07/12/18 07/12/18 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! pres. trump: by far the best military equivalent in the world. the best jets, the best missiles, the best guns come the best everything. we may, by far -- i guess i assumed prior to taking office, but i have really learned since been president, our equipment is so much better than anybody else's equipment. amy: at the nato summit, president trump calls on member

states to double their military spending to 4%, making clear where he wants that money to go. we will speak with katrina vanden heuvel from the nation magazine. looks the nation has released --, ground for secure elections for international security and the belief when a 2-d escalate tensions with russia and that there is a false choice between having secure elections and that relationship. nucuclear a catastrophe, elections are going to be an a afterthought. amy: masass protest are expected to greet trump as he arrives for his first visit to britain as president. protesters will float a 20 foot long giant baby trump blimp outside parliament that will ngry the president as an orange baby clututching a cell phone ready to tweet.

repsents a hosof issu. it isn't just about mocking him. it is about drawingttention that his politics are havining a real i impact on real lives, not just in the u.s.s., but all over the world. amy: we will speak witith sheila menon, one of the b blimp organizers, and with colin -- guardian columnist george monbiot. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. president trump called wednesday on nato member nations to increase their military spending to 4% of gross domestic product, doubling his previous demand that they meet targets of 2% by january. trump's comments, made during a tense nato summit in brussels, reportedly prompted the military alliance to call an emergency session to respond to the demands.

"the washington post" reports trump said the u.s. was prepared to go it alone and threatened to "do his own thing" unless the target is met. on wednesday, nato secretary general yens stoltenberg downplayed reports of tensions with trump, even as he said nato members were prepared to increase military spending. >> of course president trump has direct language, a message on we allense spending, but agree. amy:'s begin to reporters as nato talks wrap up today, trump touted the visit as a success and boasted about future weapon sales to nato allies. trump: the united states by far makes the best military equipment. the best jets. the best missiles, the best guns, the best everything. we may, by far -- i guess i assumed it prior to taking office, but i really learned since been president our equipment is so much better than anybody else's equipment.

when you look at our companies -- lockheed, boeing. the material, the agreement we make is so far superior everybody wants to buy our equipment. can they make it? because they are doing very well. can they make it for so many people? so we're helping some of those get online and buy the bebest equipment. and go president trump will now head to the united kingdom -- amy: president trump will now go to the united kingdom where mass protests are expected to greet donald trump as he arrives for his first visit to the country . demonstrators say that hundreds of thousands of people are planning to take to the streets tonight and tomorrow and are planning to float a giant balloon caricature of trump outside parliament. trump's u.k. visit comes ahead of a planned summit with russian president vladimir putin in helsinki on july 16. we'll have more on president trump, nato, russia, and the protests against trump in the u.k. after headlines. the trump administration argued that it is looking to speed up

the reification of immigrant families. the trump administration separated at the u.s.-mexico border after he missed tuesday's imposed decision. as of wewednesday, the administration has reunited just 34 of the children. among those recently reunited, a man and his four-year-old son, spoke to reporters in new york and stay. >> i never imagined they would separate me. when i came in, they took my biometrics and tommy the president changed a couple of laws and the kids were going to be separated. they tell me somemeone might hae adopted my son and that i would never be able to see him again. amy: this comes as the daily beast reports the trump administration told immigrant mothers they'd have to pay as much as $800 for dna tests in order to be reunited with their children. and documents obtained by the news site slate show the trump

administration is planning to draw down funding for hiv/aids care to pay for detaining immigrant children. nine immigrant women who were arrested by ice agents during the summer of 2017 say in a new lawsuit they were shackled and held in a hot, windowless van for hours, leaving them fainting, vomiting, struggling to breathe, lawsuit they were shackled and o die. a lawsuit filed tuesday by the american civil liberties union on behalf of the women in northern california says the women were also denied food and water for about 12 hours during the summer heat last july 17. meanwhile, the u.s. military and cia contractor mvm has admitted it detained migrant children overnight inside a vacant phoenix office building with dark windows, no kitchen, and only a few toilets. an investigation by reveal from the center for investigative reporting uncovered what some

are calling a black site for migrant children after one local resident filmed children in sweat suits being led into the building. the building was leased in march by mvm, a military contractor that reveal reports has received nearly $250 million in contracts to transport immigrant children since 2014. a spokesperson for mvm inc. told reveal the company had indeed held children in the building overnight, calling the staysys a "regrettable excxception" to the company's policycy to find hotel rooms instead. to see our full ininterview with aura bogado, who led the investigation, you can go to our website democracynow.org. a federal judge has questioned the trump administration's attention of mexican journalist milligan iteris soto and ordered in august during and whether immigration authorities violated his first amendment rights.

gutierrez first sought asylum in the u.s. in 2008 after receiving death threats for reporting on alleged corruption in the mexican military. he has since won the national press club's freedom of the press award. speaking to democracy now! in a jailhouse interview last december, emilio said deportation would be a death sentence. >> well, if we are deported, that obviously implies debt. why? because ice, under the department of homeland security of the united states, by law, must give a report to the immigration authorities of mexico and the consulate. in the immigration officials in .exico have no credibility it is impossible to trust in them.

to the contrary, many of those officials, many personnel at the or immigration service, are caught up with organized crime. amy: mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists with at least six media workers killed so far this year alone. the trump administration argued wednesday it has the authority to indefinitely hold people in the guantanamo bay prison camp without charging them with a crime, even for 100 years. the claim by a justice department lawyer came in federal court in washington, d.c., as a judge considers a habeas corpus petition brought by 11 guantanamo prisoners who argue their perpetual detention is arbitraryry and unlnlawful. saudi arabia issued a royal pardon on tuesday to all of its soldiers in yemen, forgiving troops accused of committing abuses during the saudi-led assault on houthi rebels. the e pardon came as amnesty international accused the united

arab emirates of tororturing prisisoners in a network of sest prisons in souththern yemen, calling fofor an international r crimes investigation. amnesty investigators say they've uncovered evidence of widespread beatings, the use of electric shock, and sexual violence a at the prisons. the uae is a key ally of the united states and has partnered with saudi arabia in its military assault on yemen, which has created the world's worst humanitarian crisisis with a cholerera epidemic t that's sisd more than one million people and millions more pushed to the brink of famine. the white house touted federal judge brett kavanaugh's business-friendly record in a one-page memo handed out to corporate executives after kavanaugh's nomination to the u.s. supreme court on monday. "the new york times" reports the memo boasted that kavanaugh overruled federal agencies on 75 occasions. in one business-friendly ruling, kavanaugh dissented in a 2-1 decision that slapped seaworld

with a $70,000 osha fine over the death of trainer dawn brancheau, who was killed at seaworld orlando in 2010 after a captive killer whale bit her and dragged her underwater. papa john's foununder john schnatter has stepped down as chair of the board after forbes magazine repord d he ud aa racialallur -- the n-word -- duri a a conrencnce ll in n y. schnteter haalrereadsteppepe down as ceo t the pza c cha earlier thiseaear after he claimeththat n player otesests duringhe natatnal anthem, which have bn led by african-erican pyeyers, re hurting hipipizza les.s. schnatter a a lontimeme globa oppont of obacare and trumpupporter house spker paulyan defeed coressmemb jim jorn on afr a fiftformer wstler at wednday ohiotate unirsity haaccused e ohio rublican laaker of iling tontervene

as team door sexuay abused younmen in t 1990's. the n allege former team doctor rhard strss grope plays on mulple occasions, and thatordan, w was the servinas an asstant coh on the wresing teammust hav known abt the mostation. jordanwho'been floed as a possib replacent for outgoingpeaker othe hous paul rya has dend any owledge sexual uses. this is speaker ryan at a capitol hill news conference wednesday. >> jim jordan is a friend of mine. we have not always agreed with each other over the years, but i have always known jim jordan to be a man of honesty and integrity. president trump's former campaign chair, paul manafort, privately boasted of receiving vip treatment in jail, contradicting his public complaints about jail conditions and his claims that his access to lawyers was limited. in a court filing, lawyers with special counsel robert mueller's investigation said manafort made the comment in monitored prison phone calls. the lawyers say manafort has had

easy access to his lawyers as he's been held in a living unit larger than cells given to other prisoners, with access to a private bathroom and shower. they say manafort has not been required to wear a prison uniform, and has a private telephone, a separate workspace, and access to two laptops. manafort faces charges of tax fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, witness tampering, and failing to register as a foreign agent. neneda canceleled a planned execution wednesday, just hours before scott dozier was scheduled to die by lethal injection. the execution was halted after a pharmaceutical company successfully sued to prevent the use of its drug, midazolam, to be used as part of a three-drug lethal cocktail. during a court hearing on wednesday, alvogen pharmaceutical attorney todd bice said the sedative is not approved for use in executions, and said the nevada department of corrections illegally obtained the drug.

>> being proposed here is very serious for a business, particularly a pharmaceutical company whose entire mission and business purpose is to create an market and sell products that are designed to enhance and prolong people's lives. and the use of those products to do the exact opposite and then to have media covered in their name associated with this -- particularly when the strike there is a risk of even what is being characterized as botched executions andnd is highly harml to any business. amy: t condemn p prisor, scotdozier, s s saide' pref t to dithanan tremaininn deh row. he has attemeded suide in n e past a authorities have placed him on scicide wch after cacalling off weesday's execion. sri lankhas annoced it wl reinstate the death penalty, with plans to put to death 19 prisoners convicted on drug charges. a government spokesperson said the move was inspired by philippines president rodrigo duterte, who's overseen a wide-scale war on drugs that

human rights groups say has seen some 8000 peopople killed by government fororces or vigilant. in a statement, amnesty international condemned the decision, saying -- "when most of the world has turned its back on the death penalty, it risks heading in the wrong direction and joining a shrinking minority of states that persist with this horrific practice." in bismarck, north dakota, an indigenous water protectctor who was arrested during protests in 2016 against the dakota access pipeline has been sentenced to four years and nine months in federal prison. prosecutors said red fawn fallis fired three shots from a handgun as police in riot gear wielding batons surrounded her to make an arrest on october 27 amid mass protests against the pipeline. red fawn was one of 761 people arrested during indigenous-led resistance to the pipeline in 2016 and 2017. and in manitoba, canada, first nations activists have set up an

indigenous prayer camp near the u.s. border in a bid to stop construction of the enbridge line 3 oil pipeline. the proposed line would carry tar sands oil from alberta, canada, to a terminal in superior, wisconsin. on wednesday, activists opened the spirit of the buffalo camp near the city of gretna, south of winnipeg, within sight of a construction crew operating across the border in north dakota. in a statement, members of the group invited protesters to join their efforts to stop the pipeline, calling it a direct violation of the united nations declaration of indigenous peoples' rights, and adding -- "the camp also calls for an end to tar sands expansion and infrastructure that will lock humanity into future carbon emissions the planet cannot afford in the face of climate change." and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. and i'm nermeen shaikh. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world.

president trump has called on nato member states to increase their military spending to 4% of gross semester product. doubling his previous to men they meet targets of 2% by january. trump's comments made during the nato summit in brussels reportedly crafted the military alliance to call an emergency session to respond to the demand. "the washington post" reports the u.s. was prepared to "go it alone" and threatened to "do his own thing" unless the target was met. on wednesday, nato secretary-general downplayed reports of tensions with trump even as he said nato members were prepared to increase the lee terry spending. >> of course president trump has a very direct language, a message on defense spending, but we all agree. amy: speaketh to reporters as nato talks wrapped up today, trump touted the visit as a

succccess and boasted about fute weapon sales to nato allies. pres. trump: the united states makes by far the best military equipment in the world, the best jets, the best missiles from the best guns, the best everything. we make, by far -- that is one thing i guess i assumed her prior to taking office, but i really learned since being sosident, our equipment is much better than anybody else's equipment. shen you look at our companie -- the agreement we make is so far superior to everybody wants to buy our equipment. can they make it? because they are doing very well. can they make it for so many people? so we are helping some of those countries get online and buy the best equivalent. amy: meanwhile, anti-war groups protested outside the meeting of -- the nato meeting. we also want to see the u.s.

take back its nuclear weapons soil fort in belgium the last six years or for the belgian government deciding the nuclear ban treaty that was signed last year. amy: president trump is now flying to britain where he faces mass protests and will then go to scotland and meet on monday in finland with russian president vladimir putin. to talk more about all of this, about president trump, nato, a d russiaia, we're joined by katria vanden heuvel, editor and publisher of the nation magazine. also cosigner of an open letter published wednesday in the nation headlined "common ground: for secure elections and true national security." the letter is also signed by daniel ellsberg, gloria steinem, noam chomsky, governor bill richardson, reverend dr. william barber, michael moore moore, among others.

welcome back to democracy now! talk about what you're calling for in the we will talk about your assessment of this meeting. >> in this toxic political and media environment, are open letter is calling for secure elections and and and to the of conflictcalation with fresh of. we believe you can have secure elections and avoid nuclear catastrophe. u.s.-russian relations -- and this relates to the native discussion -- are at their lowest point and perhaps 30 years. i think in this country, the talk of russia as a hostile power, declaring war on as. i find this hyperbolic. i think we are a resilient nation and i think some of the greatest dangers to our election system have come from the voterution of dark money, suppression, gerrymandering. we need to focus on securing our elections. let us have cyber treaties that both deal with that and command and control. but i also think we need -- this

is neither pro-trump or appropriate in, it is the plea, since that we need a working relationship with russia to dial peril,w gold -- nuclear to resolve the creating crisis, to try and bring some humanitarian assistance to syria. there are a whole set of issues but the nuclear issue, i think, has been forgotten by many as a truly perilous one. talks ellsberg's book about that. the bulletin of atomic scientists moved the doomsday clock, think it was earlier this year, to suggest this is the most dangerous nuclear moment between the two superpowers. nuclear superpowers. so i think our letter is in intervention by those who don't necessarily agree on all, but understand there is a perilous moment we need to address. amy: semi be the surprised you are saying the u.s. is at an all-time low were 30 year low

thatrelations with russia, what you're describe missing him as the enemy is much more with the democrats are doing and what president trump has done now, you know, saying he is not the enemy, putin, perhaps as a competitor, hahas made the nato allies the enemy. >> it is a complicated moment, as you well know. we need to keep our bearings, it seems to me, as progressives, people of the left, as people opposed to militarism as a response to threats or challenges. and i think what trump has done -- and we see it with nato -- it is a false -- his impossible address is to be you know, i mean, he looks like america's arms salesman as he speaks in brussels. at the same time, i would argue the establishment, bipartisan establishment consensus is bankrupt. and nato is a military alliance in search of a mission. for example, the misadventures,

to speak mildly, in afghanistan our longest-running war, or in libya, regime change should not be america's foreign policy. this is what a military institution, not a coffee clutch , went in search of at the end of the first cold war when the soviet union collapsed, the berlin wall came down, george h.w. bush promised then russian leader gorbachev nato would not expand one inch used word. it has expanded to russia's borders over these last years. it has been counterproductive. it has been provocative. instead of creating a defensive y they did washe uteru seek adventures. the most important thing coming out is that the 4% increase, leaving us less to do with global inequality or catastrophic climate change, but put a moratorium on nato expansion. ukraine and george's independent should be assured.

build down the borders. suspend east exercises that are dangerous and could lead to accidental confrontation. nuclear, and fact. so there are whole series of measures i think could come out of this nato summit. what is tragic is we have a president who is calling for an increase in military funding at a time when we know the challenges of our timeme demand for differenent approaches will stop so we need to find a way to both criticize the bipartitisan -failed establishment, to criticize trump, and toto undersrstand it is a false chois of the mainstream media often posits that he is calling for isolationism. it is a false choice. it is not isolationism or felt consensus, it is a a different path whichch this program, the nation, many people are trying to find amidst a lock down of bipartisan establishment thinking because the thinking on

russia, amy, is -- i've never seen anynything like it. i haveve been studying and reporting from russia for 30, 35 years. i have been editor at the nation promised 25. at least have a debate about what the u.s.-russia relationship would be. but i think what has happened is it is not fully the reason, but in these post 2016 disaster, many people wanted to locate the democratic party's loss, not in some of the issues i have talked about -- dark money, voter suppression -- but really solely in russian intervention. let the investigations proceed. let us learn what we can. i think it is a corruption investigation. i think robert mueller in the end may drain the swamp that needs training and washington. but the language about putin camino, jonathan's pieces last week and the new york mag's income is from meeting his

counterpart or handler? every day there is talk of trump is a putin asset. i will say sb to russian independent, and typewritten journalists quite a bit. there establish -- astounded by the coverage. it is toxic. it leaves people in russia to rally behind putin anymore. it makes putin seem omnipotent. when thehey see a close in their reporting it is not the case. >> what to make of the fact that germany and out at the way he did, saying at the nato summit that germany is controlled by russia and it is a very bad thing because of its reliance on gas from russia, 60% to 70%, which is false, that it is a very bad thing for nato and i don't think it should have happened. so he is saying any relationship with russia copper misys nato,

or that is what he is suggesting. >> there is an impulsive belligerents, but something serious and what he did. he is try to get the monkey off his back. he is attacking angela merkel, who has been, you know, someone who is standing up for other values. but above all, look at his arm sell hucksters ism. he wants u.s. natural gas to come in there. he is not talking about dialing back the relationship with russia. i truly think it had more to do with that -- it has been a concern on the part -- i mean, of people in europe that there is a dependence on russian gas and oil. that is not to be denied. but hey, who is selling back dependence on that? that is what we should be looking at so there isn't, let's to renewables and all that that we talk about. i do think this is an opening, but i don't think they will seize it. it would be healthy and hopeful

if europe could find its own way at this moment. it is the perfect opportunity. nato was designed to keep germany down, russia out, and the u.s. it. and to large extent, nato remains u.s.-led. military, u.s.-led homogenate allies. it would be healthy for europe to find a less militarized approach to dealing with his problems on the continent -- which was on offer. amy: here you president trump talking about his friend putin, and at the same time, with the nato allies to manning that they double their on military spending, buy those weapons from the u.s.. built part-time talked about the stockholm international peace research institute saying the 29 members of nato spent accumulative $900 billion on their militaries in 2017. this is compared to $66 billion by russia, so nato spent over 13

times what russia spent. so close to a trillion dollars. so nato spent over 13 times what russia spent. also while the u.s. is the biggest spender in nato, just four european countries -- france, the u.k., germany, and italy -- already together spend more than twice what russia does. of course, the harardtack, director of the security project, center for international -- >> he is a sober, rational, well-informed person. what has gone on in this country is that russia has assumed a power and a weight that is commiserate with the reality. putin that russia's military budget in the last month. the united dates spends one third of the world's military spending. we have so much invested in our military. we are printable, if that is how one thinks of the world. -- we are impregnable, if that one things of the

world. people are losing their bearings. you can't fault people. i don't. odious, so cruel, is so that what he says taints the possibility often of really debate. i see this with nato. with a very good piece at the nation.com, let's disrupt nato. but it is difficult to do would trump is trying to disrupt nato because you have to step back and say, this is our way of disruption. amy: should nato be abolished? >> in principle, i think nato should have been abolished at the end of the first cold war. i think at this stage, it needs to be redirected. redirected to be less village to rise, to find different engagement. amy: should russia be a part of it? >> the new go back to what could have been. it is a great squandered

opportunity what happened at the end of the cold war. gorbachev talked about a zone of peace come to demilitarize. the warsaw pact was dissolved. minimum, i think we should begin to see a different kind of funding structure for nato. we should commit to no nato expansion, no further nato expansion. natohose provocative military exercises on russia's borders. article in the nation yesterday does call for its abolition, reform is not enough. let's work toward it. it is not on the radar right now, but these are aspirations and fight we should have. i think that the security of europe and the united states and globally should increasingly be demilitarized and moved into different institutions. the kind of fetish for this post

world war ii liberal international order, again, what i'm talking about is part of the bipartisan establishment -- many of those institutions did not work that well, in my view. wto, imf, nato. the u.n. needs to be rebuilt as well. i think that is an institution committed to peace at its best. but i think we are at a moment -- i think this country is open to a different engagement with the world. it is not antiwar, but it is against the endless wars that nato has been a part of, that too many administrations have waged. i think it is time to have a major reset. i also think we are at grave risk if we continue down this russia, theibing to powerball is. -- the pathologies. it seems to me in ascribing these two russia, for example, russia is so in discord. desk is sowing discord. the best activists do that.

they sow discord. is that what we are really frightened of. i think we lose ourselves if we go down this rabbit hole of living russia for what are uniquely american pathologies and i would argue donald trump is one of those. nermeen: what do you expect to happen at the summit meeting? it will be a small step summit. the relationship is that -- i do think we will see steps on arms control. you can see the extension of the arms control treaty. trump has -- if obama did it, i'm going to wreck it mentality, but he should remember republican presidents have extended arms control treaties. i think that will be the main step forward. i don't see -- i mean, you could see the united states joining the accords to can of dial down violence in ukraine and bring autonomy to eastern ukraine, but

i think it is going to be arms control, arms control. as any steps that could be taken , should be taken. amy: the democrats taking the position on north korea and russia, being the once to say, "stop this. don't push for peace. don't try to make agreements"? thehis is where i think hyper politicization is so painful to watch. there are some democrats -- ro khanna is one that has really spoken from restraint and realism, try to keep his head and bearings. he is an interesting amendment coming i think this week. amy: the silicon valley in california -- thebout trying to ensure u.s. does not interfere another country's elections, something we have not talked about. we have done a lot. 80 country since 1945, not counting iran and chile. that the democratic party is becoming the party of cold war, opposing dialogue and diplomacy,

i think is something that needs to have a real reset moving the 2018, 2020 elections. amy: we're going to go to break but would like you to stay with us. by the end of the program, i hope we can talk with george monbiot about his observation of u.s. politics, particularly a progressive wave he is saying across the pond from his perspective in britain looking at the united states. katrina vanden heuvel is our guest, editor and publisher of the nation. we will link to the letter she and a number of others signed, including noam chomsky and daniel ellsberg and gloria steinem, calling for a reassessment of the u.s.-russia relationship. this is democracy now! go toe come back, we britain. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with nermeen

shaikh. we now go to britain, where mass protests are expected to greet president trump as he arrives for his first visit to the country as president. demonstrators say that hundreds of thousands of people are planning to take to the streets tonight and tomorrow. in london, protesters will float blendoot long giant baby outside parliament. it depicts the president as an angry orange baby, wearing a diaper and clutching a cell phone, ready to tweet. in a press conference this morning, trump said he is fine with it. pres. trump: i think they like me a lot in takei not i think they agree with me on immigration. i made a point today, your got to stop. you're going to have a lot of problems. you see what is going on in the world with immigration. i probably, at least partially, won the election because of immigration. italy, giuseppe,

who i got to know quite well over the last month and a half, he won his election because of strong immigration policies on italy. i think a lot of the people in the u.k. -- i think that is why brexit happen. i don't know what is going on with the negotiation, who knows? i guess that has become a very interesting point of contention. i said i'm going to a few hotspots. we have nato, the u.k., and then we have putin. i said putin may be the easiest of them all. you never know. but i'm going to pretty hot spot right now with a lot of resignations. nermeen: when asked again about the protests expected in britain, trump said he owns "a lot of property" in the country, and brought up his electoral victory inin the 2016 electitio. the u.s. embassy has warned amamericans in britain to keep a low prprofile during trump's visit, warning that protests may become violent. amy: meanwhile, , brexit negotiationsns have been upended by a string of resignations from top officials, including former

british foreign secretary boris johnson. johnson wrote in his resignation letter that the "brexit dream was dying" and "we are truly headed for the status of a colony." well for more, we go to the u.k.. in london, sheila menon, social justice activist and one of the organizers behind the trump baby blimp. and in oxford, george monbiot is a british journalist and author. he's a columnist with the guardian. his latest book "out of the , wreckage: a new politics for an age of crisis." still with us, katrina vanden heuvel, ededitor and publisheref the nation. george monbiot, talk about what is happening in britain right now, what the american people know. we hear about the resignations, for example, of the foreign minister boris johnson, and president trump attacking the conservative prime minister may. we have a government in

total meltdown. we're brexit chaos, a world cup defeat, drought, wildfires. the only thing we're missing at the moment is a crazed orange demagogue. sending him, for over. we have completed the set. it is all beginning to look a bit apocalyptic here. the one thining the british rulg class has been really good at is continuity. they might despaired democracy. they might make all of these horrible shortcuts in terms of preventing us from having elected second chamber, allowing dark money to govern the electoral process, but they manage to hold it together. they have kind of held it together since 1066, but they are completely falling apart in front of our eyes. it is just an amazing thing. there have been leaked memos over the past couple of days showing the goverernment is makg preparations for stockpiling processed food, for sticking

barges i in the irish sea coverd in generators to supply our electricity. the arrangements for creating smooth customs, once we get out of the european union, rely on baker where. they've not gotten any of the technology. they say they're going to have to deploy to allow the borders to remain functional and good to be able to pass one way or the other. the whole thing is just melting confusion andl apparent catastrophe. we are in a very weird place. this is meant to be a very stable nation. they sort of kept it running through thick and thin. now it is literally falling apart in front of our eyes. nermeen: what do you think the impact will be? yesterday trump said he always liked boris johnson, the foforen secretary who justst resigned earlier this week. he said britain is in turmoil.

and today, the british government is expected to release its white paper, setting out what theresa may's plan is for britain's relationship with the e.u. following brexit. >> yeah. well, trump and boris johnson are birds of a feather. they're both duplicitous. they are not trustworthy. they are entirely self-interested. they have no national interest in view at all. it is entirely about what they can extract from a particular situation. johnson just changes his views and approach according to how he thinks he can gain the system. i think you might have overreached himself this time. these people do have a zombie have a light quality of continually returning into politics after you think you have finished them all. the government is going to publish this white paper, which it is supposed to be thehe

rational form of brexit but it is already clear it simply cannot work. it does not resolve the lesson, what you do about the factors when to be a european border across ireland, potentially destroying the good friday agreement which brought peace to ireland. there are huge sectarian divides. those were kind of sorted out by the good friday agreement. that is now in serious jeopardy. we simply do not know what we're going to do about customs. what we had was a massive campaign in which that of the detail were discussed. people were led to vote with the future of her words, symbols and sensations and slogans. but the really important stuff is in the detail. how are you going to do this? no one has a flying clue about

how they're going to do it. not theresa may, not force johnson, not the soft brexiters or the hard brexiters. they are like a ship without a rudder. amy: what ababout nigel farage? when donald trump was elected president of the still in new york, one of the first people to visit him, if not the first foreign leader to visit him -- if you can call him that -- was farage, the former reader of the right-wing publish group, a ukip? british tabloids have said he was prevented from meeting with trump during this visit to britain. if you could talk about the significicance of what this vist means, where trump is going with the mass protest in london, the major meetings taking place outside of london? >> you have to realize this is

not a state. a state visit would have involved exposing him to the public. you would've had to go through certain parts of central london. it would have been seen as something which reflected on the british government. he is regarded even by this conservative government as a serious liability and embarrassment. so while he is here, he will be skulkiking around the edges of e nation, scurrying away from where everyone is because after he said -- we like him so much we would like to present a major right in their prime dam if you exit well. we would like to let him know how much we appreciate his presence here. if he really believes we liked and that much, i'm sure he would embrace the opportunity to engage with us on that level. but everywhere he goes, people are going to try to get as close as possible. he will be hit with massive

protests. you asked about nigel farage. we would be very grateful if you returned with trump to the u.s. the u.s. republican party at the moment seems to be his natural home. he is of the same demagoguic stamp as trump and some of the other republican leaders. who usessive character immigration again to promote his own politics, in flames sort of dog whistle racism in this country. but he is kind of out. he is out of the loop at the momoment. and the danger is that if everything goes to custard after brexit -- which looks highly likely -- then one of two things is going to happen. either we're going to blame the right people for it and say the engineers did this, including johnson,nd force including many other senior people in the british conservative party -- are responsible fofor the chaos of brexit.

all we're going to see a sort of post world war i germany where they say, oh, it is the it,teurs have undermined the traders. it was going to be a glorious brexit, but they have destroyed it. those remain ares and those soft people within the conservative party come the labour party and the rest. and then you might see an opportunity for a fascist revival here. a really mean a fascist revival. a soft fascistis , likely to mutate into a hard fascist. we're in a peerless situation in this country at the moment. amy: we're speaking to george monbiot, the british journalist. when we come back, we will also be joined by sheila menon, the organizer behind the trump claim, the large orange trump baby that will float over parliament, approved by the london mayor, holding a cell

phone. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: "pirates anthem" by shabba ranks. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman n with nermeen shaikh. nermeen: as thousandnds protest president tru's visit toto england, the mayor has given permission for a large trump abp limp to fly over the protest. attack fromnder sosome circles a and recently defend h his appval l of the blimp p in an interview on "good morning g britain." p ptests taking place. on satday,y, extme farar right protest. you u know my viewews on that. they'rere the same asas yours in a separate e proto-probababln saturday.. friday, asas an anti-donald d tp protest. my view is irrelevant. to do haveve the freeeedom to assesele? if iis peacel and se, they shou. am for mor we are ined in londonheila men by,he

organize behind the trump baby blimp will stop again, this huge blimp that will float over the british parliament, in orange baby blimp of trump holding a cell phone and also with us from oxford is george monbiot. katrina vanden heuvel is here in new york. sheila, talk about this blimp. who came up with it? the fact that mayor has approved the blimp, and what are your thoughts behind it? >> we are coming to london with this blimp. we will be flying it over the houses of parliament on friday morning. really, this is our humorous way of protesting against a very serious, h hate-field, talk thte politics of trump and his policies that are already having a devastating effect on people not just in the u.s., but all over the world.

amy: it is a very diverse movement participating in the protest. through our organizations that represent muslims, latin americans. could you talk about how all of these groups came together? >> sorry, did i have a question? nermeen: this group, the people protesting trump, they are comprised of a very large number of different groups with different interests, groups that represent muslims, represent latin americans, incremental campaigners. could you talk about how these groups came together to protest trump? k., we'llday in the u. see also the groups coming together to protest. how we see our inflatable trump baby, this is a symbol that everybody can get behind. trump's policies are having an effect on people, like on

women.s, refugees, on he is a misogynist, racist, xenophobic. policies that are fueling hate across the spectrum. so this trump baby is a symbol that is going to be something everybody can get behind. people a are going to be coming together for all sorts of issues. -- his politics arare affecting people in every way, whether it is climate change, ripping up the paris agreement. that will have an impact on people all over the world. how his foreign policies are contributing to what is happenening all over the world,o the refugee crisis that we are all witnessing and allll feeling the impacts of. on friday, w we are gogoing to e seen people from all groups coming together to unify -- a unified hatred of this meant

hate-field policies of politics. a whenorge monbiot come president trump asked about the protests in britain today at his 40 minute news conference in brussels before he flew off to you -- well, not exactly you. not exactly she loved but before he flew off to britain. also going to his turnberry golf course which he talked about and also said he had one in ireland. we're through member two years ago will win he would like golf course the day after the brexit vote, he was met by a young comedian. no one knew who he was at the time. he got on the golf course and just as trump was about to speak, he was wearing a turnberry sweater and tie and he "aid "you can get trump's balls are behind me at the pro shop. he started to throw these golf balls out to the people. they had swastikas on them. but trump today when asked about

-- british protests, said well, he started talking about the your selections and talked about how significant they were, that he was elected and once again lied and said he got wisconsin, and even reagan did not win wisconsin -- which he did. but then you are looking at progressive politics in the u.s. what do you say? won."trump said "i'm >> that is part of the system that we've got. your president or government can look back to a single decision made once by the people and then justify everything that takes place following that. that is why i think we desperately need to temper representative democracy with patriotism democracy so we have an ongoing role in decision-making and theyey can just say "i won so i can do it i want for the rest of my term."

what i see going on in america is similar to what has happened with the labour party here in u.k. it is a sweeping grassroots movement, which is finally taking the democratic party by the locales and shaking it and saying "hey, guys, sticking with neoliberalism, sticking with policies which scarcely artistic measurable from those of the republicans, is not going to cut it. it is not going to work like poorly or in terms of the policy changes that we need to see -- elector early." or in terms of the policies that we need to see." in the case of alexandria ocasio-cortez, turns out to be just part of a much bigger movement, movement that goes right back to the beginning of 2017 with the foundation first, brenda congress, everybody -- just as democrats who are now fighting a similar battles right across the union. we in the u.k. are watching this and seeing the beginnings of what we think could be a very

major global transformation. the use of a combination of network mask movements, big organizing tactics the kind the high near's did during the sanders campaign terrific duck by the corporate campaign in the u.k., the real rootedness in community, general grassroots -- genuine grassroots, strong communities, even on the nonpolitical side, the out of those that colts are, you develop a politics from which people are not going to back down. you allow people to articulate the changes they need and then see that up into the electoral process. the long-term hope is we perceive it from over here -- as we perceive it over here, the transformation of the democratic party will lead first of all to some very significant democratic wins and eventually to the repeal of citizens united, a fair political funding system, and a much more progressive and

inlusive political system the u.s. and elsewhere in the world. amy: you are talking about alexandria ocasio-cortez, who beat the number four most powerful democrat in the house, joe crowley, has rocked the democratic party. you also have written about her as well, katrina. >> i could not say it better than george just did. i think we are witnessing -- the old order is disappearing. the new one is not yet born, but it is very powerful. aoc, as i call her, is an example. she spoke of movement meets establishment. what is the ruling of the issues surfacing, where you have medicare for all now, higher free education, green new deal, abolition of ice. alexandria also had a very economy platform, which speaks to the democratic socialist ways, which she said

when she won that night, was movement meets establishment. george is right. it is not just the candidates -- which is exciting, but their movements as i the democratic party, which are competing to take over the democratic party, that would be a long struggle. but we're on the cusp of extraordinaire changes. i" without

elaborating. he was killed in 1955 all visiting family in money, mississippi. his mother held an open casket funeral for her son to show the ravages of racism and the xñutality of bigotry.

hello, to our viewers around the world, welcome to nhk "newsline." it's 9:00 a.m. on friday in tokyo. i'm miki yamamoto. we begin in western japan where more than 1 lu00 people are dea dozens are missing and more than 5,000 people