02/03/14 02/03/14 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] >> from pacifica, this is democracy now! allowing the keystone pipeline to be built requires finding that doing so would be in our nation's interest. and our national interests will

be served only if this project is not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution. >> was president obama in june. now a state department report is play down the impact the pipeline would have on climate change. should president obama approved the keystone xl? we will host a debate. then we go to michigan where three climate activist are facing up to two years in prison for taking part in a direct action against the construction of another pipeline. finally, one billion rising. >> i just want you to imagine today when you dance, when you put your bodies on the ground, when you put your feet on the mother, when you move your hips, move your body, when you move your soul, that we are literally dancing up the will of the world to end violence against women and girls. >> actions are being planned to more than 200 countries on february 14 to end rape and

sexual violence against women. we will speak with one billion rising founder eve ensler and kimberlé crenshaw. all of that and more coming up. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. a long-awaited report from the state department has dealt a potential major blow to efforts to stop the keystone xl oil pipeline. in impact assessment released friday says the pipeline's northern light would not have a major impact on climate change. in a speech last year, president obama said his approval of the project will be contingent upon assuring the does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution. the proposed pipeline would transport 83,000 barrels of crude every day from alberta oil sands to refineries on the u.s. gulf coast to which opponents they will have a devastating

impact on the planet. the white house says it has yet to make a decision and will await additional feedback from federal agencies. in washington, state spokesperson said the pipeline review will not be open to comments from the public. >> there is no deadline for secretary john kerry to make a decision and there is a 30 day public comment period after the release comments from the public. only one factor in a determination that will way many other factors as well. and for secretary kerry, climate and environment priorities will of course be part of his decision-making. >> in a statement, coalition of environmental groups said the report should prompt a wave of protest to stop the pipeline, saying "this is an all hands on deck moment to send a message to president obama that keystone xl fails its climate test and he must reject it." a new round of anti-pipeline

visuals begins today. we will host a debate after the headlines. president obama met with top executives friday to promote hiring of the long term unemployed. the white house says the nation's unemployment rate has been worsened by discrimination against those who have been without a job for over six months. obama said he would issue an executive order to enhance protections for those who applied to work for the federal government. >> we having gauged employers of all sizes all around the country , including many who are here today, to commit to a set of hiring policies for making sure recruiting and screening practices don't disadvantage folks who have been out of work to establishing an open door policy that actively encourages all qualified applicants. and, of course, it is only right the federal government lead by example. today, i am directing ever federal agency to make sure we are evaluating candidates on the level without regard to their implement history. he does every job applicant

deserves a fair shot. >> the first syrian peace talks ended friday with little progress between the al-assad regime and the opposition. u.n. envoy lakhdar brahimi said the two sides will reconvene after a one-week rate if the steering government agrees to attend. >> i suggested would resume on the basis of a green agenda that we're going to prepare and send to them, that we meet on february 10 post of the delegation of opposition agreed to this date. the government said they needed to consult with damascus first. progress is very slow indeed, but the sides have engaged in an acceptable manner. overtivist in syria said 150 people have died in a weekend of attacks by government forces in the northern city of aleppo. syrian government helicopters have been hitting aleppo for weeks with highly destructive

barrel bombs -- oil drums filled with explosives and sometimes with nails or scrap metal. the london-based syrian observatory for human rights says most of the victims have been civilians. a former rebel commander in el salvador has finished first in the country's presidential election in a setting up a runoff vote next month. salvador sanchez ceren took 48.9% of the vote, just shy of the 50% needed to avoid a second round. he will square off against right wing candidate norman quijano, who placed second with just under 39%. sanchez ceren agenda mass of the chapel were awesome -- were archbishop oscar romero was assassinated by u.s.-backed death squads in 1980 just before sunday's vote. acquitted of all charges after over six months behind bars. he is one of a number of journalists who have been imprisoned since the military overthrew former president

mohammed morsi in july. his attorney says he expects them to be released. around 20 al jazeera journalists still face trial. in a statement friday, the u.s. high commissioner for human rights for his alarm over what it calls an increasingly severe clampdown and physical attacks on egyptian journalists. former aide official claiming governor chris christie knew about the closures of liens leading to the george washington bridge when they occurred. the official david wildstien help coordinate the closures with the top christie eight when he worked at the port authority last year. governor christie has denied having any knowledge, saying he only found out when the scandal broke open last month. but in a new statement, wildstein says evidence exists governor christie was aware that time, contrary to his public statements. wildstein is seeking legal immunity as well as port authority-backing for his

attorneys fees and the probes surrounding the case. in a statement, the christie administration denied wildstein's claims, saying he's only "looking for the port authority to pay his legal bills." the christie administration faces a deadline of today to comply with a subpoena for handing over documents to a state legislative investigation. telephone is facing a major drought that is frightening water supplies across the state. -- california is facing a major threatening is water supplies across the state. california saw less rainfall last year than in any other since the coming estate in 1850. an undocumented immigrant who won the right to practice law has been sworn into the california state bar. california supreme court ruled sergio garcia can practice law last month after a four-year court battle. mercy a is brought to be was at

the age of 17 months. after his swearing-in, garcia said he hopes his case will open doors in other states. >> we're super excited that my case inspires across the nation. whether you are being blessed of being born in this country or not. be legallyannot hired by an employer, but he says he plans to open his own law firm. drug reform advocates are calling on president obama to use his executive authority to reclassify marijuana in line with his own recently stated views. in an interview with the new yorker magazine last month, obama said he does not think marijuana is more dangerous than our all and call for treating it as a problem of public health. 's jake tapper asked obama if that would lead to a shift in policy. >> you. smoking pot was a bad habit be did not think it was any wars for a person been drinking. that contradicts the official

obama administration policy both on the website of the office of national drug control policy and also the fact that marijuana is considered a schedule one narcotic along with heroin and ecstasy. do you think maybe were talking a little too casually about it or are you considering not making marijuana the schedule one narcotic? >> first of all, what is and isn't a schedule one narcotic is a job for congress -- >> i think it is the dea. >> it is not something by ourselves we start changing. there are laws that make this determination. >> despite obama's claim that mayor won a status is up to congress, both the drug enforcement administration and the attorney general have the authority to reclassify. in a statement, the medical marijuana group americans for safe access said --

and the actor philip seymour offman has died at the age 46. he reportedly died of a heroin overdose. he had previously struggled with addiction before going sober for over two decades and then having relapse that sent him into rehab last year. he was one of the most celebrated actors of his generation on stage and screen, winning a best actor academy award in 2006 for the film "capote." and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the obama administration is saying it has still not decided on whether he will approve the construction of the keystone xl pipeline despite a new report laying down the impact the pipeline would have on climate

change. on friday, state department said blocking keystone xl would do little to slow the expansion of canada's vast oil sands. and that it would not significantly exacerbate the problem of greenhouse gas emissions. the proposed pipeline would transport 83,000 barrels of crude every day from operatives oilsands to refineries on the was gulf coast. and scientiststs have long warned about the devastating impact of further oil extraction from the tar sands in alberta. hansen, one of the country's foremost climate scientists, said "essentially, it is game over for the planets." on sunday, the white house chief of staff appeared on "meet the press" and was questioned about the pipeline. >> here are few newsy items, one has to do with the keystone pipeline and the ability to move all of that oil down to the middle of the country. republicans have been calling for this.

a report from the state department saying there's no real impact on the science. is this thing ready to be greenlighted by the president? what would hold him back from saying yes, the keystone should go forward? >> he laid out his view last summer, which is, it should not significantly exacerbate the climate crisis in this country. >> didn't the state department answer that and say it won't? >> we will hear from other cabinet secretaries. >> what would stop him from saying yes given his own state department saying there is not a big impact on the climate from doing this? >> he has been clear he will insulate this from politics. >> i didn't ask about politics. you have a state department -- >> we have once that he and now we have -- we have one to promote the study and we have others now. the president wants to protect their ability to make this decision based on the best analysis and most sound science. >> white house chief of staff

appearing on "meet the press" on sunday. to talk more about the keystone xl pipeline, we're joined by erich pica and cindy schild. let's begin with you, cindy schild, your response to the state department report. >> we certainly see it as promising and a good indication of where the administration should go in their approval over the next few months. at this point we have spent five years reviewing the environmental impact time and time again, despite the five assessments and most transparent and thorough process to date on anything of it nature. we have seen the same conclusions. minimal impacts, note eligible impact, the environmental answer them a and concerns have been addressed. this is one factor to be considered among several and it

is time to determine that the project in the nation's interest. we can appreciate the politics. quite frankly, as clearly what has been happening here -- we can appreciate the pressure the administration and the president are under, but when you look at at facts and the science, this point, really, there's nothing left to determine but that it is in the interest of american consumers and our nation to approve this project. >> erich pica, you have a very different view. >> absolutely. this is perhaps one of the most studied pipelines in u.s. history. the problem is, the state department has been hiring oil consultants to actually assess the pipeline. we have been doing a significant amount of study on the contract of environmental resource management who failed to disclose many of the relationships with organizations and companies such as transcanada and american petroleum institute that want

this pipeline constructed. it is really no wonder that the state department comes out saying there's minimal environmental impact and that is going to be contested. the contractor that wrote this actually is a pipeline advocate. >> who is it? >> environmental resource management or erm for short. had in was a concern you an earlier assessment that was done that embarrassed the administration. why hasn't this changed? >> absolutely. we had exposed the fact that the original contractor three years ago put together the first environmental impact statement, we had done some investigation and actually spurred an inspector general report. they threw out the old eis. now you have erm and you stop the state department would have learned a need to do better vetting of contractors, while through research -- erm failed to disclose on the conflict of interest forms that they had

worked for transcanada over the last three years, that they were associated with organizations that advocated for the pipeline, including api, who is on today, that's been 69 dollars on lobbying in 2013. $6m in them -- that spent million on lobbying in 2013. the cards a been stacked against them in the state department environmental review process. >> cindy schild, what about the conflict of interest? >> thank you, thank you, i have been chomping at the bit to respond. first of all, the first investigation that you're discussing, what was the outcome of that? there's no wrongdoing. the next one, which we are about to see soon, i expect to see the same thing. if i am going to have an assessment conducted, a proper evaluation of something so significant, i was some and involve that has experience, that has knowledge of the industry, its operations, and

the concerns to look for. i don't want somebody that builds bridges to assess the pipeline project. they're going to have experience. if you look on our website, it is fully disclosed as far as the fact they have some experience with us. anyone who is going to assess the project is going to have a relationship or a history working with the industry. what i would like to ask about is the disclosure that came out actually confirming the e-mails about the negotiations to kill the project with epa officials, senior epa officials, and some interest groups. that is a fact. while yet to date, the most transparent process in the history of pipeline approval, yes, this is perhaps the most thorough assessment, absolutely the most thorough assessment. time and time again, the findings are the same. again, if we are going to move forward and look at where we are, this has job potential

economic, energy security from canada and the u.s.. that is where we should be focusing the conversation. >> erich pica, what about that? consulting firm that has experience with an oil pipeline to do this assessment for the state department? >> you need to get the right people to assess the pipeline. the problem is, erm light on the concert -- conflict of interest statements. this is not about their ability to assess, but whether or not they are truthful. this has spurred another inspector general report, which we are expecting, hopefully, quite soon. they lied about this. we did a quick search and the numerous conflicts -- the western energy alliance, the american fuel petrochemical manufacturers for louisiana midcontinent oil and gas association the state petroleum association -- all are advocating for this pipeline. in the last one, they have two board members of erm, sit on

that board and the have the american petroleum institute and they failed to disclose the fact they worked on transcanada projects within the last three years, which is a big question mark, which is a big question in conflict of interest. but i think this is a lot of speculation until the findings come out. we could comment on the other thing that happened a few weeks ago, and the actual influence that some groups have with epa, when the own epa ministry under said, this is not going to impact climate, the oil sands are going to get to market with no single project is going to have that much of an impact. this isn't about climate. it is about another agenda and it is about politics. >> the head of the epa saying it won't have an impact on climate change? 's well, the state department eis -- >> environmental impact

statement. >> does. despite what we think is the undue influence of the oil industry says, you could have up to 27 million metric tons of release.year in a if you're looking at the president's test when he says he will not approve a pipeline that had significant carbon emission, this pipeline can emit significant carbon into the air. >> can we talk about with this tar sands pipeline will do? let's start with you, erich pica , then we will move on to cindy. the issue of where the oil goes and who uses this oil that crosses the united states through nebraska down to the gulf coast. >> that is an interesting question because when we talk about energy security, it is for who. , before of transcanada congress, was asked in testimony whether or not this tar sands be used on american soil will be

used exclusively the u.s.. he could not testify under oath it would. the state department of our mental impact statement kind of further clarifies that much of this oil in the refining of the tar sand is going to be used for export. this whole energy security argument is really just like the erm's conflict of interest disclosure, it is just bogus. >> cindy schild, your response? >> clearly, you know i'm going to disagree. initially, there were some criticism or one line of attack was that this was an expert pipeline and we're going to ship crude from alberta province in canada down to 1700 miles to the gulf coast. when that did not hold up or have water, then it became, oh, now we're going to export product. there is a boom in u.s. production, which is terrific opportunity, but there is also the opportunity to increase our

imports from canada by 2030. we will be able to import about four times is what we put now from the persian gulf. that is significant. when you have reliable forces of oil and supplies, it is our top trading partner as well. there is a lot of benefit between the u.s. and canada. so right now we have half his line built and we need to finish it. when you talk about energy security, it is absolutely -- this is an interest of consumers. we're going to end up getting -- demand is demand. whether those refineries in the gulf are fed supplies from the united states domestic production in canada or it is going to get it from less stable regions of the world, that is what is going to happen. and that oil that is sitting on the ground in canada, the largest source of gdp, it is not going to stay there. it is going to get to market. this is one of six significant

pipeline projects for not to mention other modes of transportation -- rail transportation is increasing, truck transportation is increasing. it is not going to stay there. there are two proposals to the west coast of canada, to to the east of canada. east of canada. we have to consider the alternatives and what the most efficient and safe way to bring the oil to consumers. helde canadian government the state department report, minister of natural resources joe oliver. >> welcome the u.s. state department's report and are encouraged that he concludes the keystone xl would not have a significant environmental impact . the keystone xl project is expected to support 42,000 jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity in both canada

and the united states, and revenues to government to contribute to social programs like health care and education, and housing. ofthat was the minister natural resources in canada, joe oliver. erich pica, your response? >> i think from u.s. perspective, let's talk about jobs. the state department finally just he bumped the job smith -- debunked the jobs myth. with a country that employs over 150 million people, the jobs miniscule benefit to the united states. i would like to get back -- when it comes to export energy security, there is nothing that says that the tar sands oil is going to stay in the united states and in fact, we should be keeping this oil on the ground and using other types of transportation alternatives to begin transferring our fleet to

something that is greater. what will happen is the transcanada will make tremendous profits out of shipping this oil. this is about billions of dollars that transcanada is going to benefit from a basically sticking a pipeline through the heartland of america for export. >> >> explain with this particular tar sands is. >> this is the dirtiest of the oil. it is worse than tar. it is this really abrasive sludge that requires special handling, requires heat and needs to be mixed with other chemicals. in oil that was billed kalamazoo, michigan -- i am from the midwest and the kalamazoo area. this is the oil that spilled in the kalamazoo river that is costing him his $1 billion to clean up because of the carelessness of the pipeline service companies. expandy schild, can you

on that, on what tar sands is? >> absolutely. first of all, we had the debate about whether oil sands and tar producingte simply, oil and gas products. there is no tar being produced. that is just terminology depending on what side of the fence you sit on. i think as he mentioned, erich pica said it clearly, they want the oil to sit in the ground. it is not going to. the state department said it. as do many experts across the board, it is not going to. energy,rt all forms of but you can preclude one from another. this is going to come to market and demand in the united states is going to be what it is. it is going to be met. that crude source is going to come from somewhere. we believe it should come from canada and the united states. if the environment is the issue a your concern, it is then put to rest. we spent over five years

discussing this. there have been dozens of public hearings, over one million comments generated. at this point, every other pipeline has been approved in less than two years. >> how is the american petroleum institute gearing up for the mass protest that are being planned all over the country in response to the state department's report? >> our plan is going to continue as it has been for the past five or so years. we have been trying to promote andbenefits and the fax correct some of the misinformation out there that can be easier to believe. it is not heated or anything like that. it can be frustrating when you're debating a battle being fought with political organizing and soundbites. engage groups choose to in civil disobedience, that is their prerogative and right. we're certainly going to continue to stick with the facts

and promote the reasons why this benefits the economy, consumers, and it is a john's creator. however you want to cut it, that is down from which number you want to use or anything else, quite frankly, it is a fact that the southern portion of this line was just created which created 4000 jobs. this portion longer. those top stunt, they want their jobs too great to get back to work on the northern light. not just the direct jobs. you also have the benefits i mentioned earlier with our relationship with canada. for every dollar we spend on canadian goods, $.89 or up to $.89 is returned to the united states economy. that does not happen with any of our other trading partners. >> erich pica, i what your response to cindy schild saying the tar sands is not related to tar, it is just rhetoric. >> what they do in canada --

let's be specific. the land andlog basically strip mine thistarry dense subject -- >> more dense than other oil? -- this is the densest >> that has been disputed time and again. >> this is the dirtiest oil they're going to produce. >> the state department just said it is very, both other conventional crude you find in the united states. >> if you look at the process, if you look at the pictures in alberta, canada, this looks like "lord of the rings." it is just so polluted, so destroyed just to get this oil. it is not the typical oil derrick you see. this is strip mined and it is then mixed with other chemicals

and transported -- many of these chemicals are proprietary. we learned in the kalamazoo spill over these companies don't report all the chemicals they have to use to make this stuff this case and fluid enough to run through the pipeline. >> we're going to go to column is in a moment. i want to turn to president comments.imate >> we have to act with more urgency because a change in climate is a ready harming western communities struggling with doubt and coastal cities dealing with floods. that is why directive my administration to work with states and others to set new standards on the amount of carbon pollution our power plants are allowed to dump into the air. [applause] the shift to cleaner energy economy won't happen overnight. and it will require some tough choices along the way. the debate is settled. climate change is a fact. and when our children's children

look up in the eye and asked if we did all we could to leave them a safer, more stable world with new sources of energy, i want us to build a say, yes, we did. >> i want to get your responses to president obama state of the union. erich pica, you're tweeting like crazy through the state of the union. explain. >> i was getting frustrated more and more as i listened to the speech. the president has great rhetoric when it comes to climate change. he is in the process of limiting cleaner act rules. there's a segment of that speech that occurred right before the climate change which talked about all of the above energy and talked about natural gas production. , themy perspective president cannot talk about making tough choices when it comes to addressing the nation's urban pollution emission while also promoting in energy policy that is promoting oil production, natural gas production, coal production and

all of these other fossil fuel dirty energies that will add more carbon into the air. in that regard, we are quite disappointed by the president's speech which pushed these two concepts together. many of which we think are quite contradictory to each other. >> cindy schild, your response to the speech? >> well, from a standpoint of carbon, we reduced our carbon emissions level by 20% are largely due to natural gas. we can't pick winners and losers. there is a viable reason that any of these forms of energy exists, and it is not going to be a flip of the switch to make those conversions. we are making significant investment in the energy industry and those alternative resources, so -- we can preclude one and explain things baby incorrectly or not so accurately when we're trying to make these difficult decisions. we're talking about ways to extract this resource.

the land that is impacted, very small portion in the amount of oil that comes from oil sands thantripmining, is less 20%. 80% is done with the technology called in situ technology, which is quite similar to your typical well. you just go down in a hole and drill the oil out. that is 80% of how the resource is being extracted. from the president standpoint -- >> we're going to have to leave it there. i want to thank you both for being with us. i went to ask you to stay because i want a response on a different issue from you before we go to kalamazoo, and that is the issue of the national security, the nsa, spying on foreign governments when it came to the climate change talks, going back to copenhagen in 2009. we will be back in a moment. ♪ [music break]

>> this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. .e are still with erich pica i would you about some of the reports that said nsa spied before and after the copenhagen 2009 summit. an internal document says its analysts and foreign partners reefed u.s. negotiators on other countries operations and goals saying -- your response? >> shocking, but not surprised as we hear more and more about with the national security agency has been doing.

the 2009 climate talks in copenhagen was supposed to be this convening other world leaders to take us into the future. the united states throughout those negotiations had a smug reality to the negotiating stance and can be blamed for the collapse of those talks and kind of hearing through the snowden documents that nsa was spying on the countries and the negotiators kind of explains many things about why those talks collapsed. it seems the united states wasn't really interested in negotiating for just like other countries should be, just interested in listening to what was going on. >> explain the significance of those talks. i remember very well in copenhagen when friends of the earth was kicked out. >> yes, no, we were kicked out u.n.rotesting within the

confines. so those talks from the 2009 talks, were really about how does the world come together to solve this great issue, which is how to reduce our carbon pollution and save the planet and our society from global warming? a lot of countries from around the world and heads of state, more and partly, came to copenhagen to try to hammer out an agreement that would've taken us into the future over the next 20 years. unfortunately, the united states led several countries, including canada, basically destroying the goodwill that these talks had created to the point where we have been now in these negotiations over the last four years -- which have really gone nowhere. >> what do you expect from the coming talks? out ofust come warsaw, and now moving to lima,

and the binding discussions that are supposed to take place in 2015 in paris, france. >> it is not a good sign when you're trying to build trust with other negotiators, other countries and it comes out that the united states was spying on those negotiations. there has already been a level of mistrust and distrust between the united states and countries around the world, particularly, those developing countries. where we are in paris, who knows? beennited states has not forthcoming with negotiating stances. they have not -- we have not been aggressive in reducing our climate change emissions and putting out and offer the rest of the world can accept. and we haven't been terribly generous with funding to help these less-developed, poor countries in adjusting to both adapting and mitigating the climate impacts that are ready happening to them. , thank youe erich pica

for being with us in the earth usa. we turn now to michigan. he turned to the latest news that three environmentalists have just been convicted for their role and nonviolently protesting the construction of tar sands pipelines in michigan. last summer, they tie themselves to excavators at in enbridge construction site to stall work on a pipeline that had ruptured in 2010 it dumped about 800,000 gallons of crude oil into a tributary of the kalamazoo river. on friday, the protesters -- barbara carter, vicci hamlin, and lisa leggio -- were found guilty of misdemeanor trespassing as well as resisting and obstructing police, which carries a maximum two-year felony. they were denying to law and and remanded to the county jail pending a march sentencing hearing. shortly before the verdict was announced, two of them spoke to the press. even if we are not on the

front lines, we will be behind the scenes. we will be doing direct support next time. >> what is really great, all of these people -- you don't typically -- this little town, you don't see protest outside all the time. so all of the potential jurors, if i were a potential juror would be like, what is this about? the whole goal is to get awareness. we're getting this out to more and more people. we consider this a victory because that was the goal of what we did, was to bring to light the expansion of the pipeline and the spill at enbridge and all of that. pipeline is still being expanded. they're still doing it, but don't doubt for one second the ripple effect of what you do. you throw one little stone and it creates a ripple. >> lisa leggio and barbara carter, two of the three just convicted.

for more we go to grand rapids, michigan, where we're joined by christopher wahmhoff who is part of the michigan coalition against tar sands. in june he was arrested when he protested the enbridge pipeline by skateboarding deep inside the pipe and refusing to come out. he is also an organizer for occupy kalamazoo. christopher, welcome to democracy now! first, you skateboard it inside an oil pipeline? >> yeah, thank you for having me. yeah, this pipeline was joining -- new replacement joining with old pieces of pipe they're still using. i took a skateboard and when in the pipeline within a half-mile of the kalamazoo river spill. fox police and others were shooting oxygen into you? >> yes, we thought there weren't going to be any chemicals and we were wrong.

>> so you were arrested? quick yes, i was. >> have he served time in jail for these protests? theo, we were given opportunity to quash because of against begin with police. i avoided a command and my motion to quash was granted. >> can you talk about why you and the rest recent protesters feel so strongly about this? what is happening in michigan? >> i'm glad you said that and i brought some visual examples. i heard that tar sand isn't tar. it is just oil. this is a piece of tar sand oil recovered from the kalamazoo river were over $1 million of thatan unknown chemicals we can't even get the epa to acknowledge are all over the kalamazoo river. you can see it breaks apart pretty easily.

like kalamazoo is plainly ignoring 300,000 people that are impacted by one of the most toxic oil spills in the planet and the largest online oil spill in u.s. history, arts getting a lot of support from our leaders for the epa or anyone. -- and aren't getting a lot of support from our leaders for the pa or anyone. children are getting sick. if our leaders aren't going to act, we will. >> can you explain what the spill was in 2010? >> it was over one million gallons of tar sands. tar sand oil. it merged with the bottom of the kalamazoo river. it is the first spill of its kind, so the company enbridge was completely unprepared with how to deal with a spill of this size and magnitude. >> finally, how does this pipeline fit into the transcanada pipeline from the tar sands down to the texas

refinery? >> well, it fits because it is the same highly toxic oil, by the same companies that average one spill a week that have the deplorable safety records. there is the carbon argument, but even if you omit that argument, there is an issue of safety that is very, very blatantly not met by these companies. >> that three activists that were arrested who faced two years in prison, can you explain what they did and what will happen now that they have been convicted? >> well, for the same reasons i went into the pipeline, they locked onto equipment after spending time with homeowners that are getting their land condemned by this company for the pipeline. unlike myself, they were convicted and immediately jailed.

they did that for their families and their kids. i'm glad they're being acknowledged for that. >> christopher wahmhoff, thank you for being with us, part of the michigan coalition against tar sands. in june, he protested the enbridge pipeline by skateboarding for hours deep inside the pipeline and refusing to come out. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. back, one billion rising. ♪ [music break]

thatsic, video from a film

has premiered at the sundance film festival about one billion rising. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we end today's show with this new worldwide movement that grew out of the global activist initiative called v-day to stop violence against women and girls. one billion rising for justice will take place on february 14, valentine's day, and more than 200 countries worldwide, focusing on the issue of justice for all survivors of gender violence and impunity that protects perpetrators all over the world. the one billion rising campaign was launched by playwright eve ensler, creator of "the vagina monologues." it highlights the startling statistic that one in every three women on the planet will be raped or beaten in her lifetime. the 2014 one billion rising events kicked off for the world premiere of this new short film called "one billion rising" at the 2014 sundance film festival. everyone is dancing all over

the world. it is part of a global revolution. in more than 205 countries today, people are rising. you are making history. this has never happened before in the world. 200 countries have come together. this is never happened in the history of the world. >> to talk more about the one billion rising for justice campaign, we're joined by eve ensler, the award-winning playwright and creator of, "the vagina monologues." her new book "in the body of the world does quote has just come out in paperback. ,imberlé crenshaw is with his professor of law at ucla and clever university as well as a v-day board member. eve, lay out the plans for

february 14. >> this year, going off the energy and the mat movement of last year, the coordinators came together from all around the world and decided where they wanted to move was in the direct of justice, wanted to deepen the campaign and explain the campaign and really get very specific into the places where violence against women meet economic injustice, gender and justice, racial injustice, environmental injustice. already pastwe are the number we had this time last to come up to about 170 five countries. women and men are rising around the world to look at those intersections and some of the places, for example, some of the things happening are in the philippines, indigenous women are rising in mines where lance haven't taken from them, where it has increased poverty, increased militarization of the mines, which has increased sexual violence. other places rising are in the congo where they have a war

waging for 13 or 14 years and have seen a reparations were justice. >> what are the plans in the congo? >> they're going to be huge demonstrations and marches and dances through the streets and then a concert is going to happen. i really believe there is a set of demands they're putting forward to the government looking at the reparations and it is very well organized and i think he will be a very big rising. i was there last year were about 10,000 people rose in one place alone. we are seeing in india, there are tribunals being held across all the25 states -- districts of afghanistan are rising. i think every state in america is rising. 1300 villages are rising in bangladesh. many women are rising to look at political crimes -- prisoners in bangladesh who were held without justice there and calling for justice for them. >> kimberlé crenshaw, can you

talk more about what is happening in the united states, the organizing? >> what is so exciting about what is going on in the united states is it is finally linking many of the movements around domestic violence and violence against women in general to global understanding that these are risks that women face around the world as a group. one of the problems so far -- at least historically with the domestic violence movement and violence against women in general -- any times people did not perceive they were raped so there would be an anti-incarceration movement, for example, that would not necessarily see the link between having expressed domestic violence or other forms of abuse and that being a start or pathway into incarceration or vice versa. what is happening here is women are putting their bodies at the site where former abilities intersect. by that, i mean vulnerability to gender violence, exportation of

gender, the drug war -- all of these things come together to create unique risks, many time risks that poor woman, marginalized women, women of color face. the idea is if you basically decentralize, encourage women to put their bodies literally at the sites where they're not safe and should be, or where they are not extreme injustice and they have a right to expect that, you put them in motion and allow them to articulate the ways in which all of these former abilities -- vulnerabilities constitute the stages of their lives in the mix for national movement and links it to a global movement. >> can you explain the issue of intersection allen the -- intersectionality? >> if you look at the president's state of the union address, in one sentence he talks about the economic marginality of men of color and the need to have programs at the foundation level, to address

them and in the commie, you talks about the economic marginality of women -- in the next comment, he talks about the economic marginality of women. women of color -- african-american women make $.66 per dollar that a white man makes. latina, 50 six cents. you did not hear that when he talked about women. he did not hear when he talked about men of color. african-american women, median net worth is $100. that means they express all sorts of risks that actually lead to violence and their ability to handle violence when it happens if compromised. intersectionality draws attention that women of color are caught between race, gender, class and most of the time, the ways in which their affordable is not discussed -- vulnerable is not discussed. this allows women to discuss it. we had an event in new york and we're having one at ucla on thursday.

it allows these issues with black you're heading out today to california. if you can make it out of the/. explain what the state of justice panels are. >> would like to draw an analogy to what happens in the civil rights movement. of thea daily action bodies in the streets and then there is what they did at night. they came together and talked about the issues. they built timidity. that is what the panels do. on around the world. it creates a common language so that even though women experience vulnerability differently, we can see how they are connected. >> your book is coming out in paperback this week. how does this relate to one billion rising? >> so much of what we're talking about is the body, right? the body of women, the body of the earth, the body of justice.

so many sites this year -- this is an action of dance, of re-inhabiting your body i'm a reclaiming public space with your body which has been taken away from you through various forms of violence. it is so beautiful to look at all of the videos and the posters that are coming around the world because bodies are such an intrinsic heart of what this movement is about. we're seeing people dancing in places where they never fell free to dance. in the philippines, for example, every day this month they're doing an action in front of the hospitals to demand the privatization of medicine and health care. they are dancing in front of courthouses. i think there's something about when trauma and violence happens to her body, we leave our bodies. we leave the center of our power , our creativity, our resource. dancing and collective dancing brings us back into our central energy and power. my book is a lot about cancer

and congo in the coming together of those two things. >> you survived cancer. >> i did and i'm really happy to be here. i think when we can transform and we enter our bodies, we can really begin as women and women collectively to have a vision and feel about what is going on and connect and know we are part of the story. i heard from so many women last year who pay -- dance publicly that have never felt safe enough to do so. but with the community and the opportunity, they came back into their bodies. >> what is happening in india, for the first time in the last year, the kind of attention that is being paid to gang rape? >> i was there for three weeks in december and i think it is remarkable what is going on in india. there is this unearthing of the

tree. i was on the phone with activist last night. one billion rising for justice is self-directed, determined by people on the ground. everybody owns this movement. there's no central point of ownership. if you want to do it, go into it. there were saying to me, right now in india, looks like probably all states are rising. they were talking about this beautiful action that has gone on where rick sharga drivers have been sensitized to 100,000 drivers now have on their rickshaws, my religion is respecting women. these beautiful initiatives happening by men and women. i think in some ways india is the epicenter right now. there is this wonderful energy that is emerging there. >> if people want to find more about how to connect to this movement on valentine's day? >> onebillionrising.org.

you can go on and sign-up and do your own action or join one of the big actions in your neighborhood. >> i want to thank eve ensler forkimberlé crenshaw joining us.

>> coming up on "california country," find out why it's always a time to celebrate citrus in california and now more than ever, thanks to some pinted