in some ways it would be an utter travesty, but completely unsurprising, if gina haspel is chosen to head the cia. amy: laleh khalili, they can us, professor at soas university of london. author of a number of books, including "time in the shadows: confinement in counterinsurgencies." we asked you to stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. sunday is mother's day. racial justice groups around the country are bailing black women out of jail so they can spend

the holiday with their families. for the second year in a row, "black mama's bail out day" is raising money to bail out as many black women from jail as possible. the effort is taking place in dozens of cities to call attention to the injustice of cash bail. this is serena sebring, an organizer with southerners on new ground, or song, which spearheaded the effort. this is video from song's celebration last year in durham, north carolina. >> song has been spearheading this effort because mary hooks had a dream. she thought, what if we came together with our local and national partners and elected our resources to bail as many black mama's out of jail the week before mother's day. it is part of a larger critique of the system, which we know the system in cages when we believe that nobody should live in cages.

amy: since the effort launched last year, there's been a growing national movement to eliminate cash for from the criminal justice system. just this week, google and facebook announced they will no longer take money from america's for-profit bail bond agencies. still, the cash bail system keeps millions of people who have not been convicted of any crime imprisoned in jails every day nationwide while they await trial. for more, we go to mary hooks, co-director of southerners on new ground with the movement for black lives. she is an organizer of national black mama's bail out day. welcome to democracy now! mary, talk about the significance of this day and exactly what you are doing around the country. day to be a powerful able to celebrate mothers is critical and to be of to do it shows what is happening to our people in terms of the cash bill system. it is so critical in this is there for our community. will stopsing money

we are bailing people out. we're throwing homecomings to welcome our people home. we are unifying people with their families. and also helping to provide stabilization because we know that once people sit in a cage for so long, that they're so much that has been lost. so it is our responsibility to help put the pieces back together. amy: explain how the system works and talk about the women you have been bailing out. why are they in jail? >> essentially, when someone is arrested and if you're not killed by the police, the other lynching begins in the courtroom. when someone goes before a judge, oftentimes they are levied a bail that never considers their income, never considers is there eligible to pay or not. facing detention is not legitimate of whether or not someone will come into court or not. you often see poor black people

who languish in cages because they cannot afford their bail. some and women we have build out, we are seeing ridiculous stories. there is someone that we met who was picked up on an old charge from 10 years ago, someone who had been sitting since march with two children at home and have lost their job, had lost their housing for ridiculous violations. yeah, that is what we're trying to highlight. amy: i want to go to the story of ebony thomas, one of the women who was bailed out last year through your program. she is a mother of three from atlanta whose story was highlighted on the black mama's bail out facebook page. >> i was going to the store to get snacks for my son. my tagline was out and i got pulled over.

dominoes to me, my license had been's is been a from an unpaid to get that also gave me a theyre to appear because had nobody to get in touch with me so i did not know i had to appear for court. i get locked up. failure to appear. my 17 year old did not know where i was. i cried another first three days i was there. county.o the i stayed there, freezing cold, for about 36 hours before i was even booked in. they give you think 72 hours to see if you can make bail. i could not. then they moved me. then i ended up in williams city. that was all bad. it was bad. it was not only cold, it was dirty. a dungeone being in

with your hands tied behind your back. first of all, i did not have the money for some second of all, the failure to appear, and the have's eyes, you're ready one failure to appear's are not going to give your signature bond so that you may not show up again. so you have to pay a bond or get a bill smith or however, but you're going to have to face a we know you will come this time. there was no way i could pay. it seemed like it was just a conspiracy, a money thing. we're going to keep her stuck your because we are one you get paid regardless. her as longto keep as we can. amy: that is ebony thomas, one of the women you bailed out last year through your program. right now you have, for example, google and the koch brothers announcing a partnership to address dealt reform. what do you want to see change even as you engage in change of song and bailout women from other -- for mother's day? >> i think it is commendable to

see google and the koch brothers take a stand on this issue. at the same time, i think it calls for a deeper development -- divestment from mass incarceration and those companies and others have to look at their practices, look at ways they are making money off our people and actually really, really cut ties with mass incarceration in the prison industrial complex, just to be honest. i think what we are seeing in that we are women bailing out, i think what we know to be true is that they are experts at their own lives. we are experts at our own lives. so when we are looking at solutions to dismantle the system of money bail, we have to go back to those pre-women who said -- that in those cages to say, how do we build something new? had week dismantle the system in a way that doesn't come back to us 10 years later because we are doing it wrong or

taking half measures? oftentimes, a lot of our work is making sure we build the alternatives we need. will we provide stabilization and support, we're saying we don't need cages. and community-based solutions in order to do that. so we're not going to wait on the state or big business to find an interest in this hot topic, we're going to take matters into our communities are suffering. amy: how many people do you think are being bailed out? how many mothers are being billed out for sunday? >> may be over 20 cities right now that are engaging in bailouts. so over 100 and over sure. but for us, -- and that gets me excited. and even if we just bailed out one, that is enough. even if we just bailout one, we know one mother, one caretaker is going to impact and have so much impact in communities where hundreds are going to be impacted by the very fact she is

out of the cage. orwe will take one but 100 more would be good. amy: mary hooks, thanks for joining us co-director of , southerners on new ground with the movement for black lives and an organizer of national black mama's bail out day. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. our last segment today, this week the trump administration officially announced it will detain asylum seekers and separate them from their children at the border. we turn now to a case that shows how some minors who arrived alone at the border to seek asylum have been put in adult detention. in california, immigration authorities are refusing to release an afghan asylum seeker from an adult detention center after five months, even though a federal court had determined he is a child. his lawyers say he is 17 years old. but ice used a disputed pseudoscience age test based on a dental exam to insist he is over 18. the teen says he fled afghanistan using a forged passport after the taliban murdered his father. on tuesday, the detainee, who uses the name hamid for privacy and protection, spoke to

democracy now! in his first phone interview from the mesa verde detention center, a former prison owned by geo group in bakersfield, california. the young man detained there who spoke pashto interpreted hamid's responses as democracy now! producer renee feltz asked him questions. he said mechanician is not good. -- he said mechanician is not good. >> can he describe what it is like being held with adults instead of with young immigrants and young asylum-seekers? [indiscernible] every time i cry with myself. >> i think he said it was lonely. can he describe what is like not

to be able to speak to others with his language while in detention? >> he said [indiscernible] >> ok, thank you. can he say what he is asking for from the united states now? >> he said, i want from the judge that they release me from here because what i come here, my life was in danger so i want a beautiful and bright future here. amy: that is an afghan detainee who uses the name hamid to protect his identity, speaking to democracy now! producer renee feltz in a phone interview from the mesa verde detention center where he has been held for five months with adults after he sought asylum at the border as an unaccompanied minor. for more, his attorney mariel villarreal joins us in our new york studio. she's with pangea legal services, an immigrant defense organization based in san francisco. tell us what is happening here and what is this science that ice is saying they're using to determine that children are adults?

>> i would call it a pseudoscience, but essentially, fled afghanistan , serious violence against his family, came to the u.s. border, turned himself in, asked for asylum, and was originally designated a minor. what he told customs and border patrol officials when he got here. then they conducted this dental a sevenich estimated year age range for my client between 16 and 23 years old. and based on that determination, they transferred him out of custody, care and custody of minors, which is overseen by office of refugee resettlement and placed in adult ice custody. and to be clear, the u.s. government denies climate science expected by messes -- except invite massive scientists

in the world, but they use her own science -- with a they do, they checked his teeth? took x-rays ofrr his teeth and actually sent them over to a doctor at the university of texas who has a contract with ice. we've seen other reports this man has made any never examined my claim. amy: ice has previously been told to stop using dental and bone scans to determine the age acause "using radiographs of person's bones or teeth cannot produce a specific age two to a range of factors affecting an individual's growth. these include normal blogical variation, as well as cultural and ethnic differences." that is from a federal audit. the news site reveal reported in september that ice's own internal handbook says dental and bone scans must be used only as "a last resort." she also reported the san antonio dentist who does the dental test for ice never needs to people in person to physically examine their teeth

in and said uses x-rays and photos? >> that is correct. he never met my client. wasppears one of the x-rays missing. he remains detained today. it has been five months he is been in adult detention. amy: we just heard him say he is scared and cries a lot and does that feel he is a voice. he is lonely. no one there speaks his language. he does not have the proper diet. what happens now? >> we have resubmitted a third and areequest to ice awaiting a decision on that. essentially, he is had a sponsor i was ever the last month who is willing to let him live with him and will financially support him. we've seen how the current trump administration is responding to asylum seekers. we have seen it with essential american caravan and out of their singapore to separate families at the border.

they are making an example of my client. they think that if no one is watching were doing anything about it and they can do whatever they want. amy: an immigration judge that he is review the evidence and hamid should be released? >> he initially determine my client was a minor. considering all of the evidence, we have an identity document for him. two weeks later, the government came up with some evidence that had been sitting in our files for five months and the judge rescinded that order. so we have another parole request out to ice and we have seen cases like this resolved, but really only went political officials with power leadership -- amy: who are you asking? >> senator kamala harris to get involved to put pressure on ice and do something about the fact there is a child in adult detention most of and every time he is gone before an immigration judge, three different judges at this point, he has cried on the video teleconference screen teach judge and pleaded with

them to let him out. he is terrified of being with adults. he is a small child. bakersfield,d in which is five hours away from san francisco, which is where i work. it is awful. kamala harris' office to do something about it. amy: we will certainly continue to follow hamid's story. mariel villarreal is an attorney representing hamid, with pangea legal services, an immigrant defense organization based in san francisco. that does it for our show. democracy now! is accepting applications for our paid video production fellowships as well as a variety of paid internships. find out more at democracynow.org. 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!]

>> colameco: today's show is a little bit of a departure from what i normally do. i love chef-run restaurants, chefs in the kitchen, owners in the dining room -- you know, that kind of place. small places, one-off places, places really inspired by great food. this is more of a corporate story with a great chef behind it. the restaurants are dos caminos. there's five of them in manhattan. the creator was steve hanson, who's really kind of a restaurant genius as a businessman. under the radar, behind the scenes, but supersuccessful. came up with adam stillman, the guy that gave us tgifriday's, smith & wollensky, you name it. five dos caminos restaurants in new york city, but the chef's the story today. ivy stark's amazing. opened the original dos caminos. she's in charge of all five of them now. new york alone, they do 4,000 covers a day. that's the story. how do you do really consistent, really great food, cover five restaurants -- upper east side, soho, meatpacking district, park avenue south, and here in times square? we're going to get the story, we're going to meet ivy, the food's really, really good, and ivy is one of my heroes. she's so solid. so, that's today. get ready for mexican, get ready for volu