06/19/14 06/19/14 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] >> from pacifica, this is democracy now! >> i can tell you we are open to engaging the iranians just as we are engaging other regional players on the threat posed by isil in iraq. >> as iraq request the united states carry out airstrikes against sunni militants, we will look at the role of iran while washington and tehran work together to shore up the iraqi

regime. first, as do if patent office cancels the trademark registration for the redskins because the football team's name is "disparaging to native americans," we will speak with amanda blackhorse, the navajo activist who filed the lawsuit. then we go to brazil where thousands of people marched wednesday to protest massive spending on the world cup and the call for more affordable housing. we will speak with sportswriter dave zirin. >> the land is incredibly powerful and the world cup in the older books provide what is known as a state of exception to grab the land, remove the favela , and develop it. >> the supreme court sides with so-called fulcher funds over the people of argentina. all of that and more coming up. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman.

the obama administration has reportedly condition military intervention in iraq on the resignation of prime minister a maliki. iraqi and u.s. officials said wednesday maliki's government has asked the obama administration the launch airstrikes on sunni militants. general martin dempsey confirmed iraq's request in senate testimony. >> we have a request from the iraqi government for airpower. >> we do? >> we do. we think it is in our national interest -- security interest. >> to counter isil wherever we find them. >> according to an independent report, the obama administration has told senior iraqi officials it would intervene militarily only of prime minister maliki left office. maliki, whose shiite, has been why the criticized for deepening iraq's sectarian divide. speaking earlier today, spokesperson for maliki rejected calls for his resignation host up in washington, president obama hosted top lawmakers to

discuss whether he would need congressional approval for any military strikes in iraq. senate minority leader mitch mcconnell of kentucky told reporters he does not expect obama to seek congressional authorization for additional military support to iraq's government. for u.s. strikes comes amidst conflicting reports over a battle for iraq's largest oil refinery. militants have apparently taken control of most of the facility, but the iraqi government claims it has repelled their attacks. moore in the crisis later in the broadcast. libya has condemned a u.s. raid that nabbed a suspect accused of plotting the 2012 attack in benghazi. captured by u.s. special forces over the weekend and immediately was away to a u.s. ship. the obama ministration says it plans to try him in civilian court. on wednesday, libyan officials called u.s. rate of violation of libyan sovereignty and said

khatalla chebeague rock back inside libya. -- should be brought back for travel inside libya. without prior knowledge of the libyan government at a time the city of benghazi suffers from security disruptions. there wanted in a number of cases. the security situation in benghazi has left them unable to enforce these orders. >> in a letter to view an security council, the us ambassador to the united nations, samantha power, defended the raid by invoking the u.s. right to self-defense under article 51 of the u.n. charter. allah a keykhat figure in the benghazi attack and said he was signing the violence against americans. he is reportedly being held on u.s. ship and undergoing an fbi-led interrogation. it is unclear if he has been red armor and a warning of his right to remain silent and obtain

legal counsel. a death rowexecuted prisoner convicted of killing his wife and young son nearly 30 years ago. john henry was a third prisoner to be put to death in u.s. this week following executions of missouri and georgia. they're the first since oklahoma's botched killing in april. the oklahoma prisoner writhed and groaned on the gurney before dying of a heart attack 43 minutes after his lethal injection. several executions were delayed or stayed in the aftermath of his death, with defense attorneys citing the threat of similar suffering. newly released e-mails suggest the auto giant general motors ignored yet another defect in vehicles that it had on the recall just this week. the 2006 chevy impala was recalled on monday as part of a new recall of three .4 million vehicles that can shut off if their keys are jarred while bearing extra weight. to in the 2005 message nearly a dozen colleagues, gm employee laura andris warned

about driving a 2006 in pollock that had stalled. after consulting with an engineer, she said -- the new recall comes on top of the earlier recalls this year of around 20 million cars, including 6.5 million ferguson -- for ignition switch defects they had ignored. it has been linked to at least 13 and possibly hundreds of deaths. general motors ceo mary barra faced questioning from democratic congress member from colorado. >> you have been with the company for 30 years. how does someone who is spent an entire career within the culture of gm -- i believe there are 210,000 employees with gm and you mentioned 15 were fired. that is 99.999% if my math is right.

if you haven't changed the people, how do you change the culture? >> to 15 people that are no longer with the company are the people that either did not take action they should or did not work urgently enough to rectify this matter. and they are no longer part of this company. >> it was her third appearance before congress since gm began recalling millions of cars in february. a u.s. military tribunal has charged in iraqi prisoner like guantanamo with war crimes. he is accused of plotting and ordering attacks on western troops in afghanistan. he has been held at guantanamo for over seven years and is classified as one of 16 high-value prisoners. military prosecutor mark martins said the case against him is strong, while defense attorney james connell said the was mishandled the case of failing to bring charges for years. >> this is evidence we are confident can be proved, can prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, which is why we bring it.

i will have to leave it at that. >> what happened here is the justice process was hijacked at the cia. ,hen he came into his custody he was placed -- held in cia custody until september 2006 instead of being presented to justice system. if the tribunal will hear conspiracy charges against him since conspiracy is not considered a war crime. president obama has unveiled new measures aimed at protecting marine life from pollution and overfishing. the u.s. will create the world's largest ocean preserves by expanding federally protected waters of the pacific ocean. in a video message to the state department's are ocean summit, obama also unveiled new curbs on illegal fishing. >> i am building on that progress by directing the government to combat black work fishing that threatens our

oceans and undermines our economy, and supports dangerous criminals. like clinton and bush before me, i will use my authority as president to protect some of our most precious marine landscapes, just like we do for mountains and rivers and forests. thee are just a few of steps the united states is taking acute are ocean strong and healthy. >> under the plan, the pacific remote islands marine national monument would expand from 87,000 square miles over 782,000 square miles. former montana democratic governor and potential presidential hopeful brian schweitzer has been quoted using homophobic and sexist language and comments about high-profile lawmakers. journal"e in "national quote him speculating about the sexuality of outgoing house majority leader eric cantor, saying --

in the article, schweitzer also criticizes the credit senator dianne feinstein for her staunch defense of u.s. surveillance programs by saying -- his name is been floated as potential democratic presidential candidate in 2016. a video featuring republican senator thad cochran of mississippi is getting more attention this week as he faces a tough battle for his seat in the state. senator cochran squares off against the two-party backed challenger and republican primary runoff next week. on friday, fox news posted an .nterview where he appears

>> what happened in virginia the other day, does that concern you for your chance in this run-up? >> i don't know what you're talking about. >> with eric cantor losing his seat? >> i haven't really thought of that campaign very closely -- i haven't followed that campaign closely. >> eric cantor lost his seat as the majority leader. >> it happens. someone and some lose. it is not a nondomestic proposition that you get reelected just because you have done a good job. >> senator spokesperson told abc news that cochran knew about cantor's loss, but "felt like the question had been asked and answered enough." federal court has dismissed a civil rights lawsuit filed a peace activist anna livia, washington over spying by u.s. military informant who infiltrated their group. democracy now! first broke the story in 2009 when it was revealed and active member of students for a democratic militarizationt

was actually informant for the u.s. military. the man everyone knew as john jacob was in fact john tory, member of the force protection service at fort lewis. he also spied on the industrial workers of the world and iraq veterans against the war. the exposure of the spying also led to disclosures of intelligence gathering and sharing about the activist by the air force, federal capitol police, the coast guard, and local and state police. but this week u.s. district court judge ruled he did not violate the civil rights of of the activist because who is acting out of legitimate safety concerns, not seeking to stifle political speech. the activist say they plan to appeal the ruling saying it "fundamentally compromises the constitution." and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. >> welcome to all our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. >> welcome to all our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. the growing movement to change the name of the washington

redskins football team has scored surprising victory. on wednesday, a federal agency canceled the team's trademark registration after concluding its name and logo are disparaging to native americans. the decision issued by an arm of the u.s. patent and trademark office does not force the team to change its name, but could make it more difficult to legally guard the name and logo from use by third parties. >> the team can reportedly keep the trademark while they appeal. the native americans and other critics of the redskins brent have hailed the ruling as the latest sign team owner dan snyder will inevitably be forced to drop it. among the celebrating wednesday's ruling were senate majority leader harry reid of nevada and before him, senator maria cantwell of washington. >> madam president, come to the floor because the patent office has just ruled that the name of the washington football team is not patentable because it is a slur. know thatexcited to finally, people are recognizing

that this issue can no longer be a business case for the nfl to use this patent. >> this is extremely important native americans all over the country. the name is racist. daniel snyder says it is about tradition. i ask, what tradition? the tradition of racism? wall ining is on the lights.linking neon >> the senators were among the more than 50 senators who signed a letter to nfl commissioner roger goodell last month urging him to push the redskins to change their name. the legal case that triumphed wednesday was filed in 2006 by a group of young native americans after a similar case was overturned on appeal. in that earlier case, federal court found the plaintiffs had waited too long to file their case. well, one of the plaintiffs in the latest case joins us now. amanda blackhorse is a social worker member of the navajo nation who joins us from kayenta

. and sports writer dave zirin joins us from brazil where here's covering the world cup. welcome to democracy now! this began with amanda blackhorse. -- let's begin with amanda blackhorse. talk about the significance of this patent case. >> good morning and thank you for having me. the significance, i mean, this is such a huge victory not only for our group, but for native americans all over the nation and as well as our supporters. we have a tremendous amount of supporters who are non-native as well, and this is just a huge victory for us. the cancellation of the trademark does not mean the team has to change their name. i think our biggest thing with they're saying the "r" or does not deserve federal

protection. we would like to make that known to the team and also we don't think that dan snyder and the co-owners should make money off of a racial slur, especially a racial slur directed at native american people. this is a huge victory for us. i do know the team will appeal and we are ready for that. we have been through this process for eight years now. we will continue to fight. this is not the end for us. >> amanda blackhorse, an attorney for the redskins released a statement in response to the decision saying --

the reference there was that there been prior cases, as we mentioned in the lead to the story, can you talk about the prior case and what happened there? most sports fans are surprised by the ruling, but this has been a long process of litigation on this issue. >> absolutely. the sort of person who has been pushing this for all these years come a suzanne, she filed her case along with adjuster's in 1992. they won the case under the ttab in 1999. pro football came back an appeal on case and they want based stating, like amy said, the petitioners waited too long to file the case. or they were too old at the time they filed the case. >> too old? what do they mean by that? >> that they should have filed when they became adults, that

they waited too long to file their case. so with our case, each of us were between the ages of 18 and 24. if they appeal, we are not barred by the statutes. they cannot say we waited too long. we had just become adults at that time. so that is kind of the big difference for us in our case. >> amanda, the case bears her name, blackhorse versus pro football. why does the name of the redskins team in washington, d.c. affect you, bother you, hurt you so much? foremost, the name the textbook definition -- textbook definition of the word is a racial slur. it is a disparaging name for the

american people. in my community, we don't call each other by the "r" word. i've never heard another native american person call another native american person by that word. it is not something we do. we have other names like native american, american indian, or even indian, but we never call each other by the "r" word. the name itself actually dates at the time the native american population was being exterminated. bounty hunters were hired to kill it of american people. one could make a great living off just killing native american people. that was paidriff out. the highest was for native american man and a woman and a child -- and then a woman and then a child. there were news clippings and flyers that were posted asking

people to go out and kill indians and bring back the red skin. in order to show they made their kill, they had to bring back the scalp or their skin. that is where the redskin word has been passed down. so in our community, we do not use that word. >> i would like to bring in dave zirin, the writer and sports analyst. the redskins and their owner, dan snyder, have really battle this, continues to insist he will not change the name. could you talk about dan snyder and his role within the national football league hierarchy of owners? >> absolutely. dan snyder has a dual position in the hierarchy of nfl owners in that he is not someone with a lot of friends among in a fell ownership, precisely because his personality is so abrasive.

frankly, is abrasive personality, the fact is everything short of someone twirling his mustache, as he insists the name will never change -- his belligerence is one of the things that i think is fueled the movement to change the washington football team name. at the same time, the washington brand is one of the most powerful and all of the nfl. that is what is so important about this case. 31 of the 32 nfl teams, everyone except the dallas cowboys, they pool their merchandise money and then divide them equally. the washington football team is responsible for it very big slice of that pie. if the trademark is removed and all the sudden the market is flooded with bootleg gear, that cuts in the the profits of other nfl owners and creates a new arena of pressure on dan snyder to change the name beyond indigenous activists might be on senators, beyond sports writers who refuse to use the name. it creates an avenue of other owners who are now saying, wait

a minute, we don't really care about racism or not racism, but we do care about the color green -- not red skins, but greenbacks. and the greenbacks in our wallet are hurting right now so dan snyder, you need to get on it and change your name. blackhorse, if you can talk about what you think reporters should do. yesterday, a new york times reporter said reporters should also just refer to "the team" and not use that word. >> i think that is also very important, the language we use. i've used the term to describe what i'm talking about, but i don't freely use the word in a day-to-day basis. if i want to let someone know exactly what i'm talking about, then i will use it. i do appreciate the press who have decided to not print the

word anymore because it is a racial slur. there are people who are making complaints to the fcc as well when they do hear the word on-air. i think it is very important in thatstart moving direction because i think we live in a culture now where we are so desensitized to some of these things that we don't even think about it when we are saying a racial slur, and that of one -- that is kind of the things we've been doing is educating people on the term. because people think it is just describing a group of people, and they don't understand the history behind the word. you would not call someone by their color. you don't call people white skin or yellow skin or black skin or

brown skin, it is just not something that is socially acceptable. so why is it ok for this to happen? >> how do you feel about the other names of the teams? the seminoles, the braves, the indians, the and it goes on? indians, theird logo is one of the most racist logos i've ever seen. that is not the way native american people look and it is definitely not the way our native american men look. it is very offensive and it needs to go. i think the team understands that at this point it is offensive because they won't use that logo when there in arizona or in certain places -- they are in arizona or in certain places, so i think they're moving in that direction. but other teams, the braves, the chiefs, the black hawks, someone explain this to me one time that

a mascot is meant to be ridiculed. a mascot is there so people can push it around. he can be brave and stoic but it can also be something that you can put down. so when you put a native american image in that position, then you're opening up for a whole slew of different stereotypes to be directed at native american people. i think what people don't understand, what happens at these games, you go into a game and you see -- it is horrible. you see people wearing a red face. you see people wearing fake feathers in their hair mocking the headdress. you see people with warpaint during the tomahawk chop and saying, "scalp him." it is very offensive. we have a native american team, you have no control over what happens in that stadium. there's a lot of things that are

very negative toward native american people that happen in that stadium. i just don't agree that we should have native american mascots. there, andine line you can blur the two. >> i would like to ask dave zirin, do you see any parallels or lessons the way the nba handled the recent scandal over the la clippers and their owner nfl is handling dan snyder's battle? >> not only are there parallels, i thought the nba performed a shot across the bow, if you will, at the nfl i airing a commercial against the washington team name, the incredibly powerful commercial that was funded by an indigenous tribe that spoke about there are many things that we call ourselves, this is not one of them. then they show the helmet. the nba trying to draw a sharp

contrast with the nfl in terms of how they deal with racial issues. frankly, that is what people were saying on social media as soon as donald sterling was given the boot. like, why is this racism ok and is not ok? when you peel that back, that is where this gets really ugly. why do we allow a slur against native americans but we don't allow slurs against other ethnicities? it is rooted in the realities of genocide and displacement. if you need genocide or displacement to have a team name, then you probably need a new team name. i am here in brazil. when we heard the news about the washington trade prior -- trademark, they were excited not because they care about the nfl at all, but because the fight is always for indigenous people, for visibility, to be seen, to be noticed. that is the same in brazil as throughout latin america and the united states. that is always the challenge for adjust to say, hey, we're here,

we are living people and demand our rights. >> we had to take a break that we want you to stay with us because we want to talk about the world cup. amanda blackhorse, thank you so much for being with us. we will continue to follow the story. the case is blackhorse versus pro football. thank you, amanda. we will be back with dave zirin in brazil at the world cup in a moment. ♪ [music break]

>> this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. we after brazil, where thousands of people marched wednesday one of the largest protests of the 2014 world cup. members of the homeless workers movement blocked a major freeway in são paulo to protest massive spending on the tournament and to call for more affordable housing. idea today was not to schedule a meeting. the idea was simply to denounce the construction companies which donate grace comes to political campaigns in this country. the idea is also the put pressure on legislators to vote on the city's general plan and budget. >> to talk about this and what is happening overall in brazil,

dave zirin is still with us, author of, "brazil's dance with the devil: the world cup, the olympics, and the fight for democracy." stadiumtside the arcana in rio de janeiro. talk about what is happening there right now. >> the protests are happening and thank goodness for democracy now! and other independent news outlets for even giving coverage to this of people know. yesterday, there was a demonstration of 400 to 500 teachers in the middle of rio de janeiro, protesting for basically their coworkers who went on strike in protest against fifa and world cup priorities saying we want fifa -quality schools. those who went on strike were fired. that is a violation of brazilian wall. teachers were fighting, demanding their coworkers actually be rehired. there was no violence at the end of this demonstration, fortunately, yet according to others, there was violence put on by the police. there's so much police pressure

on demonstrators right now, whether it is mass arrests, the use of concussion grenades, whether it is the use of tear gas. we've also seen the use of live ammunition. what is so ironic about this, the same time, you sit behind me the maracana. 75 chileans rushed the stadium yesterday, not --knocked down the gates and they were just asked to leave the country the next three days while demonstrators who don't do you leave the property damage have been subject to all sorts of physical torment. >> dave, these protests will not end when the world cup ins because in another two years, there's going to be the olympics and there's more construction plant, isn't there? >> absolutely. just yesterday, i was at a visited two years ago, the home of 500 families and now the home of 350

families. the great crime is that they happen to be next door to what is going to be the olympic village. 10 yards away, the olympic village is being constructed and here is this favela that is been there for decades. when i went there, i was prepared to see one of every three homes destroyed, which is what i saw and it is very upsetting. what i did not expect to see as many of the trees have been uprooted. i did not expect the people would tell me the trash and not been collected and streetlights were only on sporadically. one of the residence described as psychological torture by the city to encourage them to move or accept payouts and leave the that whole area can be developed for olympic construction. >> the context in which all of this is taking place, dave, that you say most are not responding to, you just tweeted this morning -- invitation and resources for world cup journalist tan the stigma -- journalists to in the stigma and

catalytic commodities. >> they do amazing work. they started the initiative that people can go online and check out. they're trying to dispel a lot of the myths about favelas, which is that they are not slums, they are living, life communities and places that should be protected and not become casualties of the world come -- world cup olympic rush. by places like "the daily beast" adjusted it article that i think people can read for themselves, has 50 things wrong in terms of how to actually discuss the favelas. >> dave, could you talk a little bit about the role of fifa in terms of all of these development projects that occur wherever the world cup goes? >> absolutely. fifa, the organization and

oversees international soccer, they make a series of demands on the host country of their there. those domains involved security and surveillance, infrastructure, building new stadiums, and a willingness to put up tons of debt. it is worth saying brazil as a nation is not a victim in the fifa relationship, nor is any country that hosts the world cup because there's always interest that benefit greatly from fifa being there. the result, the most powerful industry, maybe the equivalent of natural gas and oil industry in the united states, is construction. , it islding new stadiums a boon to the construction industry. people are supposed to be excited about soccer and hosting this big hard, but in reality, and is pushing through a series of development programs which are mainly for the benefit of the construction, big real estate, and tourist money coming in, not for the people who have

to live here once the cameras have left and once the confetti has been swept away. >> and how to brazilians feel about the world cup? 0-0.0-0.exico >> iwatch brazil played mexico and everybody gathered around to watch. what was fascinating is everyone was really into soccer, but not everybody was rooting for brazil. for a lot of folks here, they're rooting against the national team, which is actually a point of pride given all the disagreements that people have with fifa and the government and how they have implemented the world cup. that was an interesting thing to see. >> i know we might lose the satellite, but we're going to take it vantage until we do. the issue of where the world cup in brazil politics go from here? >> everywhere it goes right now going forward is the october elections. doma rousseff will be running for reelection and the 2016 olympics, which will be held right here in rio.

the struggle is not going anywhere. already you see rousseff use a lot of care and stick in terms of -- caret and stick in terms of how they're getting people ready for the olympics. you mentioned the protest by the homeless workers movement and the landless hasn't movements taking place. those protests have been very landless homeless movement taking place. those protest the been very successful. there were 20,000 people in the streets before the world cup and that a promise that would not march on famous corinthian stadium in são paulo. if they made that promise, they would get public housing. you see this dynamic operating in brazil where they're offering both carrot and stick, significant payouts to those who live in the favelas to move, not just using brute force. that is entirely because of resistance. >> vice president biden was there. edward snowden has applied for political asylum in brazil. do you think there's any

relation, offering brazil old archives information, very important, about the brazilian dictatorship and u.s. involvement in it from decades ago? there probably is. the question of the dictatorship is a live one in brazil. it always is. we're talking less than 30 years. a lot of the protest against fifa with the slogan to your the idea that fifa is reimposing a form of dictatorship on brazil. people want information. they still want to know more about the role the united states played in aiding a decade-long dictatorship here in brazil. thatconvinced people want knowledge in brazil. that it is very important to them. they want to see it. i think what edward snowden has done has been to the benefit of all of us because we get to have this information and judge this history for ourselves. >> do you think joe biden is possibly there to put pressure on rousseff to not get asylum to

edward snowden? for have no idea to say sure, but it was curious to see joe biden in the box at a fifa match, trying to figure out whether he should put a baseball cap on, when to cheer, when to stand up. it was kind of like a high comedy pantomime. " it is soccer, what am i supposed to do? there's an old expression that sports and politics by other means and i think there's no question this is probably a lyrical horsetrading going on. >> he was just there to see the beautiful game. dave, thank you so much for being with us, dave zirin, author of, "brazil's dance with the devil: the world cup, the olympics, and the fight for democracy." he is covering the 2014 world cup and everything around it in brazil, talking to us from just outside maracana stadium. when we come back, we will talk about the debt in argentina and

u.s. supreme court from a what they have to do with each other. and then, what is happening in iraq? particularly, looking at iran. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

>> this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. we turn now to the crisis in iraq were sunni militants have seized a large swath of the country over the past week. on wednesday, the iraqi government formally asked united states to carry out airstrikes on the militants. according to a report in the "independent of london," the obama ministration has said it would intervene militarily only if prime minister malik he left office. maliki, whose a shiite, has been why the criticized for deepening iraq's sectarian divide. according to "the wall street journal" a number of arab nations including saudi arabia

and the united arab emirates are also pressing for maliki to leave office. >> many say the crisis is developing into a proxy war between iran and saudi arabia. maliki's government has accused the saudis of backing the sunni militants in iraq. on wednesday, saudi arabia issued an apparent warning to iran by saying outside powers should not intervene in the conflict in iraq. a rating president rouhani said iran will not hesitate to protect shiite holy sites threatened by sunni militants. the comments come as the obama administration said it remains open to cooperation with iran in stopping the militants advance. he an iranian officials briefly discussed a wreck this week on the sidelines of nuclear talks in vienna. to talk more, we're joined by reza marashi for research director the national iranian american council. welcome to democracy now! talk about the role of iran and what is happening in iraq. >> in the bush ministration made the decision to invade iraq 11

years ago, it created a power vacuum. the power vacuum inevitably was filled by the majority religious and, shia come inside, obviously, that rubs some people the wrong way. the kicker in all of this is that the problem isn't shia versus sunni, religion versus religion. religion is being used by politicians as a power grab and a way to try to take advantage of the politics and economics. this is where we stand right now. until the sides learned to get along and play nice with one another, the problems are only going to get worse, not better. >> what about the situation here of the obama administration on the one hand continuing to portray karen as a key opponent -- iran as a key opponent, now needing to cooperate with iran on the issue of what to do with the deepening crisis in iraq?

>> great question. for both washington and tehran, old habits are hard to break. for over three decades, both sides have been taking the other as the enemy, the source of all that is wrong, the source of all problems in the middle east. up doingthat is ended is exacerbating the conflict between the two sides and within the region at large. to the point now where it is blowing up in their face and their having to see if they can unlearn long-standing bad habits in an effort to work together or at least communicate directly so they can figure out how to solve these shared problems when interests overlap. took some wednesday, jay carney in his last news conference as white house spokesperson said the obama administration is open to more talks with iran on stopping the insurgency in iraq. you we are open to engaging the iranians, just as we are engaging other regional players on the threat posed by

isil and iraq. as you know, the issue did come up between bill burns and iran on the margins of the p5+1 in vienna on monday. there may be future discussions at lower levels, major, though we do not expect the issue to be raised again during this round of p5+1 nuclear discussions in vienna. >> reza marashi, explain. >> i think they're going about this exactly the right way. you need to dip your toe in the water before you jumping completely. because they have been working against each other and fighting a proxy war in iraq for quite some time, refusing to collaborate, which has blown up in her face as a result, both sides are slowly coming around to the realization that they need one another in some way shape or form. they need to collaborate if not communicate. the very positive first steps is having conversations, clarifying one another's position so that

they can go back to their respective capitals, explain it to the political leadership because in order to move forward with any concrete action with any real tangible, sustained collaboration, leaders must be willing to take those kinds of risks. they won't take those risks until they're fully informed. this was a positive first step, and i think we will see more going forward. >> and on the other hand, saudi arabia has not received any criticism from the united states government for its continuing support of some of the very that areke isis leading the attacks now in iraq. >> it is very tough for the obama administration or any other american president, for that matter, to criticize an ally publicly. the u.s. likes to try back room diplomacy, having tough, frank, candid conversations in private. if that doesn't work, then you go to the megaphones and call them out publicly to try to raise your leverage, vis-à-vis

friend or foe. i would like to think the obama administration, i know they have been, having the stuff coming candid, frank commerce asians directly. -- having the tough, candid, frank conversations directly. it will be beholden on the obama administration to criticize the sound is the same way they would iran or anyone else for doing destructive things in the middle east that exacerbate rather than stop the killing of innocent people. >> what is the role of syria and all of this? >> that is the wildcard. we do know a lot of the fighters that were fighting in syria against al-assad, what many have deemed the most radical of the radicals, have bled over into iraq will stop so it has become a bit of a quagmire, to put it lightly. the al-assad government is sitting back and smiling, in my view, because they say, see, we told you so. the situation is

there are a lot of problems. the al-assad government is one of them and the isis fighters being another. how you deal with multiple problems, how you put out multiple fires that are blowing up in the face, not just the united dates and iran, but the region at large, and frankly, the world, depends on the willingness of leaders to take risks for peace, to put politics aside, sit down and have very tough, frank, and candid conversations with her adversaries. there's no other way. >> speaking on wednesday, the iranian president rouhani said iran will not hesitate to protect shiite holy sites in iraq threatened by sunni militants. we announce to all superpowers and their subjects, murderers and terrorists, the great nation of iran will stop at nothing to protect the glory of the shiite holy shrines in cities. i would like to say this to the dear nation of iran. thank god there are plenty of

self-sacrificing forces consisting of shiite and sunni and kurds throughout iraq ready to give their all. these terrorist groups and those supporting them whether in the region or across the world, are nothing against the will of the great nation of iraq and the muslim nation of this land who put them back where they belong, god willing. >> reza marashi, to what extent intercedenk iran will and will they be willing to support, for instance, the airstrikes that the iraqi government has asked the united states to launch? >> the iranian position is interesting and unique and that they don't puke holy shrines in iraq is being property of iraq the property of shia muslims. the borders become irrelevant, at least in the mind of top decision-makers inside arena that point in time. the kicker is, what do they do about it? what kind of protection will be iranians provide? i'm skeptical about the iranians

putting boots on the ground in terms of fighters to action to do the fighting. i think they are more inclined to do what we have been seeing them do for the past 10 to 11 years since the united states invaded iraq, which is empowering local militias, providing intelligence and guiding the political decision-making process, not just amongst she is, but amongst she is, kurds, and sunnis as well. the iranians really have room to improve in that regard. there's no question. what we're seeing so far right now is the iranians treading carefully because they don't want foreign boots on the ground, be at the u.s. or anyone else, and they also don't want airstrikes because that makes iran more vulnerable. overall, the instability in iraq is a grave threat to iran because it could spill over the border and cause iran, a relative island of stability compared to the rest of the region which is on fire, iran could become unstable as well. that is a national security threat they are aware about. >> how do you see this conflict

cooling down? >> right now i see the problem getting worse before it gets better, and that is the unfortunate reality. i don't see political leaders anywhere willing to take the risks necessary to put the fire out. but what it is going to do in the bigger scheme of things is sharp and choices and make sure the very private communication eventually becomes overt or private, perhaps, collaboration to stop the killing. like i said before, we need a political solution. there are military options, but no military solutions. hopefully, the leaders can have that crystallize in their minds sooner rather than later. >> you say the political leaders are not willing to go the distance. if they were following your advice, what would you say? >> if i was speaking to them directly, i would say, we know it doesn't work and that is what you been trying for the past 10 to 11 years. you can go out to the media and go out to the american people, the people of the middle east, and say one thing and continue to do another, or you can actually make an effort to solve the problem and achieve the

interest of not only your country, but the shared interest of countries in the region as well and most important, the interest of innocent people in the middle east as a whole. that is what makes real leaders successful. >> reza marashi, thank you for joining us. we move on now to our last story. iswe turn to argentina, what being called a trial of the century and how poor countries repay sovereign debt. u.s. supreme court rejected an appeal this week or margin teen over its $1.5 billion debt in a ruling critics say validates predatory behavior by so-called fulcher funds. hedge fundsolves that brought up argentina's debt at bargain rates after its financial crisis more than a decade ago. after argentina defaulted on its debt, the vast majority of its creditors agree to cut the value of their holdings. other firmstal and refused to except the deal, instead seeking full repayment. monday's ruling leaves in place

a lower court decision ordering argentina to pay the companies. argentine president to kirchner addressed the nation after the ruling. i think you need to distinguish between what is a business and what is extortion. think there are two concepts that are completely different. all of the government, all of the country, all of the directors in the areas of the environment and policies need to be open to negotiating. what no president can do in a sovereign country is too subjective country, its people to extortion. quicken a statement, the anti-poverty net work to really call the court ruling a devastating blow saying -- for more we go to washington, d.c. where we are joined by eric lecompte. talk about the significance of the supreme court decision. >> this is perhaps the most

significant supreme court case that we have never heard of. in fact, for a legal presiding, a case that has been decided inside the united states borders, this particular legal case will have one of the biggest and far-reaching impacts on extreme poverty around the world in our lifetimes. in terms of the significance, certainly, the situation dates back to argentina's default in 2001. as you noted, the majority of folks who had debt, of companies, firms, investors, restructured. but there was a small group of --ds, probably known as properly known as fulcher funds, swooped in, bought some of the debt for pennies on the dollar. because the debt is contracted under new york state law, the vulture funds for the last decade have continued to litigate argentina for payment in full, even when most

creditors have restructured. the significance of this case is so important that there is a rare global consensus where the united states government, united nations, the international monetary fund, the world bank, and religious antipoverty groups like i said jubilee usa, are all on the same side of the table saying this behavior is so extreme it that the president that essentially will be able to impact the poorest countries in the world can keep them trapped in poverty. it is a bad judgment for the broader investment community, for big businesses. it is a bad judgment for debt restructuring around the world. it even hurts us as u.s. taxpayers because the very money these fulcher funds are collecting around the world from poor countries through litigation are moneys that are funded from debt relief efforts from our own tax dollars. >> but yet the amount involved here compared to the original

debt of argentina is relatively small amount. does the u.s. have to enforce this judgment by supreme court against argentina? >> enforcement is the question. the contract was signed in the united states, so a contract that is governed under united states law, new york law, as opposed to be honored by both hearties. however, there's a question about what enforcement means. the whites is where house, the justice department, the international monetary fund, and jubilee usa are all saying that what enforcement of that contract means is that these fundsr funds -- vulture should be paid out the same amount the other structured creditors were. we have to understand right now around all of the financial jurisdictions of the world, the united nations calls the state of new york the preferred jurisdiction for vulture funds,

many contracts are being moved to london, paris, and frankfurt were those countries have protections in place to get this predatory exploitative behavior. talks the hedge fund that nml capital said -- eric lecompte, your response? >> ironically, argentina has essentially been honoring its commitments to creditors for essentially has settled with the paris club and more than 92% of the creditors. where it hasn't settled with is with these fulcher funds that are trying to collect more than what they are owed and try to engage in what is exploitative behavior. what we see when we go back through the history of default vulturethese particular

funds attack poor countries and countries in financial distress. right now what is happening in this particular case is now funds have been equipped with an instrument that will force poor countries like the ivory coast into submission. so it is a very powerful precedent that will be impacting the one of the five people that live in extreme poverty around the world. argentinaain, when defaulted, is that an example for the developing world, didn't it, in terms of being able to confront these international creditors in times of financial crisis? but in many respects, it did. certainly, the way that argentina has been able to restructure its that has led to a strengthening economy within argentina and the way they've been able to confront this predatory behavior has essentially made argentina a champion among the world's poorest economies as well as among the g 20. >> can you talk quickly about

paul singer who is the head of the parent company of nml? >> he is developed this predatory behavior, essentially, that goes after asset in poor countries that essentially belong to the vulnerable communities. he is the person that leaves several firms that are these predatory hedge funds, which engage in is exploitative, extreme behavior, and yet popularized, essentially, this kind of investor action around the world. right now the world bank notes there are about 100 companies that follow, essentially, the leadership that paul singer -- >> and the significance in national politics? >> he is the number one donor to the gop. >> eric lecompte, thank you for being with us, executive director of jubilee usa network. 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!]

>> hello, i'm john cleese and i've got a question for you. what do you believe about ecstasy? not the drug, of course, but ecstasy as in the ecstatic state, that phenomenon found in so many religious and spiritual traditions. well, in this program, we will explore the ecstatic state through the inner world of the sufis and the whirling dervishes of turkey and of the orisha priestesses of africa and brazil. so, settle back, take a deep breath, as we join our host phil cousineau on this memorable, highly charged episode of "global spirit," the first internal travel series.