09/25/15 09/25/15 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! silence.ul it is our duty to confront the -- lems and to stop [applause] amy: speaking before lawmakers from the largest arms manufacturing country in the world, pope francis calls for an end to the international arms

trade. in his speech before the u.s. congress, the first ever by a pope, he also addressed climate change, poverty and migrants. and call for the global abolition of the death penalty. plus, pope francis highlights the work of a catholic radical. -- two catholic radicals. >> in these times when social , byerns are so important dorothy day. amy: we will look at the lives of dorothy day and the trappist monk thomas merton. pope francis described the two of them as great americans along with abraham lincoln and martin luther king. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman.

pope francis has arrived in new york where he will speak today at the united nations general assembly. on thursday, he became the first pope to ever address a joint session of congress, where he discussed poverty, hunger, climate change, refugees, the death penalty immigration, , the arms trade and u.s.-cuba , relations. after the congressional speech, pope francis skipped an offer to dine with lawmakers in order to eat with homeless residents of washington, d.c. speaking at st. patrick parish, -- speaking at st. patrick's cathedral, pope francis spoke about the immorality of lack of housing. , we want to be very clear can find no social or moral justification, no justification whatsoever for the lack of housing. there are many unjust situations, but we know that god is suffering with us, experiencing them on our side.

he does not abandon us. amy: he was speaking up st. patrick's parish and washington, d.c. enter, he would speak at state patrick's cathedral in new york. throughout his activities in the united states, the pope has been traveling in an unorthodox popemobile -- a little black fiat that many say represents pope francis' spirit of humility. we'll have more on the historic visit with kumi naidoo, director of greenpeace international, sister simone campbell, director of network, a catholic social justice group, and robert ellsberg, publisher of writings by dorothy day and books on thomas merton, after headlines. the colombian government and the revolutionary armed forces of colombia, known as farc, have announced a historic breakthrough in the ongoing peace talks to end the five-decade conflict that has killed more than 200,000 people. the agreement establishes peace tribunals and a

reconciliation commission. it is expected to be signed within six months. the announcement comes only days after pope francis urged the two sides to reach a peace deal during mass on sunday in havana's revolution plaza. the chief negotiator for the colombian government celebrated the breakthrough thursday. >> i believe we can say without exaggerating the columbia is about to burst. i think we have begun the countdown toward ending the war and allowing life to triumph. amy: volkswagen is expected to fire three top executives today over the growing scandal that volkswagen illegally installed devices in certain diesel cars , 11 million worldwide, in a deliberate bid to avoid emissions rules. this comes two days after the volkswagen ceo martin winterkorn resigned. the justice department is reportedly conducting a criminal

investigation into the matter. the crisis has cost the company nearly a third of its market value. chinese president xi jinping is arriving at the white house for a state visit with president obama today, where president xi is expected to commit to implementing a cap-and-trade system to limit china's greenhouse gas emissions in 2017. a cap-and-trade system is a market-driven strategy in which governments cap emission levels and then allow companies to buy and sell permits to pollute. environment groups are saying the announcement is a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done. saudi arabia has announced it will conduct an investigation into the deadly stampede near mecca that killed more than 700 people on the first day of eid al-adha. the stampede occurred during a ritual at the tent city of mina as millions of people were making their pilgrimage to mecca for the holiday. meanwhile, saudi diplomats are attempting to fend off calls for a hewitt human rights council investigation into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in the ongoing conflict

in yemen. the one-year-old war between houthi rebels and u.s.-backed saudi-led coalition forces has killed more than 4,000 people. a u.n. human rights commission report has blamed the saudi-led , u.s. backed airstrikes for most of the civilian casualties. in mexico, parents of the missing 43 students have met with president enrique pena nieto ahead of the one-year anniversary of the students' disappearance. the lawyer for the parents said the government's comments during the meeting show the government is not following recommendations by international experts on how to conduct a new investigation into the student step. in michigan, a graphic video has surfaced of a 32-year-old man slowing dying inside a macomb county jail after he was jailed for inability to pay a driving ticket. 32-year-old david stojcevski was sentenced to 30 days in jail last june after he was unable to pay a $772 fine.

while imprisoned, stojcevski went into extreme withdrawal caused by lack of his prescribed methadone treatment. he lost more than 50 pounds and was eventually transferred to a medical unit, where he was kept naked and under constant video surveillance. he stopped breathing on june 27, 2014, and was ultimately transferred to a local hospital, where he died. local detroit television station wdiv published the video on thursday. baltimore county police are facing criticism after an officer fatally shot a man who had pointed his finger at them as if it were a gun on wednesday. the police say they were chasing the man, whose name has not yet been released, after he attempted to obtain cough syrup using a fake prescription at a pharmacy in reisterstown, maryland. police say no weapons were found at the scene of the shooting. the officer has been placed on administrative leave. meanwhile, in delaware, police in the town of wilmington are also facing criticism after a video surfaced of officers

fatally shooting an african american man in a wheelchair . the cell phone video shows officers yelling at 28-year-old jeremy mcdowell as they approach followed by the sound of a gunshot. mcdowell then appears to reach into the front of his jeans, as several officers open fire. police say they recovered a -- police say they were responding to a 911 call that mcdowell and tried to shoot himself and they recovered a handgun at the scene. family members say mcdowell had been in a wheelchair since he was shot and paralyzed at the age of 18. the universities of fordham and marquette have both rescinded honorary degrees for bill cosby, who has been accused by more than 50 women of drugging and raping them in cases that go back decades. both schools say it is the first time they have ever rescinded an honorary degree. new evidence has emerged in the case against death-row prisoner richard glossip, who narrowly avoided execution last week after he was granted a -- last-minute stay only hours

before he was slated to die. in 1997, glossip was working as a manager at the best budget inn in oklahoma city when his boss, barry van treese, was murdered. a maintenance worker, justin sneed, admitted he beat van treese to death with a baseball bat, but claimed glossip offered him money and job opportunities for the killing. the case rested almost solely on sneed's claims. no physical evidence ever tied glossip to the crime. this week, one of sneed's former cellmates, joseph tapley came forward, saying that sneed had framed glossip to avoid the death penalty. this comes after michael scott, who had also spent time with sneed in prison, came forward in august saying it was quote "common knowledge that justin sneed lied and sold richard glossip up the river." glossip's new execution date is september 30. nsa whistleblower edward snowden, pulitzer prize-winning journalist glenn greenwald and other privacy activists have launched a new campaign to establish global privacy standards. the proposed international

treaty on the right to privacy, protection against improper surveillance and protection of whistleblowers would require states to ban mass data collection and implement public oversight of national security programs. the treaty would also require states to offer asylum to whistleblowers. it is being dubbed the "snowden treaty." edward snowden spoke about the need for the treaty via teleconference from russia at thursday's launch in new york. >> this is not a problem exclusive to the united states or the national security agency or the fbi or the pardon of justice or any agency of government anywhere. this is a global problem that affects all of us. amy: meanwhile, the intercept has published new documents leaked by snowden revealing a british mass surveillance operation known as "karma police." the intercept reports that the operation seeks to -- "to record the website browsing habits of every visible user on the internet." it was launched in secret 7 years ago, without any public debate. and those are some of the

headlines. this is democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i am amy goodman with juan gonzalez. juan: welcome to all our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. pope francis has arrived in new york where he will speak today at the united nations general assembly. on thursday, he became the first pope to ever address a joint session of congress. he used the opportunity to call for an end to the international arms trade -- a trade dominated by the united states. why are deadly weapons being who plan toe inflict untold suffering on individuals and society? sadly, the answer, as we all know, is simply for money. money that is drenched in blood,

often innocent blood. shameful andf this dutyble silence, it is our to confront the problem and to stop the arms trade. [applause] juan: pope francis also addressed the issue of migrants in europe and in the americas. our world is facing a refugee crisis of a magnitude not seen since the second world war. this presents us with great challenges and many hard decisions.

on this continent, too, thousands of persons are led to travel north in search of a ander life for themselves for the loved ones, in search of greater opportunities. this is not what we want -- is this not what we want for our own children? [applause] we must not be taken aback by their numbers, but rather, view them as persons, seeing their faces and listening -- [applause] to their stories, trying to respond as best we can to their

situation. to respond in a way which is always humane, just, and fraternal. we need to avoid a common 10 --ian -- temptation nowadays to discard whatever proves troublesome. rule, remember the golden do unto others as you would have .hem do and do you [applause] do unto others as you will have them do i do you. amy: part of pope francis' speech to congress also focused

on poverty and hunger. you, all those people around us who are trapped in a cycle of already. they, too, need to begin and hope. the fight against poverty and hunger must be fought constantly and on many fronts, especially in its causes. i know that many americans today, as in the past, are working to deal with this problem. juan: after the congressional address pope francis skipped an , offer to dine with lawmakers in order to meet and eat with homeless residents of washington d.c. ,before the lunch, the pope made

a few brief remarks and spanish at st. patrick's church. clear, weto be very can find no social or moral justification, no justification whatsoever for the lack of housing. there are many unjust situations , but we know that god is suffering with us, experiencing them on our side. he does not abandon us. amy: to talk more about the pope's visit, we're joined by sister simone campbell, the executive director of network, a catholic social justice group. she attended the pope's speech before congress and at the white house. she is an author. we will also be joined by kumi naidoo executive director of , greenpeace international. whoell as robert ellsberg, edited and published selected writings by dorothy day, as well

as her diaries and letters. and has published books on thomas merton. the pope spoke about both in his congressional address. sister campbell, welcome to democracy now! start off by talking about what the day was like yesterday, where you are seated, what it was like in this first-ever address before congress by a pope. >> well, i had the deep honor of being in the front row of the side.y on the republican as you face the pope, it was on the right side. we got seated in some kind of seniority way by who dave as our tickets, so since i had senator barbara boxer's ticket, i had a front row seat. it was a lot of expectation, but one of the things i really course we gotf there early and had to be seated early and go through security, find our way, what i noticed was the eagerness of all of the

participants to be community and our little area. and it ended up i was seated almost exactly the two city mccain, citizen or mccains wife, and we had a lovely conversation about senator mccain's efforts on immigration reform. we talked policy. it mostly we talked about what joy and hope pope francis was bringing that we could bridge, maybe bridge some of these huge divides in our country, and be realistic about the needs that we're are facing. he brings a candor that i think was contagious. simone, i was struck by his very strong words on the arms trade, which seemed to be the most surprising of all the issues that he touched on. , and that hes, too called it out in such a clear fashion. but i think for me the one that

was even more surprising was the way that he did the codewords for what usually conservatives think of as the abortion language. protecting the dignity of all life. and it was kind of a -- in dear the republicans who had been a little slow to stand up and applaud some things, they jumped to their feet and applauded and in the democrats were a little slow. to then he immediately went the death penalty. and i really think these two issues are connected. do we deal death were are we really respect her's of life? he wasin that respect talking both arms trade and death penalty in the dignity of all of life that we need to be respectful of. amy: let's go to the pope speaking for the global abolition of the death penalty. rule also reminds us of our responsibility to

life atand defend human every stage of its development. [applause] this conviction has led me since the beginning of my ministry to forcate at different levels the global abolition of the death penalty. [applause] and i am convinced that this way

is the best, since every life is isred, every human person endowed with an an inalienable dignity, and society can only benefit from the rehabilitation of those convicted of crimes. amy: that is the pope addressing in the first-ever address to congress by a pope, the issue of the death penalty. he called for its global abolition. the significance of this, sister simone campbell, as thousands of people sit on death row in the --ted states -- over 3000 one, richard glossip, has an execution date in the next few days, set once again? >> it was usually important. just after that part, also i believe it was the bishops were going to be greater advocates on this issue.

that justink is key, because he says it wants, doesn't mean it is accomplished. and he is keenly aware of the fact that we need to really stand up for all people. he also mentioned we cannot ever give up hope for any one person, and that hope and the possibility of rubella tatian is always -- rehabilitation is always at the heart of our care for each other. so i think his focus, his really lifting this issue to such a prominence can help us move away from what is really a medieval response and a fearful response to crime. and too often, especially in the case of mr. glossip, that we're hearing, that he is erroneously convicted. and i think that sort of horror alone should be enough, much less the dignity of everybody

who may have committed these crimes, but how do we -- i think what he is saying, it diminishes our dignity to kill someone else, especially when the state does it in our name. then who are we? who are we as a nation? he was trying to lay that out clearly to call us to be better ourselves. juan: sister, what are some of the issues you perhaps had hoped the pope would address in this presentation, in his address to congress? >> that he had not addressed? it is hard to think of something. immigration and economic justice are the two big issues we work on in our organization, and he really, clearly, addressed both. i guess if there was anything that would have been -- that i would like a little more specificity about what have been the huge economic divide in our nation. i mean, he spoke about it generally in the global context, but that it is so keenly felt in the united states that -- and i

have met so many people who struggle so hard at the margins, i just would wish that maybe their stories had influenced him a little more just the more specifically of the u.s. it on the whole, it is really hard to complain. that was an amazing speech. we: sister simone before wrap up, in 2012, the vatican reprimanded the leadership conference of women religious, the largest group of catholic nuns in the united states accusing them of promoting a radical feminist theme and challenging church teachings on homosexuality and male only priesthood. your group, network, also came under investigation. what has come of these investigations? actually, yesterday we spoke with one woman priest who was arrested in civil disobedience yesterday and washington, d.c., calling for women to be ordained. what has happened in both cases? >> in those cases, we've all

made nice post up pope francis said end it. the censure was ended two years early. everybody said they learned from dialogue. our organization actually is never heard from the vatican, even before or after, but i'm assuming it is wrapped up with pope francis because the work we do is totally in keeping with what pope francis does. but i have to say, if it had not been for the censure, we would never have had what our program nuns on the bus, our focus on poverty lifted up in our nation. and i think we really got a chance to help shape our national dialogue and refocus on the issue of those who struggle. so while it was extremely painful, while i think it is over and we've all made nice and pope francis said he loves the nuns, it out so was a gift -- it also was a gift they got good use from our nation. amy: and nuns on the bus? our campaign where we go

around the country lifting up the stories of real people who struggle and shining a light on the good things that are being done, as well as the divide. our latest trip just wound up just before pope francis came. our theme was, bridge the divides, transfer politics. we're got to do it together. amy: we're going to take a break and come back to this discussion. sister simone campbell, thank you so much, the executive director of network, a catholic social justice group. when we come back, robert ellsberg will be with us talking about two of the four people that pope francis called out. he called out abraham lincoln, martin luther king, dorothy day, and thomas merton. you will find out who they are. melissa be speaking with kumi naidoo, head of greenpeace international, one of the biggest issues the pope has taken on in these last months -- climate change. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: "acknowledgment," by john coltrane. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. juan: during his address to congress on thursday, the first ever by a pope, pope francis highlighted the work of four americans. nation can be considered when it defends liberty. did.ncoln

[indiscernible] as martin luther king stroke to do. which becomes dialogue. amy: later in his speech, the pope returned to dorothy day, calling her a servant of god. >> in these times when social --ur,ns are so with and these times when social concerns are so important, i cannot fill to mention the servant of god dorothy day, who founded the catholic worker

movement. her social activism, her passion for justice and for the cause of the oppressed, were inspired by the gospel, her faith, and the example of the saints. juan: the pope went on to talk about another catholic figure, thomas merton. >> a century ago at the beginning of the great war, appointed benedict 15 was born. american thomas merton. of spiritualsource inspiration and a guide for many people. he wrote,obiography , free bynto the world

nature, in the image of god. i was, nevertheless, the prisoner of my own violence and my own selfishness, in the image of the world into which i was born. that world was the picture of myself,ll of men like ,oving god and yet hating him born to love him, living instead in fear of hopeless self-contradictory hungers." merton was above all a man of challengedhinker who

the certitudes of the is -- his time and opened new horizons for souls and for the church. dialogue, aa man of promoter of peace between peoples and religions. publishedt ellsberg selected writings by dorothy day, as well as her diaries and letters. he has also published books on thomas merton. from this unprecedented speech before congress. robert ellsberg is the editor and publisher of orbis books, the american imprint of the maryknoll order. martin luther king, abraham lincoln, dorothy day, and thomas merton.

we started talking about dorothy day yesterday on democracy now! with you, robert. talk more about the significance of what the pope said. >> i think it is extraordinary that his whole framework for his talk was organized around four extraordinary americans am a two of whom are national icons, king and abraham lincoln. in the two catholics you chose would not even be recognized by many catholics. dorothy day, better known because she is proposed for canonization am a dying in 1980, she was a radical in her youth, underwent a conversion, and started a movement to combine her faith with commitment to social justice, the poor, and the pursuit of peace. thomas merton was a surprise for me. just 10 years ago, the american catholic russians decided to remove his name from a list of exemplary catholics to be listed in a catechism for young adult because they felt uncomfortable with him. he was a prophet. he was a man who kind of on the

margins, did not fit into any prefab catholic church idea of holiness. he was a trappist monk in a priest, he also underwent a conversion, injured in monastery, -- injured a trappist monastery, wrote a blogger fee and begin the most popular spiritual catholic writer of his time. in the 1950's, he also went through an interesting change. yet a mystical experience in downtown louisville were he suddenly said it was like waking from a tree of separateness. he looked around at all of the people on the street and said there were no strangers, we're all human beings. he recognized the divine and everyone. after that you could not write in that mold that put holiness just inside the catholic church. he began engaging with the issues of the world, especially the cold war, the arms race, new pair weapons, racism, the vietnam war, zone trappist order censored him and would not allow

him to publish others topics for some years. he wrote any articles for dorothy day plus catholic worker newspaper. he became in some ways a kind of renegade, troublesome figure. he said, i want my whole life to be a protest against war of political tierney. -- tyranny. destroysrything that life and yes to everything that affirms it. it was a message from the pope said he would register this idea of thomas merton, breaking through boundaries of us and them, good and bad, evil, our side, the bad side, which merton felt was a kind of spiritual disease does the foundation of poor. juan: robert, judging from his address, looks to me he was largely speaking to two audiences. on one hand, the general american public, raising the examples of lincoln and martin luther king, but also had to thes influence

catholics, saying to the catholics of america, these are the figures that you should hold up -- dorothy day and thomas essence, sending a message to the hierarchy of church because i'm sure most catholics were listening to his presentation yesterday. >> i think that is exactly right. i am sure there were a lot of people in the house who were scratching their heads at the mention of this trappist monk and what that was all about. it was interesting the way he used thomas merton as a figure of dialogue, somebody who overcomes polarization. and he tied that in with the importance of politicians who take bold and creative actions to overcome -- what the reference perhaps to the negotiations with iran, the breakthrough with cuba am a poet dorothy day also what was interesting, he started by talking about the concern for the poor and oppressed, inhibited to say the common good also includes the earth and that led him into his reflections on ecology.

juan: i want to turn to thomas merton speaking in his own words in 1968 just before he died. >> that is a thing of the past. islook always at that which we guest and highest in her own religion is a double standard in dealing with religion. this has to stop. that was thomas merton in 1968. >> that was his speech he gave in bangkok. he died within an hour of that speech. it was still the recording of him, television recording of him and his life. amy: how did he die? >> he was therefore a conference in thailand, part of a longer pilgrimage to the east to explore his interest in buddhism. he now the dalai lama. he traveled around had another mystical breakthrough in sri lanka. he gave the speech and died

electrocuted after taking a shower. amy: these two people, dorothy day and thomas merton, reputedly got arrested, engaged in civil disobedience. be oneibly was going to of the catonsville nine, what happened 10, 1 of those protesting the vietnam war. that have dorothy day who was a convert, who had an abortion. to is on the road canonization. i wanted to go to a clip of dorothy day in 1971 which was interviewed by the christopher close-up show. here she describes how and when the catholic worker movement began. >> there was a war going on between china and japan back in 1933, and a began -- and it began through the efforts of a french hasn't, former teacher and the christian brothers schools in paris, who felt a

call to come to america and be a lay- really built up apostolate began to be because he read articles i had written about the social order and suggested we start the catholic worker newspaper. amy: dorothy day also explained how she got involved in peace activism. >> we began talking about what makes for peace and that is the teaching in the gospels, the beatitudes, the sermon on the mount and so on. and to take them literally, really meant that you began practicing the works of peace rather than the works of war. the works of war are the exact opposite of the works of peace. feeding the hungry when we are destroying crops and sheltering the homeless when we are destroying villages, wiping out cities -- it is all the way

through right down the line, the opposite. in christ proposed, certainly, that the work of the christian was the works of mercy. amy: dorothy day was asked if humankind will ever learn non-violence. >> just as we're living in a nuclear age, we're grosser tremendously in scientific knowledge, it doesn't seem too much to say that men can begin to awaken to the fact they haven't grown enough spiritually and haven't recognized the spiritual capacities. and i think today there is, certainly, the beginnings of a movement of nonviolence all over the world. of course, the teachings of gandhi in india. amy: that is dorothy day, robert ellsberg, you have edited her books, diaries, letters. if you could talk about that, but also correct something i said about thomas merton engaging in nonviolence. inhe was very outspoken

opposing the vietnam war. he also supported dorothy day earlier and her protest against compulsory civil defense trials, but he was a comfortable with draft card actions that he thought were provocative and kind of raised the temperature and possibly interfered with the possibility of dialogue. he wasn't involved in that. amy: but dorothy day? >> she was arrested many times in her life. juan: today the pope will be speaking at the united nations, another first in terms of a papal address. under popeeems that francis, there is a conscious decision for the vatican of the holy see to get much more to have a stronger voice on many of these international issues that are the crisis that the world is going through, whereas the maintain arally positions through their encyclicals and the moral authority, but now there seems

to be -- he is actually going to congress, actually going to the united nations and saying, i'm going to address the leaders of the world directly. >> traditionally, popes spoke to their fellow catholics will stop john the 23rd in the early 1960's issued an encyclical reset he wanted to address this to all mid of good will and pope francis has followed that lead. he feels his responsibility as leader of the catholic church is not just to lead his flock, but be a voice speaking to everyone who shares this common home, planet, and issues of poverty, of the environment, of violence, of condition of refugees, poor, inequality. he sees this as global human issues. i think the connection with dorothy day and thomas merton, these were both people who engaged with the world, but that was rooted very deeply in their spiritual vision. he began referring to these people as lincoln and king as well as saying these are people who help us see reality in a new

way. and i think that was the message he was trying to share, a politics rooted in seeing and a new way in which we see each other as brothers and sisters and children of one god and not as opposed to each other. amy: i want to read a quote from dorothy day in 1956. she said -- >> those could also have been words from pope francis when he said in his recent apostolic exercise should, we have to talk about an economy that kills. and talking about a culture of indifference, it makes it impossible for us to even feel or see the suffering of others.

amy: robert ellsberg, thank you for being with us. she is on her way to sainthood? in the first phase? >> i think the support from the pope will have to move things along. amy: thank you, robert ellsberg. onhas published books dorothy day and thomas merton. if you're wondering about the last and, yes, he is daniel ellsberg's son. when we come back, climate change. we're joined by kumi naidoo, head of greenpeace international. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: for our radio audience and

for our tv audience, we were just showing live images of the pope at the united nations as he sits and next to him is the yuan secretary-general ban ki-moon. you can go to democracynow.org to see those live images as we broadcast this show. he is about to address the yuan general assembly. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. been alimate change has key focus of the pope's visit to the united states. during his address to congress thursday, pope francis called on congress to address climate change. >> i call for courageous effort to redirect our steps and to environmental

deterioration caused by human activity. i am convinced that we can make a difference i'm sure. [applause] and i have no doubt that the united states and this congress have an important role to play. now is the time for courageous actions and strategies, aimed at implementing a culture of care

and an integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and at the same time, protecting nature. [applause] amy: that is the pope and his unprecedented address to the u.s. congress. our guest is kumi naidoo, executive director of greenpeace international. the significance of what the pope has been doing over the release of, both the the encyclical on the environment and, change and what he is saying here the united they? >> i think it is groundbreaking. it is a game changer. it is bringing a whole range of voices to the climate movement. for example, two weeks after he releas the encyclical, the dalai lama and others came up and and boston in its entirety. three weeks later, muslim

religious leaders gathering in istanbul made a similar -- what is important, he is using words that we need to redirect our steps, we need to act with courage. and that is what it calls for. i'm reminded of martin luther king -- martin luther king in the 1960's one said, while we accept this dominance of the term maladjusted, we all want to be well-adjusted. then he went on to say, i refuse to be well-adjusted to the idea of racial injustice and religious bigotry. and he said, and i refuse to be well-adjusted to the idea that we're taking necessities from the many to give luxuries to the few when millions of god's children are trapped in an airtight cage of poverty. what is important about the way we address climate change is it is brought together with inequality, social exclusion, and poverty. when he talks about redirecting the steps, we have the financial knowledge, the technical

knowledge. we know just a few days ago greenpeace brought on reports with other organizations, talking about by 2050, we can have 100% renewable energy access for all with about 50 million more jobs being created, and what makes good economic sense, what makes good environmental sense, is -- americans of people all over the world now must ask themselves, why are we not changing? we must be blunt, those that control the decision-making in this country are the fossil fuel industry. they have a disproportionate influence. those that are making money from the current system are holding us back. i think the pope's intervention is going to give us important impetus to change the dynamic and hopefully, bring us closer to a climate solution in a context. we're running out of time. juan: you could say he was literally speaking in the lion stand when you come to climate change because you have a

republican-controlled congress, many of whom denied the existence of climate change. and yet they were applauding him. it was amazing democracy. at certain levels. >> but what i'm hoping in the in the of the context -- context of dialogue in the united states but also globally, we can turn climate change into an opportunity. what do we mean by that? worldo long we lived in a of north, south, used, west development. we need to realize the united human family, our common home, as the pope called it. we address it with courage and secure the future of all of our children and their children. if we get it wrong and we don't act faster now, then it is true that people in poor countries released responsible -- i've just come from the pacific. and to see how people have

argued been impacted, to see the whole country, 100,000 people, were two meters above sea level and they are planning on the one hand for the possibility of extinction, but on the other with they're planning resilience and dignity saying, we're going to fight as hard as we can. and one of the things that i hope will happen in the next days at the u.n., we need to revisit this two degrees question. you remember, amy, in copenhagen in 2009, there's a big debate about whether the amount of or two degrees -- amy: centigrade. >> yes. least developed countries are saying 1.5. dominic countries, the was included, the language was as far below as to degrees as possible and now it is just to degrees. 1.52 to the pacific,

stay alive. that is the slogan. basically, i think in the was, i make an appeal to the republican coalition that you have to look at your children and grandchildren in the eyes does this is not about saving the planet. to be blunt, the planet doesn't need saving. gone, theill be planet will still be here. understand solidarity is at play. i hope the pope will have a positive impact on the republican leadership but let's be blunt, not all democrats are all on the message for climate, either. and i hope they also get the message. amy: the pope drives away in his car --he sperry humble this very humble card not just for hemolytic, but for efficiency. he was torched by the big secret

service cars around him, but insisted as he leaves washington, chinese president has arrived at the white house for a state visit with president obama today where he's expected to commit to implementing a cap and trade system to limit china's greenhouse gas emissions in 2017. cap and trade system, market-driven strategy in which governments cap emission levels and allow companies to buy and sell permits to pollute. your thoughts about this, kumi naidoo? >> having just come from china for weeks ago, there is serious momentum on the ground to actually moving in a positive direction. is aink this announcement very important significant step in the right direction. bear in mind china is like a continent, one of seven people on the planet are chinese. and what they're talking about is a system of disincentives for emitting carbon. and i think it is a very workable system and this will

.ave huge implications the announcement that was made last year by 2015, they're going to peak. already when i was there, you saw it is a different political system. if it is some -- if something is set at the center, it is implement it. already you can be different states, different big cities and so on are developing serious plans to get to that -- and if they don't, their consequences and so on and terms of that. i think it is a game changer. and i do think it takes away the argument from those in a republican-controlled congress who say, well, china is doing nothing, china -- so i hope a combination of what the pope's message was, this announcement so soon by the chinese leadership, will urge the republican leadership to

actually look at the science and absurd looking denial around the world. i have to tell you, people around the world just love the republican debates to see the kind of -- the debates. they cannot believe that potentially from this slate of ideas will come the new president of the united states. juan: and as we approach toward the end of this year, the paris meeting, how do you -- what are your hopes and expectations coming between this united nations meeting which will have more war leaders than any in history between now and paris? >> so the important thing, not just greenpeace, but the broader movement has been talking about, we mustn't make the same mistake we made in copenhagen. we threw everything at copenhagen in 2009 to get will outcome, butab

what we got was a flab outcome for of loopholes. we stop talking about the road to paris. we're talking about the road through paris. it is a very important distinction. what it is saying is, assuming the pope's message, other forces joining, gives our political leaders to make a decision they should have made six years ago in copenhagen, but let's say they make it now -- what will be -- they will be words on a piece of paper. thatould be the most ambitious thing that they would go for the emission reduction cuts, make sure we stabilize things around 1.5 degrees and so on. , and therell of that is agreement, the ruby a huge amount to make sure it isn't limited. therefore, right now, if you look at what is on the table, there are few optimistic signs,

but it is way less than what the scientists and when you to do in paris at the end of the year. of momentume a lot is building up as we get there and maybe our political leaders will do the right thing. we had the march at the beginning of the two weeks of copenhagen. we will start with the march and end with the march to send a clear message to the politicians that citizens are going to be engaged. we're not going to trust you. we're not going to invest faith in you. we're going to continue to hold your feet to the fire and pushed because what is at stake here is our children and their children's future, and that is much too precious to leave the politicians alone. amy: kumi naidoo, thank you for being with us, executive director of greenpeace international. he is stepping down at the end of the year. that does it for today's broadcast. 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. have you heard of the 13th century sufi mystic whose poetry outsold all other poets in the united states for over a decade? when unesco declared 2007 as "the year of jalaluddin rumi," they rightfully recognized his contribution as an advocate of interfaith tolerance and respect. they described rumi as "one of the great humanists, philosophers, and poets who belong to humanity in its entirety." the u.n. recognized that the spiritual evolution and, quite possibly, the survival of our very world is