02/24/15 02/24/15 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] >> from pacifica this is democracy now! >> only a few months, possibly a few weeks, before they get enough enriched uranium for the first bomb. a red line should be drawn right here. >> and what has been described as the biggest intelligence leak since edward snowden, out of zero has begun publishing a series of spy cables from world's top intelligence agencies.

in one cable, the israeli mossad contradicts prime minister netanyahu's ability to produce a nuclear bomb within one year. we will go to doha. then to raymondville, texas where thousands of immigrants locked up in a privately run prison have staged an uprising to protest lack of medical care. can we continue our look back at malcolm x, 50 years after his assassination. >> there is institutionalized systemic racism, unfortunately. what was so wonderful about malcolm is that he addressed the problem. he offered resolutions. he was a man of action. >> we will speak with malcolm x 's daughter ilyasah shabazz and to his friend peter bailey.

they were both inside the audubon ballroom when malcolm was assassinated. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. islamic state militants have reportedly kidnapped scores of christians in northeastern syria. the british-based syrian observatory for human rights said 90 assyrian christians had been captured, while another group put the number between 70 and 100. the captures come as i filed militants retreated from kurdish militia backed by the u.s.-led coalition. the obama administration is planning a major offensive in iraq to retake the isil- isis-controlled city of mosul, iraq's second largest city. speaking in kuwait monday after meetings with top u.s. officials in the region, newly sworn in defense secretary ashton carter vowed to defeat the islamic state. our discussion this afternoon affirmed the seriousness and the

complexity of the threat posed by isil, especially, in an interconnected and networked world. defeat of this group can and will be accomplished. >> earlier this month, isis released a video of the beheading of 21 egyptian coptic christians in libya. amnesty international now has accused egyptian forces of failing to take key precautions before launching retaliatory airstrikes, which killed seven civilians in the libyan city of derna. a new report has raised questions about israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu's effort to thwart a nuclear deal with iran. according to al jazeera, israel's spy agency, the mossad contradicted netanyahu's own dire warnings before the u.n. general assembly about iran's ability to produce a nuclear bomb within one year. the news comes as u.s. officials have reported progress in nuclear talks with iran. we'll

and as netanyahu is due to address congress next month. we'll have more on the story after headlines. in the united states, a manhattan jury has found the palestinian authority and palestine liberation organization liable for allegedly providing support for terrorist attacks in israel which killed or injured americans. the groups have denied any involvement in the attacks which took place over a decade ago. in a statement, palestinian authority spokesperson dr. mahmoud khalifa vowed to appeal the jury's decision saying -- , "this case is just the latest attempt by hard-line antipeace factions in israel to use and abuse the u.s. legal system to advance their narrow political and ideological agenda." the jury's finding will impose $655 million in damages at a time when the palestinian authority faces a financial crisis over israel's withholding of more than $100 million tax revenue. israel has blocked the funds

over the palestinian decision to join the international criminal court. secretary of state john kerry has warned the move threatens the palestinian authority's survival. >> if the palestinian authorities ceases or war to cease cooperation or even to decide to disband as a result of their economic predicament, and that could happen in the near future if they don't receive additional revenues, then we would be faced with yet another crisis that could also greatly impact the security of palestinians and israelis. and that would have the potential of serious ripple effects elsewhere in the region. >> israeli forces have shot and killed a palestinian teenager in a refugee camp in bethlehem. the israeli military says the soldiers opened fire after they were attacked with rocks and incendiary devices during an arrest raid. the local government says the

19-year-old was shot and killed while watching the clashes from his roof. police in the maldives have physically dragged environmentalist and former president mohamed nasheed into court to face charges of illegally ordering the arrest of a judge while he was still in office. nasheed's arrest sunday marked the latest chapter in a battle over his decision to arrest a judge appointed by his predecessor, maumoon abdul gayoom, who ruled the maldives for 30 years before nasheed was -- became its first democratically elected president in 2008. he became famous in 2009 for holding a cabinet meeting underwater to show the threat of climate change to his island nation. nasheed was ousted in 2012 and what he called an armed coup by gayoom's supporters. to see our interview, you can go to our website at democracynow.org.

senate democrats have blocked a fourth republic and the to defund president obama's executive actions on immigration in exchange for continuing to , fund the department of homeland security. dhs is due to run out of money on friday unless congress passes legislation to fund it. but republicans have sought to tie the funding to a rollback of obama's plan to spare millions of immigrants from deportation. democratic senator barbara mikulski of maryland criticized the deadlock. >> the coast guard is on the job. they're working in the cold. they're working in the wind. they're breaking up ice not only in maryland, but all over to these frozen ports. and what do we say? good job, guys? there they are on tv and we love you, but we might not pay you. what is this? they are out there saving lives and we're playing parliamentary ping-pong. >> senate majority leader mitch mcconnell has announced he will

split the attempts to defund obama's immigration initiatives into a separate bill in order to end the stalemate. a court in texas has stayed the execution of an african-american man who has been on death row for 19 years, after his attorneys presented new evidence supporting his innocence. rodney reed was scheduled to die march 5 for 1996 murder of stacey stites, a white woman with whom he says he was having an affair. but reed's attorneys say a new investigation has uncovered evidence stites was actually killed hours before state prosecutors claimed. the new timeline appears to implicate stites' fiancée, jimmy fennell, a former police officer now in prison for sexually assaulting a woman while on duty. officials in houston, texas have cleared a three-decade backlog of more than 6,600 rape kits. the testing turned up 850 dna matches in a national database. authorities acknowledged some

suspects whose dna was in the houston kits committed other crimes while the evidence languished. houston is one of several cities nationwide with massive rape-kit backlogs. three los angeles police officers have avoided criminal charges for shooting an unarmed, disabled veteran on live television. billy beaird was shot in december 2013 following a car chase which aired live on local news. beaird's father was among those who watched live as beaird got out of the car, raised his hands and was shot 13 times. prosecutors found the fatal shots hit beaird as he fell or while he was on the ground, but they said there was insufficient evidence to prove the officers didn't fire to defend themselves or someone else. late last year, police chief charlie beck found the officers violated department rules, but he has not yet determined their punishment. the city approved a $5 million settlement for beaird's family. veterans affairs secretary robert mcdonald has apologized for falsely claiming he served in the u.s. special forces.

mcdonald made the claim last month while speaking with a homeless veteran in a segment that aired on cbs evening news. >> army, navy? >> army. >> what unit? >> special forces. >> i was in special forces. >> mcdonald actually served in the army's 82nd airborne division -- not special forces. in a statement monday, mcdonald said -- "i incorrectly stated that i had been in special forces. that was inaccurate and i apologize to anyone that was offended by my misstatement." top climate scientist rajendra pachauri has stepped down as head of the u.n.'s nobel prize-winning intergovernmental panel on climate change amid an investigation in india over sexual harassment. a female researcher at pachauri's group the energy and resourcs institute accused him of sending her harassing email and text messages. pachauri's attorneys say his accounts and phone were hacked.

labor unions are heading to the wisconsin state capitol today to protest plans by republican governor scott walker to sign anti-union legislation. the so-called "right-to-work" bill would undermine the ability of private sector unions to collect dues and collectively bargain. the center for media and democracy has revealed the bill in wisconsin is taken word-for-word from model legislation proposed by the right-wing american legislative exchange council. alaska has become the third u.s. state to legalize recreational marijuana. a ballot measure passed by voters in november takes effect today, allowing people ages 21 and older to possess up to an ounce of pot. fifteen former students of the for-profit corinthian colleges system have launched what they say is the nation's first student debt strike. the students have refused to pay back loans they took out to attend corinthian, which has been sued by the federal government for its predatory lending.

meanwhile, an activist group has announced it has erased over $13 million of debt owed by students of everest college, a corinthian subsidiary. the rolling jubilee uses donated funds to purchase debt at discounted prices, then abolish it. and those are some of the headlines, this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i am amy goodman with aaron maté. >> welcome to all our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. just days before his controversial speech to the u.s. congress, an explosive report has raised new questions about israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu's effort to thwart a nuclear deal with iran. according to al jazeera, israel's spy agency, the mossad contradicted netanyahu's own dire warnings about iran's ability to produce a nuclear bomb within one year. in a leaked cable to south african counterparts in october 2012, the mossad concluded iran was -- "not performing the activity necessary to produce weapons." the assessment was sent just

weeks after netanyahu went before the united nations general assembly and literally drew a red line. netanyahu pulled out a cartoonish diagram of a bomb with a fuse to help illustrate woody progress on a nuclear weapon. >> this is a bomb. this is a fuse. in the case of iran's nuclear plans to build a bomb, this bomb has to be filled with enough enriched uranium and iran has to go through three stages by next spring, at most by next summer, at current enrichment rates to finished the medium enrichment and move on to the final stage. from there, it is only a few months, possibly a few weeks before they get enough enriched uranium for the first bomb will stop a red line should be drawn right here.

before -- before iran completes the second stage of nuclear enrichment necessary to make a bomb. >> that was israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu in september 2012. the mossad assessment contradicting netanyahu was sent just weeks after, but it was likely written even earlier. it said iran "does not appear to be ready" to enrich uranium to the higher levels needed for a nuclear weapon. a bomb would require 90% enrichment, but mossad found iran had only enriched to 20%. that number was later reduced under an interim nuclear deal the following year. that 2013 agreement laid the basis for the ongoing talks in geneva this week between secretary of state john kerry and his iranian counterpart mohammad javad zarif. the u.s. and iran are seeking a framework agreement to curb iran's nuclear program and

impose international monitoring in return for an easing of u.s.-led sanctions before a march 31 deadline. the talks appear to be gaining momentum, with the involvement of high-ranking officials from both sides and leaked details of a plan to limit iranian nuclear production for at least ten years. they are set to resume next week. >> the advancing talks and the new leaked cable come just as netanyahu prepares for a controversial u.s. visit where he'll try to undermine the nuclear deal. on march 3, netanyahu will address a joint session of congress on iran at the invitation of republican house speaker john boehner. the trip has caused a major rift with the white house to the point where obama has refused to host netanyahu for a meeting and administration officials are also reportedly withholding details of the talks from israeli counterparts. speaking last week, white house press secretary josh earnest said israel has spread false information about the negotiations. >> there's no question some of the things the israelis have

said in characterizing our negotiating position have not been accurate. >> with the white house accusing israel of spreading falsehoods the new revelations about israel's own intelligence assessments mark the second time in one week tying netanyahu to dishonest claims. the leaked cable appears to have come from inside south africa's intelligence service, revealing its exchanges with counterparts around the world, including the u.s., israel, russia, britain, france, and several arab and african nations. other revelations so far include cia attempts to establish contact with hamas despite a u.s. ban and a threat by president obama to force the palestinian authority to abandon its bid for u.n. recognition. more disclosures are expected in the coming days. for more, we are joined by clayton swisher, director of investigative journalism at al jazeera, which broke the iran story and several others in a series of articles called "the spy cables." he cowrote the piece "leaked

cables show netanyahu's." welcome to democracy now! explain what has happened, what did south africa get a hold of? is there a south african edward snowden? >> well, i think after the edward snowden experience, someone would have to have their head checked to publicly fess up to being the source of such a leak, given the travails that followed edward snowden after he essentially outed himself. this was a digital leak made to al jazeera. one of the reasons people bring information to al jazeera in the past, the palestine papers and other projects, they know we will take every step we can to protect or shield their identity. the way we got these files is not a for discussion. but i will gladly describe for

you in unprecedented window into how espionage is conducted, not just in south africa, but the broader continent. what we have obtained is perhaps best thought of -- if you look at the discarded bag of rubbish you won't know what is inside into you open it up. similarly in this, it is not rubbish, it is actually very useful information, but it is an absolute assortment of things that are seemingly unrelated but nonetheless, highly newsworthy. there is a high concentration of humdrum, routine intelligence tables within the south african security services that we came into possession of. in addition, correspondences from a variety of western and foreign intelligence services asking the south africans to take certain actions or trying to influence the south african intelligence services on a

certain course of action. it is an absolute fascinating window into how things are done, but it is a fragment in the mosaic. we are missing the rest of the painting, but what we can do is reveal what operational cables we can put into context, and that is why we said -- we're not publishing everything purely, because it wouldn't be in the public interest or would not add up to a bigger story in and of itself. >> so talk about what has emerged on the issue of iran. talks are picking up between the u.s. and tehran. just as netanyahu is coming to the u.s. trying to undermine their deal, an internal cable reveals the mossad contradicts netanyahu on his own claims about iran's capabilities. >> there was much discussion that came after netanyahu 2012 yuan speech that he was at loggerheads with his mossad chief.

that was discussed and the chief even set a war with iran would be a bad idea. what was breathtaking for the journalists who work on this is to seek mossad's classified documents that is now available for the entire world to peru's and read at its own leisure. clearly, netanyahu came and spoke before the entire world presenting information that was in direct contradiction to the country premier intelligent service. it backs a strong question where did he get his information from? was he taking talking points from his own intelligence services who the government of israel pays to look after the sort of material? it begs the question some like to what americans experienced in the run-up to the iraq war, is a based on intelligence or political fiction? i'm a journalist, true, i have

lived here for going on eight years, but i'm also a citizen of this planet. i think everyone who is a citizen of the planet who lived through the iraq war and things of an impending iran war, we should do everything to scrutinize the politics behind people who wish to start a new war, particularly, with iran which would not only be disaster for the united states at home but also the region -- in the entire world. as netanyahu is going to come to the united states, i think there's every reason to have beyond a healthy skepticism of what he intends to say at his home audience, if you will, the u.s. congress. in fact, i would say knowing what we know now with this top-secret assad cable, we should demand strict evidence before he says anything to the american public. in may inform our elected officials to make a decision on whether or not to use relative reaction to defy president obama's diplomatic efforts, etc. >> clayton swisher disagreeing

with netanyahu wanting to prepare a military attack on iran, there are other leaders in the israel security establishment who you write or riled by netanyahu's rhetoric on the nuclear threat, accusing him of messianic political leadership, pushing for military action. can you explain? >> sure. it has long been the israeli security military tradition where there is a class of people, the referred to them as people that are in the securities sector are also seen as having a rational worldview if you will, that want to establish some sort of peace with their neighbors. oftentimes -- there is an excellent film called "the gatekeepers" that interviews the last several directors, the

domestic intelligence service, and you find when the documentary interviewer sits with these directors, you find the much more pragmatic outlook in a much more realistic assessment, for example, on the palestinian issue, that the israeli government can't continue killing palestinians if it was stabbed a permanent place in the neighborhood. yet the security people are often trumped by the politicians, the loudmouths, who are perpetually campaigning. if you think it is bad in the u.s., it is a perpetual campaign in israel. as a result, you don't really get mature discussion, mature conversations in the public from their leaders. it is a very real risk. i would hazard a guest why israel has not been able to make peace because time and again, their proven to not have leaders lived in thinking in the long term but politicians are seeing which way the winds are blowing and how they can get to the next election. in some instances, really wants

that have the real assessment on israel's security happen to be people who live in classified worlds. i think it is extraordinary amount of security officials that spoke out and snipe against netanyahu because they realize the stakes are very high. they've seen the iraq war experience where that intelligence got mixed into politics, and people sat on it and didn't speak up. lo and behold, no israel has ice on its borders. -- isis on its borders. looking back at a two state solution is pie-in-the-sky. frankly, is a journalist, i'm skeptical of everyone. but in this case, it is remarkable to see mossad as such variance with the prime minister, if only the u.s. had had that kind of disclosure ahead of the iraq war between what the cia was saying and the bush administration was saying a war may have been averted. >> that's here for more of benjamin netanyahu on national

remembrance holocaust day accusing iran of planning another genocide against the jewish people. >> they deny the holocaust while planning another genocide against our people. let me be clear. the jewish people will defend itself, by itself, against any threats. that is what the jewish state is all about. >> benjamin netanyahu speaking last month. the irony is it is netanyahu who threatened attack on iran for many years over its alleged nuclear activities, a violation of the u.n. charter in which you can't make threats to other nations. let's talk about some of the other revelations. talk about the claims that posted them president abbas opposed the yuan report that accused israel of war crimes and also president obama's attempt

to pressure abbas and seeking state or condition at the u.n. -- recognition in the u.n. >> and the case of there is a leaked cable describing an effort by the leader of mossad calling the south african spy boss on the eve of the u.n. human rights but on whether or not to recommend israel face investigation for alleged war crimes in gaza in 2009. as the spy boss of south africa, south africa should not vote and you know why mahmoud abbas doesn't want them to vote, because it will harm his political party and bolster that of his opposition in the mass and the mood of boss cannot say this publicly, so the mossad is asking south africa not to cast your vote. i think if anything, and we've seen a lot of evidence over the years, i was involved in the palestine papers in 2011 and we had a whole mountain of evidence showing that president abbas had

advanced knowledge there's going to be in israeli attack on gaza, that he opted not to warn his people, that he was under incredible american pressure not to advance any sort of war crimes investigation, that would be seen as prejudiced negotiations which were more -- and he went for it. people were saying he bungled it. i think the evidence now is for the opposite. he directly obstructed it, and it was abject -- i'm sorry, it was an abdication of his responsibilities as a leader and shielded the occupier that he supposedly liberating his people from against any possible war crimes. to me, there are too many data points, too much evidence that is out there showing he shielded israel. some will say, he recently joined the icc. you'll note after the recent 50 day conflict up last summer, he waited until well after the

conflict ended before signing the icc. what has israel done in the meantime? launched their own investigation that under the icc rules, if one of the parties seized in an investigation, the icc cannot do it. the israelis are going to say, mark i words, they're investigating and it is credible and we have it all covered. meanwhile, evidence is lost, memories fake, people die. this was beyond bungling. this was a craven abdication of his responsibilities. i think the cables make this clear. and in south africa, paul places. with respect to the cable that suggests there was a cia operative who asked south african operative to help within roads to hamas, the south africans then write between themselves, how can we run the cia guy to see what kind of information they're after? it is a bleak window into what the cia's interests are.

in 2009, president obama wanted to have a new relationship with the muslim world. he spoke in cairo. autocrats were adopted by the bush administration. obama thought, maybe there is room for political islam. this is when they were still open to the idea, let's say. it makes sense to me at least, reporting this interest was expressed. of course, we don't know if the cia to give forward to stop the mass has said on al jazeera today, they deny official contact, but they won't save it was unofficial. i think it is intriguing. >> you also know that a south african state security agency report from november 2012 records the palestinian intelligence officer handing over mmo detailing a phone call made by president obama to mahmoud abbas, were president threatened abbas if he goes ahead with the u.n. bid.

abbas ultimately does, but expect the significance of this and then also, the cables revealing the same former mossad chief personally lobbying south african intelligence officials in 2009 against south africa endorsing the findings of the u.n. inquiry led by the south african judge richard goldstone which alleged war crimes carried out by israel through we can bargain -- bombardment in 2008-2009. >> ok, with respect to president obama trying to convince mahmoud abbas not to go ahead with statehood, it is important to note that the united states has always been hammering palestinians to abandon armed resistance and embrace peaceful nonviolent struggle.

you can understand the frustration of arabs, muslims especially palestinians when they look at the american rhetoric and say, ok, what is wrong with embracing that nonviolent struggle? we take legal measures, printed paper, cement it before a court or petition a very legal body like the united nations and ask for things like diplomatic wreckage mission. it is absolutely indefensible. it is painfully hypocritical when you see u.s. officials like president obama, as revealed in the spy cables, or samantha power on the floor of the united nations, obstructing these very blatant efforts of the palestinians to exercise some kind of resistance for legal peaceful means. you tell them violence is out and legal means is out, what do they have left? it is absolutely absurd. we have seen in recent events, they have gotten statehood. did the sky fall? no. they join the icc.

did the sky fall? no. every time they threaten the end is nigh and this will damage things john recognition due process is already damaged beyond recognition. this only hoeffel of western analysts and pollyanna journalists who continue to believe there is a two state solution and that what is been created on the ground can somehow be reversed. rather than looking beyond president obama and his administration has made the situation and because they haven't allowed palestinians to express themselves through these various mechanisms. >> clayton swisher, thank you for being with us director of investigative journalism at al jazeera, overseeing the network's coverage of "the spy cables." we will continue to report on what is revealed. when we come back, we go to texas where immigrant prisoners have staged an uprising will stop thousands of them over lack

of medical care. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

>> string quintet number 4 in g minor, composed by wolfgang amadeus mozart. this is democracy now! democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with aaron maté. >> we turn now to texas where up to 2,000 immigrant prisoners have staged a two-day uprising. it began friday at a privately-run prison in willacy county to protest inadequate medical care. after refusing to eat breakfast, prisoners seized control of part of the prison and set fires. video shot by kgbt in texas showed a large group of prisoners in the yard, some climbing and shaking the prison fence. guards reportedly used tear gas to quell the protest. federal officials have since deemed the prison to be "uninhabitable" and are moving the prisoners to other facilities. critics have described the jail as "ritmo" -- short for raymondville's guantanamo -- or simply "tent city," since most

of the prison population sleeps in massive kevlar tents. in a report last year, the aclu described living conditions as -- "[not] only foul, cramped and depressing, but also overcrowded." >> the willacy county correctional center in raymondville, texas is owned and operated by management & training corp., a private company based in utah. it is one of 13 privately run so-called "criminal alien requirement" prisons. this marks the third uprising in recent years at a privately run immigration prison. in 2012, one guard was killed and 20 people were injured when prisoners rose up at the adams county correctional facility in mississippi. that prison was operated by corrections corporation of america. in 2008, immigrant prisoners at a facility in reeves county, texas staged an uprising after the death of a prisoner named jesus manuel galindo. that prison was owned by the geo group. we are joined now by carl takei. he is a staff attorney with the aclu's national prison project and author of the report

"warehoused and forgotten: immigrants trapped in our shadow private prison system." we invited a representative from management & training corp. to join us as well, but did not receive a response. carl if you could tell us what happened, that you understand -- i mean, it is hard to get information from inside this for-profit prison right now. how many prisoners rose up? what happened? >> it is hard to get information, as you said, because one of the things that happens when a prison gets taken over by the prisoners in the authorities feel that lost control, one of the first groups to lose access is the nongovernmental organization. i'm going entirely on what i've heard from your reports. the uprising appears to have involved, as many as two thirds of the people who were incarcerated at willacy. it was about poor conditions and medical care, from what i understand. >> carl, can you give us a

background on this prison and the broader network of privately run immigration prisons that is a part of? your group did an extensive report on conditions there. >> willacy is one of 13 private prisons in the federal system. it is sort of a shadow system within the federal bureau prison system. it is run by private prison companies. these prisons house immigrants who have been convicted of drug offenses and immigrants who have been convicted of something called illegally reentering the united states after deportation. the bureau of prisons has consigned immigrants to these prisons based on the assumption that they're all going to be deported after their sentences are up. therefore, they can treat them as second-class prisoners and hand them over to these for-profit companies that have a history of abusing and mistreating the people in their custody. >> how many people are in this prison? what do the grounds look like? they talk about the tents.

what actually is taking place? >> before the uprising occurred there were about 28 or 2900 people -- 20 at hundred or 2900 people incarcerated at willacy. it is a tent city prison, which means the complex is dominated by 10, 200 foot long kevlar tents. there are about 200 men inside each tent and when i went there and interviewed prisoners in 2013, the impression i came away with was a sense of overwhelming despair. people talked about how overcrowded it was and how unclean the place was. there were insects that would crawl in and bite people at night in their bunks. the toilets were constantly overflowing, spilling raw sewage back in the housing unit leaving

the stench of sewage hanging in the air of the entire tent. they also talked about problems with medical care and the overuse of isolation. people would actually be moved into isolation cells when they first arrived at the prison, not because they had done anything wrong, but just because te thents were so overcrowded there were not available bunks their. >> a recent study for the justice department found the number of suspects arrested for federal offenses more than doubled between 1994 and 2012 and that by 2012 half of all federal arrests were for immigration violations. according to the pew research center, the number of arrests for unlawful reentry into the u.s. increased 28-fold during that same time period. can you talk about these reports and the program operation streamline. >> over the past decade, there have been a couple of little used criminal offenses that were on the books before, but thanks to zero-tolerance programs like

operation streamline, have led to an explosion of immigration prosecutions. these are criminal prosecutions of people for crossing the border into the united states. it has taken over the federal judicial system along the southwest border. also fed the flow of people into these criminal alien requirement private prisons. there are serious due process problems with the operation streamline proceedings, with mass guilty pleas. there are also -- it is also, as i said, led to a huge increase in the number of people entering the federal prison system for what was previously treated as a civil immigration violation. >> can you talk about the policy issues? as there a debate about the fact we have private, to running prisoners for immigration effectively creating what some could call second-class prison system for immigrants, and are

there any efforts to reform this private control? >> it is a major problem. in our 2014 report, we profiled the lack of oversight transparency, accountability from the bureau of prisons. these are companies where their goal is to use the housing -- the incarceration of human beings and our tax dollars and convert that into maximum profits. and that creates a situation rife with abuse, neglect, and misconduct. one example comes from the prison in texas were the bureau of prisons on monitors went in and found the private prison company was not complying -- not meeting its own corrective action plan and they concluded that the lack of health care at the prison was computing two significant suffering among the

prisoners who were incarcerated there. even after making his conclusions, the bureau of prisons chose to renew the contract with the company when they're asked to justify this to other department of justice officials, the bureau a person officials said they did this in order to the bureau of prison officials said they did this in order to preserve the reputation. >> we want to thank you for joining us, carl takei, staff attorney with the aclu's national prison project. he is the author of the report "warehoused and forgotten: immigrants trapped in our shadow private prison system" we will continue to follow this story. when we come back, we will be joined by the daughter of malcolm x on this aftermath of the 50th anniversary of the assassination of malcolm x. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

>> this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with aaron maté. >> today we spend the rest of the show with ilyasah shabazz and a. philip bailey, both inside the ottoman ballroom february 21, 1965, the day malcolm was shot dead. she was two years old. >> she's a community organizer motivational speaker, activist and author. she reselling cowrote a young adult book called "x: a novel." her previous books include "malcolm little: the boy who grew up to become malcolm x" and "the diary of malcolm x: el-hajj malik el-shabazz". her 2003 memoir is called, "growing up x."

she joins us from new york. in silver spring, maryland we're joined by a peter bailey. he was one of the last people to speak with malcolm x on the day of his assassination. he served as one of the pallbearers at malcolm's funeral. he is the author of "witnessing , brother malcolm x, the master teacher." ilyasah shabazz, let's begin with you. i'm sure it is hard for you to remember this day. you were in the audubon ballroom on february 21, 1965? >> i was. my two older sisters and my mother, we were there to hear our fathers confederation on the oaau. >> what roe were you in? >> we were stage right in the

front. >> do you have any recollection? >> i don't. but i wasn't quite three years old. when i was writing "growing up x " i remembered my uncle wilfred visiting and i remember being at the malcolm x college in chicago. i remember when he was leaving. i was a little over three. i remember just crying at the top of my lungs. my mother later had the story that east to wake up looking for my father. she would replace this with cookies, because we shared cookies late at night. i used to wake up at singapore da's a friends house. even though i was so young, i'm sure the chaos, the loud noise as some sort of effect.

just remembering that your father never came home. that missing. >> peter bailey, your recollection of that day, where you were, what happened at the audubon ballroom in harlem february 21, 1965? >> house at the audubon and brother malcolm when he came in, he asked me to come backstage, which i did. we talked about several things while i was back there. then he asked which one of us the were about five of us, recognized a new york city minister who led been very involved. he was coming to the audubon that day to make a pitch for support for clothing for brother malcolm's total in which had been burned up in a firebombing in the home the previous week and. i said i recognized him. he had me go out front to the lobby area before you came into the main ballroom -- which is huge. and wait for the reverent and

bring him back. i was sitting there facing the entrance. i heard other malcolm say -- the next thing i heard, shots. it sounded like hundreds of shots. later i found out there were not that many, but it sounded like hundreds of shots. we rented to the bathroom that was off to the side. when the shooting stopped, we ran back to the swinging doors of the main ballroom. people were yelling and screaming and crying and cursing and chairs were knocked over tables knocked over. they ran down and jumped up on the stage. a japanese-american who was very close to us had him cradled in her arms. all the bullet holes in his body. our remember thinking to myself, he's going to die. brothers came in with a rolling

stretcher and put him on the stretcher and wheeled them across the street to columbia-presbyterian hospital at the time, and i still remember no doctor from the hospital would come to the audubon. >> mr. bailey -- >> no doctor would come? >> no. >> why not? >> i assume because they were afraid. the brothers literally had to take a stretcher and roll it through the streets back over to the audubon and put brother malcolm on it. when i got on stage, he had not died. he was gasping. i was watching as he was gasping. then they put him on the stretcher and rolled the stretcher across the street to the clumsy presbyterian hospital. >> mr. bailey, can you talk about the climate for malcolm at the time? you mentioned the firebombing of his house. he was living under constant threat, under what we believed

to be a political evolution in some of his views or changing his views publicly. what was life like for him at the time? >> he was under constant threat from the nation -- the nation of islam were out to get him and also the federal government. most people want to just talk about the things between him and the nation of islam. the federal government was very concerned because other malcolm was on a mission to -- internationalize the movement. that is why the organization he founded, which i was a member, we call ourselves the human rights organization, not a civil rights organization. brother malcolm was planning to take the united states government before the human commission of human rights, being unable or unwilling to protect the lives and property of black people. he spent most of the last year of his life moving toward that goal and because of what he was

doing, he was being threatened by opponents of the nation of islam and by the u.s. government agencies. and i think the assassination was a willing collaboration between these two factions. >> and for young people, especially, peter bailey, when you talk about the rift with the nation of islam, who might not be familiar with what happened how malcolm x. left the nation of islam. >> brother malcolm, i think it really got down to the fact there were elements he wanted to keep him a you know, better to control a small pond then to have a larger thing to deal with? they did not like the fact was making outreach to traditional civil rights organizations. by the way, this happened before he got out in 1963 hit a rally in harlem that he invited all the major civil rights readers to come to. they did not come. at that time, he was still with the nation of islam. they did not want -- they did

not like what he was doing in terms of the outreach. they did not like what he was doing in terms of being more involved actively in making some collective with the civil rights movement. they wanted to keep themselves isolated. many of them resisted that. undermine him with the leader of the nation of islam. i've always believed if allies and mohammed had not been ill at the time or people could take advantage of a leader who was ill, he might've called brother malcolm and it's at, what is going on? let sit down and talk. i read a book that sometimes when a leader is ill, he could have a major affect. then of course again government agents were helping to promote this. they would call brother malcolm's people and say, you better watch out for allies you mohammed's people -- elijah

vomits people is it a watch out for malcolm his people and vice versa. that is how i've come to realize and see it after all these years. >> ilyasah shabazz, one of the big revelations in the movie "selma" that's a price of many people, your father goes to somewhat to meet with corrina scott king while dr. king was injured. >> that's correct. but the back and was were very close. -- both of our families were very close. both were seeking solutions to this human condition that would oppress its fellow man. it is just an unfortunate situation -- >> ilyasah shabazz you are too young, but you ever written extensively about your dad.

you have written -- you cowrote with or co-edited the diary of malcolm x. last year. your father went to africa, went to mecca. talk about the significance of that period and then how interesting that your families knew each other, dr. king's family and yours yet a lot has been made of the rift between your father and dr. king. that you're saying there something else going on. >> yes, our families were very close. but it had to have been quite challenging for my father to discover that the nation of islam wasn't what he thought it was, that he is sacrificed so much of his life had dedicated so much to this organization that he felt was the best kind

of organization to help black people really break themselves, reclaim their history -- re liberate themselves, to reclaim their history. to find out it wasn't the organization he thought, had to be devastating. he was fortunate to go and make his pilgrimage and be treated as a human being. many times, we forget with the social climate was like at that time. that he was able to go to this holy place and be treated as an equal, to be treated as a man, which was not the case here in america. i think that is really one of the things that we seem to forget that the social climate that was at the time, that my father and dr. king and so many others fought against. >> you wrote the novel.

why did you choose to make it a novel? >> historical fiction, to bring the young reader along into malcolm's journey of self-discovery. he was evidently in pain by the loss of his father -- >> what happened to his father? >> his father was a great activist. both of his parents. he was a guardian right. he was the president of the milwaukee chapter. he wrote a letter to president coolidge when marcus garvey was arrested. when you read this letter that he wrote to the president, you can see his son malcolm x, i suggest you let this dear man out of jail. he did not commit any crimes. if you let him out, he will be in good graces with god and people and history. not too long after, president coolidge released him from jail. you see the kind of father that malcolm had.

the two parents you contributed to this developing, the foundation of malcolm. i thought was important to write, first a children's book because of promotes self-love and leadership for young children, and then to write "x: a novel" which were bring the young leader along the journey of malcolm. in this time of pain, sometimes living a life of self-destruction comes up distractive behavior. young people challenged can see that, ultimately, he would grow to become one of the greatest political strategists of our time. >> wrister bailey, the place where malcolm x was killed, the ballroom, is now a center in his name. looking back, how do you want to remember malcolm x? >> i want him to be remembered as a wise leader, as a man who at a time when what's up from his seat terrorism -- weiss promisee terrorism was rampant

was courageous enough to stand up to that, as a man who advocated the gaining of knowledge as a man who understood that we were part of the world, not just the united states but that we were part of her world. he was reaching out to internationalize the movement and connected against white supremacist terrorism to the move against colonial terrorism. he was a teacher. i was referred to him as a master teacher. people say, what did he do? i say he changed lives. to give us a perception on how to view the world. he taught us the importance of doing research and speaking and not just off the top of your head. actually getting the facts. used to say, i know when i go out and speak of various places their people in the audience who

are there to catch me with my facts wrong. >> peter bailey, we have to break now, but we will do part two of this discussion with you and ilyasah shabazz and posted online at democracynow.org. i'm amy goodman with aaron maté. . [captioning made possible by democracy now!]