09/11/20 09/11/20 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, ththis is democracy now! >> youreople entering colle, enring the u.s. mitatary tay don their lifetime have not se a day when the ut t esta has not been at war. the itited stess has been at work ctitinuouy since 2001. agai no fewer than 22 cocountries. amy: as s the united states mars the anniversary of the september

19th 11 attacks, we look at how the u.s. global war on terror has displaced at least 37 million people since 2001. we will talk to david vine, author of "the united states of war: a global history of america's endless conflicts, from columbus to the islamic state." then we speak to the legendary black feminist scholar and organinizer barbara smith on her new w plan to combat whi supremacy and why she named it after fannnnie lou hamer and ela babaker. > i thought i it was impoporo wrwrite about the e problem of e susupremacy gigiven the levelelf racialal turmoil t that we havee experienced during t the last fw months. and also to prpropose a planan o end whihi, which i i have named the hamer b baker plan. amy: then as global deaths from covid-19 top 910,000, we will look at the race to develop a vaccine. all that and more, coming up.

welcome to democracy now, democracynow.o.org, the quararae report. i'm amy goodman. in oregon, a half million people -- or more than 1 out ofof 10 state residents -- have been forced to evacuate their homes as unprecedented wildfires fueleled by the e climate crisis continue to rage across the western united states. in california, the town of berry creek wawas completely consumeds a wall of fire swept through the community, killing 10 people and leaving another 16 missing. meanwhile, the august cocomplex fire has become the largest conflagration in california history at nearly 750 square miles. more than 3 llllion acreres have burned across california, shattering previous records even before the normal peak of the fire season. this comes as president trump last spoke publicly about the fires in august and has yet to offer any public statement of support for victims of the blazes.

more details have e emerged over why y astrazeneca papaused itste three e covid-19 vaccine trial n britain. during a private call with investors, astrazeneca's ceo revealed a woman in the trial developed severe neurological sympto consistent with transverse myelitis, or inflammation of the spinal cord. details about the phone call were first reported by the medical news site stat. this comes as the u.s. death toll from covid-19 is approaching 192,000. on thursday, the u.s. department of labor fined a smithfield foods meat processing plant in south dakota that became an early hotspot for the virus. nearly 1300 workers were infected, 43 were hospitalized, died. was -- fine was for $13,500. the numberer of covid-19 cases globally has topped 28 million, with over 910,000 dead. in latin america, the total number of cases has topped 8

million -- more infections than any other region in the world. india has reported another 96,000 new cases, once again breaking the record for the most new cases inin a single daday. a number of countries s across e globe have reported setting new single day records for infectionsns, including greece,, france, hungary,y, ukrainene, ad the ococcupied palestitinian territitories. the labor department is reporting another 857,000 people filed fostate unplployme insunce last week. in additio 8 839,0 peoeopl filed aiaims wh a a feral prprograaiaimed helelpi freelaers and hehers. mewhile, senate reblicican faileded to advanca new immed-do coronavus relie package, making itncreasiny likely aew stimus bill ll be apoved beforthe election. noveer a neweport fis amazonet pricefor esseial pructs durg the cod-19 pandemic at lels that uld violate ice gougg laws in many u.s. states. public citizen reports amazon marked up some goods by as much

as 1000% over the expected price at a time when millions of people were forced to shop online due to remain-at-home orders. meanwhile, a new oxfam report finds amazon ceo jeff bezos uld persononally pay each of his 6,000 workers a six-figure bonus anand still have more weah than he controlled at the start of thehe pandemic. in philadelphia, two encampments for unhohoused peoeople remain occupied nearlrly two days after the city ordered the camps to shutter. residents of the camps are demanding the city invest in more resources for unhoused people, including safefe housing during the pandemic. on thehe campaign trail, joe bin said thursday that if elected president, he might increase military spending even beyond the pentagon's current record budget of $738 billion. biden told stars & stripes -- "we have to focus more on unmanned capacity, cyber and i.t., in a very modern world that is changing rapidly."

meanwhile, president trump campaigned outside saginaw, michigan, thursday where he spoke for 90 minutes to an overwhelmingly white crowd of several thousand supporters, who packed shoulder-to-shoulder into an airport hangar with air force one as a backdrop. red hats vastly outnumbered face masks at trump's rally, flouting michigan governor gretchen whitmer's public health orders. trump also wore no mask. he attacked joe biden as a "globalist sellout." en wins,ump: if bidn china wins. if you wins, the anarchists, flag burners win. amy: in portland, oregon, , mayr ted wheeler has ordedered his city's popolice force to stop using tear gas, following its widespread use during 105 straight days of protests since the police killing of george floyd in minneapolis. a u.s. army study found tear gas can leave its victims more susceptible to respiratory

diseases like covid-19. meanwhile, portland has some of the worst air quality of any mamajor ty in thee world afterea thicick shroud o of smoke from record wildfires settled over the city. in washington state, a witness to last week's police killing of michael reinoehl says the 48-year-old anti-fascist activist did not appear to have a gun and was not threatening officers before he was killed in a hail of police gunfire. the witness, nathaniel dingess, says reinoehl was clutching his phone and eating candy outside an apartment complex on september 3 when officers in two unmarked cars converged on him. dingess says the officers never announced themselves or gave commands before opening fire. the officers were serving an arrest warrant for reinoehl over the shooting death of aaron danielson, a member of the far-right patriot prayer group who was killed during a protest in portland on august 29. in los angeles, police fired -- a warning to our audienence,

the following story contains graphic footage of police violence. this from los angegeles. police fired tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets to clear demonstrations while arresting 35 people this week as protesters continue to demand justice for dijon kizzee, a 29-year-old black bicyclist who was shot dead by police after being pulled over for an alleged bike violation in late august. protesters want l.a. district attorney jackie lacey to resign and for the officers involved be fired and criminally prosecuted. propubublica is reporting 86 hih ranking officers in the new york police department have tallied at least one credible misconduct allegation. assistant police chief christopher mccormack had the most. he was repeatedly promoted even though 15 black and latino men have accused him over the years of invasive body cavity searches and pulling down their pants in public, exposing their genitals.

the houston police department has fired four officers involved in the fatal shooting of a man suffering a mental health crisis in april. nicolas chavez died after police shot him 24 times on april 21. calls are growing for houston and other cities to begin sending mental health professionals, not police officers, to deal with such incidents in the future. in colombia, at leleast eight people were killed and 400 injured as thousands took to the streets of bogota wednesday night protesting police violence following the killing of javier ordoñez, a father of two. a video circulating on social media shows policece officers pinning ordoñeñez to the ground and repeatedly shocking him with a stun gun for over r two minuns as o ordoñez begs, "pleasese, no more." ordoñez z died shortrtly after n police custody. in mexico, women have started occupying human rights offices across the country.

this comes as feminist groups and family members of women and girls who have been murdered or disappeared have occupied mexico city's national human rights commission for a week. in the city of ecatepec, in the state of mexico, police attacked and detained protesters at one of the feminist occupations last night. ecatepec is one of the most dangerouous places for women in mexico. the activists and families are demanding the government do more to end disappearances and investigate cases of femicides. anan average of 11 women are killed daily in mexico and the perpetrators are rarely brought to justice. president andres manuel lopez obrador has frequently dismissed violence against women. this is yesenia zamudio, whose 19-year-old daughter was murdered in mexico city four years ago. >> we are the families, the real ones, those who have suffered femicides, survivors, the real women, those that go unnamed, that are not shown on the television. we are going to speak about everyone. we're going to guarantee justice for all women, and we demand to

live in a country free of violence. it is our right. this occupation will help all women. i told the secretary of t the interior t that if we don'tt sea solution, we are going to take over the entire country. amy: in news f from arizona, ard border patrol agents arrested two land and water defenders wednesday who attempted to stop construction of the u.s.-mexico border wall in an area sacred to the o'odham indigenous people. in immigration news, a federal court in new york has blocked the trtrump administstration frm excluding undocumented immigrants from the 2020 census, ruling undocumented people "qualify as persons in a state" who must be counted. advocates called the ruling a victory for voting and immigrant rights. inin greece, officials arere seg at least three ships to aid some 13,00000 people who'veve been lt homeless a after a blazeze completely incinerated thehe moa refugee camp in the isles of lesbos earlier this week. a series of small fires were reportedly lit by refugee youth as a form of protest after the only atm machihine availablele n

sisite, whicththe entirere refue camp was dependent on fofor mon, was blocked amamid covid-199 restrictioions, leaving them unablele to buy food and hygieic supplies. in australia, the ceo and other top executives of the mining giant rio tinto and have stepped down over their role in demolilishing a 46,0,000-year-od archeological site. last month, chief executive jean-sebastien jacques acknowledged his company used dynamite to blow up ancient aboriginal caves in order to get at millions of dollars' worth of iron ore under the ancient site. back in the united statates, an inindigenous water protector who was arrested during protests against the dakota access pipeline has been released from federal prison. prosecutors say red fawn fallis fired three shots from a handgun as police in riot gear, wielding batons, surrounded her to make an arrest amid mass protests against the pipeline in 2016.

red fawn's uncle, glenn morris, welcomed her release thursday, telling "indian country today" -- "the real criminals continue to pump oil through the pipeline in violation of the 1851 and 1868 ft. laramie treaties and u.s. environmental laws." and the nfl season got underway thursday night in kansas city, where the defending super bowl champions defeated the houston texans before a crowd of about 17,000 -- the limit set by coronavirus restrictions. ahead of the game, kansas city players joined arms with their opponents on the field in what players billed as a "moment of silence dedicated to the ongoing fight for equality in our country." [boos] amy: much of the crowd erupted in boos during the players' demonstration. kansas city councilmember eric bunch responded on twitter --

"some nfl fans booing the players for standing and locking arms in a moment of f silent uny proves that for them "standing for r the flag" was alwaways abt perpetuating white supremacy." this comes as miami dolphins players said they would remain inside their locker room this season for the playing of "the star-spangled banner" as well as the nfl's new addition to pre-game ceremonies "lift ev'ry voice and sing," often referred to as the black national anthem. this is an excerpt from a video released by dolphi t teammes on thursday. >> so if my dad was a soldi but the cops kleled myrothther jojostamper one anth a and kelel e otothe >> ionly crees morordivide. >>o we wilskipip t song an dadanc >> is a team, we willtay side. amy: t ts week fmer 49ers quarterbaccolin kaernick turned tthe nfl,ut only viual form. epernickas addedo the 20 rsion ofhe popul madden

nfl videgame. he has rained ungned by l tes since 17 aftereading protts again police brality anracism ding the 2016 sson. anthose arsome of e headnes. th is demoacy now! demoacynow.o, , the arantine report i'amy gogoman. it h been 19ears sin the ordinateterrorisattacks the world tre centerthe ntagon, and united airlines flight 93 kikilled nearlrly 3000 people. at 8:46 a.m., the first plane hit the north tower of the world trade center here in new york city. today, president trump and democratic presidential nominee joe biden will both visit the flight 93 national memorial near shanksville, pennsylvania -- at different times. biden will pay respects after attending a 9/11 memorial ceremony in new york, which vice president pence will also attend. today the united states faces a terror of a different kind as

more than 191,000 have died from the covid-19 pandemic, and a new report projects the u.s. death toll could rise to as high as 3000 people per day by december. there were more than 1200 new deaths in the u.s. in the last 24 hours. "time magazine" plans to mark the approaching milestone of 200,000 covid related deaths in the u.s. with a cover that reads "an american failure" and has a black border for only the second time in its history. the first time was after 9/11. this comes as the new report on the so-called global war and terrorism has displaced at least 37 million people in a country since 2001. the cocost of war project at brn university is also estimating more thahan 800,000 people in u.s.-led wars since 2001 at a cost of f $6.4 trillion to u.s. taxpayerers.

the new reporort is titled "creating refugeeeecome dispsplacement caused the united states post on 11 wars." for more, we'rere joined by its co-aututhor d david vine, profer of anthropology at american university. his new book is out next month called "the united states of war." he is also the author of "base nation: how u.s. military bases abroad harm america and the world." david vine, welcome to democracy now! it is great to have you back with us, although this is a very sad day on this 19th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. can you talk about the findings of your report? >> thank you for having me. it is great to be back. the fininngs of ourur report are basically askining united states has been fighting wars continuously she saiaid for 19 years. we're looking at what the effects of these wars have been. the cost of w war project has bn

doing this for about a decade. we want to look specifically at how many people have been displaced by these wars. basically we found no one had bothered to investigate how many people it had been displaced by the wars and what are now at least 24 countries that thth united statess has been involved in, and we found in total, at least 37 million people hahave been displaced in just eight of the most violent wars that the united states has either laununched or r participated in since 2001. as afghanistan, pakistatan, ira, somalia, libya, syria, and the philippines. that is a very conservative estimate. we found the actual total could to 59to 48 million million. i do think we have to pause on these numbers because many ways our lives are drowning in numbers of covovid.

many thihings that are i importt quantititatively, but to wrap one's mind around 37 million people displaced is diffificult. and i think it requires an active effort,t, it certainly dd for me. 37 m million to put it in hihistorical perspective, that s our pepeople displaced by any wr since at least the beginning of the 20th c century with thee exception of worldld war ii. methodology,tive if it is accccurate, the 48 millioion to 59 millionon estim, that is comparablblto the didisplacement one s saw in word war ii. another way to try to wrap one's mind around just the 37 million minimum fifigure, 37 million is ababout the size of the e statef californrnia. imagine the entire state of cacalifornia disappepearing, hag to flee theirr homes. about the size of all of canada or texas and virginia combined.

amy: for those are enough were lucky enough to hahave homes during this pandemic, i think peopople particularly appreciate -- i mean, the words "refugee" is thrown around but what it means to be displaced. can you talk about why the eight countries -- and can you correlate that with u.s. wars are broad? >> sure. we wanted to focus on the most violent wars that the unitited states has been involved in, the wars t the united states has mot deeply investedd money and of cocourse the blood, the lives of u.s. military personnel, and by extension, the lives of the family members of u.s. military personnel and others. we wanted to look specifically at the wars the u.s. has launched. the overlapping w war in afghanistan and pakistan, the war in iraq. wars the united states has significantly escalated -- libya

and syria. european n andth other allllies. and wars the united states has participated significantly in ways including providing battlefield advisors, providing fuel, arms, and others in yemen, somalia, and the philippines. in each of these wawars, we have found displacememt numbering in the millions. indeed, we have to recognize that the displacement, the need to flee one's home, to flee for one's life is -- in many ways, there is no way to calculate what that means for single individual, single-family, single community, but we do feel it was important to look at the total mass displacement these wars have caused. it is important to note we are not saying the united states is solely to blame for this level of displacement.

clearly, there are other actors, other governments, other combatants who are important i n the responsibility they bear for displacement in these wars. assad in syria. sunni and sheer militias in iraq. the taliban, the islamic state, other u.s. allies including britainn also bear some respsponsibility. at the united states has played a disproportionate role in waging war and launching war and in perpetuating war over the last 19 years. as you pointed out, this has cost u.s. taxpayers, u.u.s. citizens, , u.s. residents in $6.4 ways, including the trillion the u.s. has either , and or obligated already that total is i increasing by te day. amy: david vine, the number of

refugees the u.s. except from these wars, his displacement the u.s. is causing? fire and look at ththe less posy referred to earlier that has displaced some 13,000 people, refugee camp unless both , totally destroyed. i i would hope people e lookingt the fires in california and washington could more easily emphasize -- empathize the refugeeses inesbos andndhose throughout thehe greater middle east inn pararticular where firs esessentially one large fifire s when the u.s. launched its war in afghanistan in 2001. amy: i want to turn n to presidt trump earlrlier this week tellig reporters top pentagon officials don't like him because he wants to get the u.s. out of endless

wawars that benefit weaponsns ay fractures. pr.. trump: biden shipped away our jobs, through opopen our borders and said to our youth to fight inin these crazy e endless wars. i'm not saying the military is a love w with me, the soldiers ar. the topp people ended the pentagon probably araren't becae they want toto do ththing but fight wars so all of those wonderful companies t that makee the bonds andd make the plananei make e everyththing else stay h. but we're gettingng out of the endlesess wars. amy: it sounds a little bit like what howard zinn would say if you were alive. but trumpmp contradicicts his on record of overseeing this historic increase in war ,pending and the defense budget spspending a military quitman, selling weapons oveverseas. political recently called trump the booster in chief of defense contractors. lester trump bypassed congress so he could sell $8 billion of weapons to saudi arabia and

united arab emirates. earlier this year, his administration ordered a reinterpretation of a cold war-era arms treaty in orderer o pave thehe way for drorone saleo governments that have previously been bararred from such purcrch. can you rerespond to what he sa? >> in many ways what trump said is quite rich, so to speak. indeed, it is correct that weapons manunufacturers have benefited greatly to t the tunef tens of billions of dollars in addition to other infrastructure contractors, companies that make military bases that now dot the middle east. trump, as politico said, is thee booster-in-chief. he is overseen and pushed for military budgets that exceed those atat the heieight of the d war. i think we have to ask, what are

the enemies the united states faces today that require military budget of this size? does the united states need to be spending upwards of $740 billion a year to defend itself? could we be spending t this mony in better ways to defend , humanes, and what needs needs, are being neglected because we are pouring tens of billions, hundred civilians of dolllls into this war machine on a yearly basis? i think covid, of f course, pois to the -- ununderlineses it more than ever. the united states was not prepared for a pandemic. part because small the united states has been pouring money into this war machine while neglecting human needs in the united states and around the world -- health care needs, pandemic preparedndness, affordable housing, the environment. this money we have been pouring

into the war machihine could hae been addressing the global warmining that one sees the plae some role in the fires onene is sing across the west coast, among many other pressing needs that the world faces today. amy: this is an amazing fact you pointed out, david vine. war,.s. military has waged engaged in combat, or otherwise invaded foreign lands and all but 11 years of its existence. >> that's right. the past 19 yeyears of war, many people often see it as exceptional. strange the peopople enteringg college todaday are most people listening in the -- enlisting in the u.s. m military today will t have s seen a day inin their lir will not have dental have no memory of the daday in her lifef the uniteded states was not at war. in fact, this is the norm in u.s. history.

in the congressional research service shshows this on a yearly basis and report you can find online. ththis is nonot just me. although, i have a list of the wars expanding on the congressional research service list stuff these are wars and other forms of combat united states has engaged in n since independence. 95% of the years in u.s. history come all but 11 years in u.s. history, the united states has been involved in s some form of war r or otherer combat. muchheds to looook at this longerer term trend, longer-r-tm pattern that extends beyond the war, so-called war on terror that george w. bush l launched n 2001, to understand why the united statetes h has poured soh money into these wars a and why the effects of thehese wars have been so horrific for the people involved. amy: david vine, report in forthcoming book "the united

states of war," that u.s. bases abroad enable combat and 24 countries "thousands of u.s. military bases in nearly 100 foreign countries and territories, more than half of them built since 2001 have enabled the involvement of u.s. military forces and worse another combat deployments across at least 24 nations since the george w. bush administration launched its war on terror following al qaida's attacks of sept. 11, 2001." >> indeed, the united states currently has about 800 military und 8080 foreign countries s and territories. this is more basis than any nation in world d history. largerstatates had even numbers of basis at the height of the wars in iraq and afghanistan. there were upwards of 2000 bases abroad. inin part of what my book showss

that this is also a long-term pattern. the unitited states has s been buildiding military bases abroad since independence. initially on the lands of native american peoples, that increasingly outside of north america and eventually circling the globe, particularly after world war ii. what i show is that these bases have not only enabled war, not only made war p possible, but they've actually made war more likely. made war far too easy policy choice decision for powerful decision-makers, leaders, politicians, corporate leaders, and others. and we need to basically dismantle this infrastructure of war that the united states has built up. why does the united states have dozens of military bases in the middle east in virtually every country outside of yemen and iran? these babases are in countries

that are led by undemocratic regimess, not spreading democray -- far from it in many cases, blocking the spread of demomocracy. and making thesese wars p psibl. i think itit is impoportant undederline beyond displacing 37 million people at least and perhaps up to 59 million people, these wars have taken the lives around 800,000 people. this is just in five of the wars . the united states -- u.s. combat has taken the lives of around 800,000 people, but they're also indirect deaths. deaths caused by the destruction of local infrastructure, health care services, hospitals, food sources. and those total deaths could never upwards of 3 million

people. and i think most people in the united states, myself included, have not really reckoned with the total damage that these wars have caused. we h haven't even begun to read our minds around what it would mean to have this level of destructction in our lives. amy: and you have, for example,, the effects of soldiers on bases like what happened in the philippines where the authoritarian leader president duterte just pardoned a u.s. soldier who was found guilty of murdering a trans womaman off base. >> yes. this is anotheher cost of war. we need to look at the cost of war in terms of -- the human cost in terms of directct combat deaths, injururies in these wars on terror, numbering in the tens of millions. but we also need to look at thee dedeaths and injuries that are caused on a daily basis around u.s. military bases around the

world. these bases have come in addition to enabling the wars the united states have been fighting, they have area media harms that they inflict on local populations, including i in the philippines and, as i said, around 80 countries and territories around the world. damage to their e environment, local communities, and whole variety of ways. amy: david vine, thank you for being with us, professor of anthropology at american university. co-author of a new report from the costs of war project headlined "creating refugees: displacement caused by the united states' post-9/11 wars." yoyour new book k coming out "te , united states of war." we will be backk in 30 seconds with the african-american scholar and icon barbara smith as we look at the issue of terrorism atat homome as we loot the threat of f whitee supremact violence. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quararante reportrt i'm amy goodman. we turn now fromom the cost of e so-called wawar on terror abrord to look at how the u.s. government is targeting black lives matter protesters while downplaying the threat of white supremacist violence at home. since the police killing of george floyd in may sparked a nationwide uprising against police brutality, groups of armed white supremacists have taken to the s streets of u.s. cities in response to o black lives matter protests. after the police shooting of

unarmed blblack father jacob ble in kenosha, wisconsin, 17 -year-old white supporting village a lengthy dish vigilante gunman kyle rittenhouse shot and killed two anti-racist protesters last month. but president trump has refused to criticize rittenhouse. just this week, donald trump, jr. also would not condemn the self-proclaimed vigilante, saying, "we all do stupid things at 17." on wednesday, a department of homeland security whistleblower accused the agency's leadership of instructing analysts to downplay the violent threat posed by white supremacists. brian murphy, the former head of the homeland security department's intelligence branch, says he had been o orded to alter the text of the assessments to make the threat of white supremacy "appear less severe." earlier this year, dhs drafted a document stating -- "white supremacist extremists will remain the most persistent and lethal threat in the homeland through 2021." that is not a black lives matter, that is dhs's own words.

but in newer versions of the document, the reference to white supremacists was removed. murphy also claims leadeders at dhs pressured analysts to change assessments s to match up to comments made by president trump attacking anti-fascist groups. this comes as the intercept reports that in many states protesters who took part in the massive black lives matter demonstrations are being charged with felonies and even terrorism. for more, we are joined by a guest who is proposing a marshall plan to eradicate white supremacy in the united states. she calls it the hamer-baker plan, for fannie lou hamer and ella baker. barbrbara smith jojoins us now m albany, new york. author, activist a and indepepet scholalar. founder of the combahee river collective andnd of kitchen tab: women of color press. her latest book is "ain't gonna let nobody turn me around: forty years of movement building with barbara smith." her recent piece in the nation is headlined "how to dismantle white supremacy." barbara smith, welcocome back to democracy now!

as we talked about terrorismsm, talklk about what seeee i the united states. >> well, thank youou so much. it is great to be with you again, amy. i was actualally talking about something a bit different frorom clearly j just so very frameded in the e introductiono. i am not just talking about white supremacist groups were organized whitete supremamacy, t i'm talkinababout a sysystem t t actutually dictates s and shapes every aspectct of life in the united state from where e your kids go to school anand what kd of educationon they're able to get, what kind of housing you have, your health care lookoks like, how often are e much more often you die from covid-1-19. i'm m talking about the e entire system. and i think of course if we eradicatwhite susupremacy and make tt our prpriority and o our

goalal, of course we are to o gt rid of the most e extreme manifestations of white premacy,y, which is organized white supremacist, violent terrorist groups. but i am talking about something even i think is larger. amy: talk about that larger picture and talk about the plan that you see needsds to be p pun place in this country. >> i started writing about white supremacy earlier this summer after george floyd was l lynche. i was soso full of rage anand pn bebecause i have been d dealingh this ever sinince emmett till ws lynchehed in n 1955. i wawas eightears oldld when tht happen. so of course i could not fully understand what had actually transpired, i just knew that the peopople in my family who were l from the deep south ---- i grewp in clevelandnd, ohio. i just do their work k very, vey

upset about someonee ned emmetet till. childis person was alsoso a likeke my twin sister beverly ad me. so as sasaid, i have been dealing with this rr rigight a long time. of 2020il the spring and d beyond.. so i thought, i have got to write about this. whwhat mivated me e was the fact fofor talking a about thehese i, media, thatint or ey neverer really talked a about whitite supremac they wouould talkk a about race relalations. they would talk abououimplicit bias. they would talk abouout needingo reform and change ththe culturof policingng. all well andnd gd, but they never talked a about where all f this mess comeses from. that is what i wanted to write abouout. in the first articicle which

appeared in "the boston globe," i proposed what would it be like if we had a marshall plan or a plane on t the sca of the spacee race to eradicate white supremacy? when i was in contact than with my editor at the nation, they suggested, why don't you spin that out? that is where the second article evolved from. amy: and talk about fappie lou hamer and ella baker, why you namedd this plan afafter them. i say when pepeople ask m me, is because i idolized them. examples ofreme what beieing freedom fighters prinincipled, fearless -- at leleast courageous. there' a difference beeen beining fearless andnd courageo. courageous is actually better because everyone should d have some fearr about what mimight actuallyararm them.

fafannie lou hamamer paid huhuge price for wawanting to do something as seemingly ordinary asas vote. bubuin the jimim cw south of people, virtuallyly none of them were allowed to vote.. she paid a a price because ofofe beating that she receiveded. i just f found out yesterday, if you can believe it after all of these years, shaklee was blinded in 1 19. she is known for having g worked organiziningng voter anand other antiraracist organig during the jim croww erara and speaking out so powowerfully y t the 1964 democratic conventntion abouout what went on in mississippi and asking the very, very relevant question, is thiss americica? and then ella babaker, of couou, she was a person among 70 other things, , she worked for all of the e major civil rights organizations at some time.

so she had experience acrossss organizations. she also was doing that grassroooots, very, very dangers organizing in ththe jim crow soh ruralal areas. she is probably best known as the persrson who inspired and me possible t the founding of the student nonviolent creating committee, sncc. i the great, great pleasurere ad honor of meeeeting fannie e lou mer when i i was a teenageger in veryland in 15 and wawas involved in the civil rights movement as a young person. amy: barbara smiththcan you tatk about why you feel racial capitalism and what you thinknk that term means, , should be at the center of this plan? >> as you know, amy, you can'n't talk a about race in the united states without talkiking about class and you c't tatalk aboutut clasass without talking about race.

racism, white e supremacy, capitalism are absolutely inintertwinened. it is like a vine thahat has wrapped i ielf around a tree or another plant.t. whwhat can you do o to separate them? very, very, , very difficult to do. we have e and veve und a sysystm whereialized capitalism the worst consequences of capitalism fall upon those who have the least amount of white privilege, in other words, people of color. that is why we see disproportionate economic results and consequences of that system. the fact tha black families hahave about 10%0% of the wealt, median wealth, of whitee famamis , says it all. to 1968,nt to go back to the critter commission, which offered a moment that could have launched the u.s. into nasa program to end white supremacy

but did not. why do you think i did not happened or the civil rights movement and what do you think is necessary t to make this sort of natatnal shift now? >> getting into the way back machine of my memory in my lifi, i remember w when the critterr commisission rept came out step i rememberer itt - -- i it was a best-selling book. atat is whenen people had like paperbacks. he did not have e the internet r se other means o of communicicatn. the paperback book was the format and this s was aa big bok but small size report t ne by a government bipartisan commission toto explainin, to investigate d explain, analyze w why there had been s so many urban insurrection rebellions. i never c cald them riots.

the otother people can c call tm riots. it why there have e been so many urban insururctions ding thatat period of thehe late 1960's. ththey came up wh ththe incncrey ininsightful conclusion n that t was white racism. itould say the reason thatt was not addrdressed atat that te is because -- - and thisis may d pessimistic but it is not. just sometething for us to t thk about. w withuntry functionsns white supremacy aits engigine. an engine that runss so o ny aspects. banking, health care,, educacatn -- all of these d disparititiest we see, it would take quite a bit to say "i think we need to get rid d of that." and that is where we arare now. dodo we have the political willo actually eradicate white supremacy or do we just want to kind of nip around the edges of it and do cosmetic things?

taking down the confederate statues, very, very important. very glad that is happening. but it doesn't necessarily get to the material conditions of people who live under this system, nor does it address the incrediblele violent racism that results in people like e jaco blake bebeing s shot seven timen front ofof h tininy children at point-blank range. amy: as you speak, barbara, just so happens that these seconds, people will hear that different times, but at thisis time 8:8:4, the first plane hit the first centerf the world trade 19 years ago. i wanted to ask you about intersectionality, about taking on terrorism, taking on n white suprpremacy. be divorcedan't frfrom misogyny and hetero picte yorkie -- patririarchy.

>> certainly from my long years of commitment to fighting for women's rights and women's an outomsndnd also being lesbian since ththe 1970's -- yu knknow in busisiness as they s, serving you since 1942 oror whatever.. if there was a little signed to explplain that aspect of my lif, sinceld be outt lesbian 1975. that is a long time e and it was not long after stonewall, so i have been involved in organizing, writing about issues of s sexualityty and gender and sexuitity and genderr oppression for decades -- long before it was popular, long fore it was considered to be cute. everyrythingt approh that i work on and think about in that way. when y you think about the issus

-- the issueue of white suprema, is absbsolutely entwined.d. again, much l like racicial capitalism. it is entwined with racial patriarchy and h homopbibia and trananhobia. so you can't really aress onene without the other. likewould ourur countntry be miracacously as a nation to get ririd of white supremacy in every possible way that we cod? omen,t viololence agagainst homophobia,,phobia, discriminanaon againstst people based upon gender and sexuality, if we left that intact? whatat wouldld we have accomplid if we don't look at all of those vectors of oppression, all of those rdblocks s to freedom? and there are many other things

that we cacan talk a about, too. we have to look at our inteternational situation. we have to look at our relationship to the restst of te world. we export whwhite supremac your previous guest w was talkig about ththe incredible repercussions of the uniteted states' ongoing so-calleded foreign lilicy, whicich is realy were policy, and i t think he sd there were onlnly 11 years in te entire history o of the country when we werere not involved inin warfare. what does that say about whwhat kind of nationon we are? and so much of that has been racialized, particulararly would say since rlrld war ii, the skirmishes -- bigger than skirmishes, the military adventures that this nation gages in always seem to be against popupulations of peoplef color. we could talk about -- john amy: barbara, we just have 30

seconds, i want t to ask if you see echoes of the hamer b baker plan in the democratic party platfoform or whwhat is been put forth in the role you s see acactist should play in november elections? >> i have not read the platform, bubut from w what i gatr, it is coming from a different place. i talked autut nippingng around the edges of the problem. i think eveven if therere are bd initiatives, you have to have the conscicisness, youou have to acknowleledge thahat white supry exists in order to fight it.. thatat is the difference. thermay well be things in that platfoform that will h help witr raracial -- our situation a vast racial inequality, butut is the purprpe toddress thehe bedrock system of white supreremacy? that is the difference and that is why i i propoposed the hamer-baker plan. amy: we willll link that plan at democracynow.org. , activist,th, author

independent scholar. her piece in the nation "how to dismantle white supremacy." when we cocome back, as global deathsrom covid-d-19 starting near one million, we look at the race to o velop a vaccine and the issusue of transparency. back in 30 seconds. ♪ [music break] amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman. we turn now to l look atat why astrazazeneca pausused its phas3 covid-19 vaccine trial in the united kingdom.

widely considered one of the most promising trials and what we know. astrazeneca only revealed initial details during a private phone call between the ceo and the investors, saying a woman in the trial developed severe neurological symptoms consistent with transverse myelitisis or inflammation of the spinal cord. this was first reported by the medical news site stat. for more, we're joined by ed column thishose week is headlined, "'everyone was left to guess what went wrong': an open letter to astrazeneca's ceo on transparency." tell us what you're demanding of the ceo and explain exactly what happened. astrazeneca'sard trial was halted, that it is dealing with the university of oxford, but not understanding why and how serious myelitis is, whether r or not i it is connecd to this s trial.l. >> there is an issue. first of all, thank you f for having me.

there is an issue, several issues, the whole world is watching right now what t is happening w with vaccine developmpment. normally when ththere is a haltn the clininical trial -- which ia serious matter, t typically, a company has to disclose certain ,evelopments to regulators participants, and investstors if it is considered material informatioion. something that could materially affect the busininess operation. in this particular case, the tuesday -- wewe reported on tuesday that the company halted the trial. at that point, the company let out only a little bit of information and wholly in response to calls from reporters. wednesday morning, the company put out a rather bland general statement calling t this situatn a routine matter. at the same time, thohough, the

ceo was on a private call with investor clients from jp morgan. so that raised hope in subissues in my mind. as i started to say, the whole world is watatching this vaccine development right now. ththis is in the contextxt of seseveral debatable controversi. one of which is the extent to which the vaccine companies are being pushed to move faster than toy should -- move faster get a vaccine o out as quickly s possible. at the same time, thehe fda iss being bullied by the trump administration, particularly in president trump, to g get a vaccine out t there as quickly s possible. conveniently, he keeps talalking about the vaccine befefe the election. so if you coconnect the dots, lk at the situation andnday, ok, we have a pandemic. most people what a vaccine as quickly as possible.

but is the fda being pushed to approve a vaccine faster than it should? there are standards in place no matter what to have safety and effectiveness data. yes, we can't wait years for that to emerge, but we also don't wawant a vaccicine beforet is time. in that place into yeyet another issue, which is trust. ththe american people are alreay divided over vaccine's generally . and now there is growing concern that if the administration, trump particular, trying to get a vaccine out faster than it should be out and is leaning on the fda to do so, that will have another reason to not trust vaccinines. and stepping back, the issue reflects o on astrazeneca bututo the pharmaceutical industry at large, w which has already takea severe hit with its reputatation

for the last sevalal years over drug pricing. so instead of thinking of the greater good and inststead of addressingng and being concerned with these issues ---- becauause these are all societal issues. it is not just t the united stae ast the astrazeneca ask busineness as s usual. we may have material information or maybe they did not consider materialal but in any event, released a few more detailsls tt selectivively to the investoror crowd. what were thosose details? said, theed, and shshe side effect that was discovered in t this one trial paparticipas consnsistent with transverse myelitis. that could be a a first sign of multiple sclerosis. a.my: also similar to dmdmr >> we need to know more information n about that. other resesearchers neeeed to k. other r companies that are using the same vaccine tech h elegy or

platfo, they want to know whwhat is goioing on. does this affefect them? does this affect other people's willingness and abilitity to enroll i in one or more clclinil trials but thahat company and others?? so there are a lot of implications herere. asas i said, to treat it as business as usual, thinking of the greater gogood, inststead of tryi to address concerns that can show up with lack of transparency and therefore lack of trust. amy: we just have a minute, but a pole just does as well over 60% of thehe america population does not trust the fda to approve a safe vaccine just as president trump pushes to get this done. he is very open about this. for the november election. what do you think is the most important issue, as you're demanding of the ceo of astrazeneca to go alongng a safe path? companies have the to continue to adhdhere to w wht

ththey have alreadady set in a public pledge releasesed last wk to follow thee usual rigigorous ststandards for safety and effectiveness the fda pursues.. the fda is not perfecect, no agency is, but that is the gold standard.. that is not just for the benefit of the drug companies, but presumably for the benefitit of the public. i thihink that is crucial. unfortunately, presisident trump not respecting that.t. that is why ouour own poll found 78% of a americans believe the vaccine approval is -- politics is coming before science when it comes to the vaccine approval process most of amy: ed silvermaman, thank you for being with us, senior writer and columnist at stat news.com who piece will link to your "'everyone was left to guess what went wrong': an open letter to astrazeneca's ceo on transparency." that does it for our show. 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!]

>> thihis is al jazeera. ♪ hello, you are watching the news hour live from london, coming up bahrainin enjoys the united in n agreeing to normrmae relationons th israel, the move palestinian leaders have branded extremely dangerous. thousands of refugees left homeless when their camps burned down, demand to be allowed to leave the greek island. wildfires leave a trail of devastation up and down the u.s. west coast, killing 24