02/19/21 02/19/21 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica radio, this is democracy now! 25 years ago on february 19, 1996, democracy now! went on the air. today we take a freewheeling journey through the years. >> chevron, just like shell, used this military to protect

its oil activities. they drill and they kill. >> listen to me. you asked the question and i'm going to answer. you've asked questions in a hostile and combative and even disrespectful tone and you've never been able to combat the facts. close you are troy davis. we are joined davis. amy: are you telling the dogs to bite the protesters? the dog has blood and its nose and mouth. why are you letting her dog go after -- biting her leg! we are in occupied western sahara under the capital of what many call africa's last colony. nermeen: we are outside new york city john f. kennedy airport,

terminal 4, where thousands have gathered to protest the trump administration's executive order . amy: 25 years ago, democracy now! started on nine community radio stations. it now airs on over 1500 television and radio stations around the globe. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman. millions of u.s. residents endured another day with shortages of water, heat or electricity thursday, as the death toll from winter storms rose to at least 49. more than 13 million texans remained under a boil water advisory and some 200,000 had no power days after texas' power

gr collapsed amid record low temperatures. the electric reliability council of texas, which operates the grid, said thursday the state was seconds and minutes away from a catastrophic failure that could have led to a months-long blackout. this week's power outages also led to big delays in covid-19 vaccine distribution and soaring fuel prices. during an earnings call wednesday, executive roland burns of the natural gas producer comstock resources celebrated the winter weather disaster. >> this week is like hitting the jackpot. credible -- incredible vices that, frankly, we were able to sell at super premium prices for production. amy: on thursday, mexico's president andrés manuel lópez obrador called on mexicans to ration electricity after texas shut off exports of natural gas

amid the cris. meanwhile, texas republican senator ted cruz returned to his home in houston thursday, a day after his family fled to mexico to cancún to escape the blackout and winter cold. text messages show cruz's wife complained the family's home was freezing and invited others to join the family at the ritz-carlton in cancún. on thursday, senator cruz defended his actions as he prepared to board a flight back to texas. sen. >> yesterday my daughter asked if they could take a trip with friends and heidi and i agreed so we flew last night and i will go back to texas and continue to work to trying to the power back on. amy: senator cruz was initially booked to stay in mexico until saturday. he was met by protesters calling for his resignation at houston's

airport and in the bitter cold outside his home. signs said "resign" and "fled cruz." in south africa, health authorities have launched a trial campaign of the johnson & johnson covid-19 vaccine, as they battle a coronavirus variant that's become dominant across southern africa. the pivot to the johnson & johnson vaccine came aft a small clinical trial showed the astrazeneca vaccine failed to prevent most cases of mild and moderate disease in south africa. south african officials have pledged to share unused doses of e astrazeneca shot with other african nations. in peru, revelations that politicians secretly received china's sinopharm vaccine as early as last september -- before it was even approved -- have rocked peru. then-president martín vizcarra was one of just hundreds who were reportedly given the shot,

as the country's death toll surged. pfizer says its cover 19 vaccine may not need to be kept at ultralow temperatures anymore and is asking the u.s. food and drug administration to allow its shots to be stored at temperatures found in common pharmaceutical freezers. if approved, the cnge could greatly ease distribution of the pfizer vaccine. meanwhile, cuba is approaching the final testing phase for its own vaccine, soberana 2, or sovereign 2. cuba has said it may offer the vaccine to tourists once it is approved. in the united states, more than 2,500 people died of covid-19 on thursday, with another 70,000 new cases recorded. the official u.s. death toll is on pace to top a half of a million before the end of the month. "the washington post" reports that on average, one person died of covid-19 every 28 seconds in january.

president joe biden is visiting pfizer's covid-19 vaccine manufacturing plant in michigan today to continue his push for a proposed $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. biden will also appear at a virtual summit of g7 leaders to announce the u.s. will give $4 billion to covax, the international program to get vaccines to poorer countries. former president trump opted out of covax last summer. biden is giving his first presidential speech aimed at an international audience at a virtual meeting of the munich security conference. biden will focus on restoring u.s. ties with western european allies in a united front against russia and china. in immigration news, the biden administration issued new guidelines thursday directing immigration and customs enforcement, ice, to focus apprehensions and deportations on asylum seekers and immigrants

who've recently crossed into the u.s. and those who are determined to be national security and public safety threats. immigrant justice advocates warn biden's new enforcement rules continue to criminalize immigrants and asylum seekers. they also denounced the targeting of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated immigrants and refugees. in a statement, the american civil liberties union called biden's plan a "disappointing step backward," adding -- "while the biden administration rightly acknowledges that immigrants are our family members, our coworkers, and our neighbors, for now it has chosen to continue giving ice officers significant discretion to conduct operations that harm our communities and tear families apart." in ethiopia, residents of the city of axum have described a massacre by eritrean troops last november. a deacon at the church of st. mary of zion told the associated press as many as 800 people were killed by eritrean soldiers who burst into the church, cornering

and dragging out worshipers, and shooting at those who fled. some 3 million people have been displaced since a conflict broke out in tigray in late 2020. opposition groups say at least 52,000 people have been killed. the u.s. has said it is prepared to have talks with iran and other parties involved in the 2015 iran nuclear deal, which former president trump unilaterally withdrew from. the u.s. has said it would return to the agreement if tehran came into full compliance, though iran has peatedly said the u.s. must first lift all sanctions imposed by trump. on thursday, the bid ministrati lifted travel restrictions for iranian diplomats to the u.n. in new york city. satellite imagery shows israel has been expanding its dimona nuclear facility in the negev desert. the secretive facility has played a key role in equipping israel's nuclear arsenal. the u.s. capitol police department has suspended six officers without pay over their

actions at the january 6 attack on congress, including an officer who posed for selfies with members of trump's mob. another officer wore a red maga hat and directed rioters around the capitol building. 29 other officers remain under investigation. a federal appeals court has rejected a bid from new york police unions to keep disciplinary records from the public after lawmakers last summer repealed the controversial 50-a law amid the historic black lives matter uprising. advocates are calling on mayor bill de blasio to release the records without delay. heaid they could be released as early as next week. vice president kamala harris said thursday the 2.5 million women who had to leave the u.s. workforce due to the pandemic is a national emergency as she urged support for the administration's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. at a virtual event on women and the economy hosted by harris

thursday, california congressmember barbara lee addressed the issue of poverty. >> this crisis has plunged more than 8 million more people into poverty since last year. about one in seven households nationwide, including more than one in five and latino households and many asian americans, pacific islanders, native american households that are struggling just to secure the food that they need. amy: and in guatemala city, thousands of people took to the streets thursday in a protest led by indigenous leaders -- denouncing years of state violence against indigenous communities. protesters are also demanding the resignation of president -- of the president. this is former presidential candidate and indigenous leader thelma cabrera speaking to the crowd. >> the worst pandemic that exists in guatemala is corruption. the theft that operates the three branches of this colonial

state, this nation state. today we showed them we are here and stronger than ever. amy: and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. today a democracy now!pecial. we are celebrating 25 years on the air. on february 19, 1996, on the eve of the new hampshire presidential primary, democracy now! aired for the first time on nine community radio stations. this is democracy now! ♪ from pacifica radio, i am amy goodman in washington. today, live free or die. a look at the political landscape in new hampshire where the republican revolution has taken its toll.

>> if you want to taste of the country after the revolution, you might as well visit new hampshire today because we have the most regressive taxes, does not have mandatory kindergarten, does not invest in infrastructure. amy: the politics of race in the granite state and money talks. who are the millionaires having their way in washington? >> you need to go up to bob dole and say, that is great you have taken up this. whose corporate jet did you fly on? you need to relentlessly expose them. amy: all coming up on democracy now! today is presidents' day and tomorrow is the new hampshire primary. welcome to the maiden voyage of democracy now! greetings to our audience in

california, texas, new york, pennsylvania, washington, d.c., washington state, kansas city, and colorado. in this election year, we are embarking on an i'm attorney who the country and hope to pick up community radio stations in many more states as we go. as we give voice to the grassroots. and that nine month project, well, it began 25 years ago. that's right, democracy now! went on the air on nine community radio stations. it was the only daily election show in broadcast a public broadcasting. it now airs on over 1500 tv and radio stations around the globe. in 1998, democracy now! documented chevron's role in the killing of two protesters who occupied a chevron-owned oil platform in the oil-rich niger delta. democracy now! correspondent jeremy scahill and i traveled to the niger delta to investigate and produced the special report

"drilling and killing: chevron and nigeria's oil dictatorship." this an excerpt. amy: until now, chevron has claimed its only action against the occupation was to call the federal authorities and tell them what was happening. but in a startling admission in a three-hour interview with democracy now!, chevron spokesperson acknowledged that chevron did much more. he admitted that chevron actually flew in the soldiers who did the killing and he further admitted those men were from the notorious navy. who took them in? >> we did. we did. chevron did. we took them by helicopters. amy: who authorized the call for the military to come in? >> chevron's management. >> may 20 8, 1998, chevron

flying in the mobile police and navy to confront a group of villagers who thought they were in the midst of a negotiation with the oil giant. which brings us to another admission by chevron spokesperson. listen carefully. amy: or any of these armed? >> i don't know. i don't know. i cannot say they came armed. in the credohink they came -- >> no. >> is very clear that chevron, just like shell, used the military to protect its oil activities. they drill and they kill. >> environmentalist -- >> they're shooting a lot of

people for just demanding their rights. amy: democracy now! grew into a daily television show in 2001, the week of september 11, 2011 come in exact, but one of our first special tv broadcasts took place in august 2000 at the republican national convention in philadelphia. amy: from pacifica radio, this is democracy now! breaking with convention, power protest in the presidency. gorge bush accepts the republican nomination for president. we will get reaction. i look at the conduct of the philadelphia police this week and a tour to the independent media center. all of that in more, coming up on pacifica radio's democracy now!

you are listening to pacifica radio's democracy now! broadcasting on can you dust community on community radio stations and video at democracynow.org. unprecedented community media colloration. i am amy goodman with juan gonzalez as we continued our reaction to the nomination speech of -- the acceptance speech of george w. bush, the nomination by the republican party as the presidential candidate. juan: as i said, an amazing speech by bush. he attempted basically to portray himself as a caring, sensitive, compassionate, conservative but the reality of the message that he was bringing of increased military spending, privatization of social security

, charter schools that would help to begin to tear apart the public school system rather than raise the level of the public school system throughout i think was one that was clearly, clearly at the right french of american politics today. amy: on election day in 2000, then-president bill clinton called pacifica radio wbai in an attempt to get out the vote for hillary for senate and al gore for president. while he may have intended to spend about two minutes on the phone, wbai host gonzalo aburto and i kept him on the line for about half an hour, asking him about topics that weren't being discussed in the presidential race. amy: mr. president, are you there? you're calling radio stations to get out and vote. what you say to people who feel the two parties are bought by corporations and that at thi

point they feel eir vote doesn't make a difference? clubs there is not a shred of evidence to support that. amy: figures show that up to 5000 children die in a wreck of sanctions. >> that is not true. that is not what they show. amy: the u.n. heads have quit, calling the u.s. policy, u.s.-u.n. policy, genocal. what is your response? >> they are wrong. they think we should reward -- saddam hussein says, i'm going to starve my kids unless you buy nuclear weapons, chemical weapons, and biological weapons. if you let me to of thing i want to do so i think it in position to kill and intimidate people, then i'll stostarving my kids. so we're supposed to assume responsibility for his misconduct. that is not right. amy: many say ralph nader is at the high percentage point in the

polls because you've been respsible for takg the democratic party to the right. >> what is the meare? that we cut the welfa rolls in half? that poverty is at a 20 year low? that child poverty habeen cut by one third in our administration? th the schools and at country come the test scores since we provide all the schools to have a sick standards, test scores among african americans and other minorities have gone up steadily? amy: cannot say -- >> wait a minute come started this. every ask you -- every question you have asked has been hostile and combative. listen to me. you ask the questions and i'm going to answer. you have ask questions in a hostile, combative, even disrespectful tone and you never been able to combat the facts i have given you. you listen to this most of amy: that was president clinton in a a surnoise call wbai. to the white house later, can say they were thinking of banning me from the white house and i said, but he called me, i

did not call him. when we come back, we will continue our look back at the past 25 years of democracy now! ♪♪ [music break] amy: 2003. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman. on the morning of september 11, 2001, democracy now! was on the air when the world trade center was attacked.

broadcasting on radio for over six hours, democracy now! covered the attacks just blocks from ground zero. amy: the latest news we have is that there have been widespread attacks, including at least three commercial jet crashes we now being -- believe perhaps 4, 3 commercial jet crashes into significant buildings. in the first attack, the plaintiff the north tower of the world trade center manhattan shortly before 9:00 followed by another airplane into the second tower about 20 minutes later. both towers later collapsed. about an hour later, a plane crashed into the pentago part of which later collapsed. amy: democracynow closely followed the fallout from the 9/11 attacks both at home and abroad. in december, masuda sultan, an afghan-american woman, reported on democracy now! from afghanistan about how a u.s. air raid had killed 19 members of her family.

>> they described this scene where they were running with their kids in their arms, dodging bullets left and right while they saw balls of fire falling down to the earth. there were women and children running for their lives, being shot at by helicopter hovering over their home. these people were not taliban supporters. they were al qaeda fighters. they were simple afghans trying to stay safe in our country. amy: after masuda sultan came back to new york, she came on democracy now! along with rita lasar, who lost her brother at the world trade cent. >> i live on the 15th floor and ran to my neighbor's house and she has a clear view of downtown manhattan. and i looked out her window and

saw the second plane hit the second building. and it dawned on me, my brother works there. i went down to the hospitals to see if his name was on the list. and then i realized he had died. and because he had stayed behind to stay with his quadriplegic brother -- i'm sorry, friend, who could not get out, although he was on the 27th floor and he could have saved himself, he died. and then president bush mentioned him in the national cathedral speech and cited him as being a hero. and i realized that my government was going to use my brother as justification for

killing other people, and that had a tremendous impact on me. i did not want that to happen, not in my brother's name. >> first of all, i want to express my condolences to rita. i did before, but i think your brother is a hero and you are hero for continuing his legacy. and it is amazing to me that someone who's lost so much isn't as revenge-hungry as some of the other people that seem to want to, you know, go start bombing whoever, wherever. amy: that is masuda sultan and rita lazar. rita died in 2017. as we continue our democracy now! to the decades, on may 20, 2002, east timor became an

independent country after decades of occupation by indonesia. i had been reporting on the east timorese independence movement for years. on november 12, 1991, journalist allan nairn and i were there when indonesian troops armed with u.s.-made m16 rifles opened fire on thousands of unarmed east timorese civilians gathered at the santa cruz cemetery. >> i lost one sister and two brothers. >> 10 days before i was to give birth. the army was shooting and they would die at our feet. could not stop to help them. >> i know families that were totally wiped out. >> to american newsmen beaten badly. and because army converged in two places. " in hundreds of troops coming straight at the to marie's. amy: when they came, they opened

fire on to people. >> we pride ourselves and rightfully so standing up for human rights. amy: at least 271 people were killed that day. more than a decade later, east timor became an independent country. allan nairn and i returned to the capital dili. allan questioned former president bill clinton. >> in 1999 in april, the indonesian military and the militias massacred 50 pele under the rectory. they hacked them with machetes. two days later, admiral blair, the commander for theacific, your commander, met with the engine commander -- an engine commander. he made no mention of the massacre. during the same period, they

rampaged in downtown diland attacked a house with refugees. yet you continue for months with the military. >> what is your question, sir? i can't answer the question you asked about admiral blair. you'll have to ask him because i'm not aware of that. >> he was working for you. >> i understand that. i think, first of all, i don't believe america or any of the other countries -- a long time before 1999, going up to the 1970's, suffering the people of east timor. i don't think we can defend everything we did. amy: almost a year later on february 15, 2003, millions of people around world rallied to say no to the iraq war. democracy now! broadcast live from a massive protest in new york. this is actor and activist harry belafonte. >> this is not the fir time that we as a people have been

misled by the leadership. we were misled by those who created with falseness the bay of tonkin. ich falsely led us into a war with vietnam, a war that we could not and did not win. we lied to the american people about grenada and what was going on in that tiny island. we lied to the american people about nicaragua, el salvador, cuba, and many places in the world. and we stand here today to let those people and others know that america is a vast and diverse country and we are part of the greater truth of what makes our nation. dr. king once said at if

mankind does not put an end to war, war will put an end to mankind. amy: in 2004, democracy now! broke the news about the ouster of haitian president jean-bertrand aristide in a u.s.-backed coup. amy: from pacifica radio, this is a democracy now! exclusive. >> was kidnapped. he said he was ford to leave haiti. amy: did your security forces kidnapped haitian president aristide? we will speak with commerce member maxine waters and aristide's close friend trends africa founder randall robinson. >> it is a coup. it is a coup. it is a coup. >> representative waters is claiming that aristide was led away in handcuffs by u.s. marines and claiming the marines were part of a coup.

would either of you comment? >> trying to pick the right words. if you're asking me did that happen, the answer is no. >> any embellishment? >> i think not today. amy: years later, democracy now! reported on aristide plus return to haiti. amy: it has been -- returning to the caribbean. late night, return to new york after a trip that began on saturday when i accompanied the delegation of u.s. and jamaican officials who set off from miami, florida, on a mission to escort president aristide and his wife mildred back to the caribbean. on the plane, i asked president aristide what he believes the

u.s. once him gone. >> those who want to invest in killing democracy, in bloodshed, they don't accept you as an elected president. amy: we move forward in a this 25 year special. just days after hurricane katrina hit in 2005, we went down to new orleans and the community of algiers. i spoke with malik rahim, co-founder of the common ground collective. he showed us how a corpse still remained on the street unattended, two weeks after the storm. his body has been here for almost two weeks. two weeks tomorrow. that body has been laying here. and there is no reason for. just totally disrespect. two weeks. every day we asked them about

picking it up. and they refuse to come and pick it up. you can see it is literally decomposing right here. right out in the sun. every day we ask them about it because, i mean, this is as close as you can get to a tropical climate in america and they won't do anything with it. amy: do you know who this person is? >> no. but regardless of who it is, i don't care if it is saddam hussein order bin laden, nobody deserves to be left here. and the kids pass by here and there sing it. elderly. this has right a lot of people into leaving. we don't know if he is a bit, vigilantes or what. all we know is his body has been allowed to remain out here for over two weeks. amy: in september 2005, democracy now! met with venezuelan president hugo chavez in his first sit-down interview

in the united states. amy: mr. president, your assessment of president bush, of the invasion and occupation of iraq? and do you think if it weren't iraq, it would have been venezuela? >> it is clear the us government -- first they try to get the venezuelan oil. the coup they stage. a motivated coup. once you have the control of oil -- [indiscernible] they felt in venezuela so they try to attack iraq. amy: in 2007, then cnn lou dobbs

was interviewed by juan gonzalez and i on democracy now! juan: the question is, there's a huge disparity between the economic levels in mexico and economic levels in the united states and you have properly said many times on your show that american companies are creating the problems rather than helping to alleviate the problems. all that would be needed to do is raise economic level in mexico and the entire legal immigration problems would decline under this country. -- illegal immigration problems would decline in this country. close are you telling me what we agree upon? we don't agree because you're demonizing the illegal immigration is a separate issue -- close how can use my name and anti-immigrant in the same breath? amy: when we are, like -- from you, we have played them. we have videotape. a third of prisoners -- a third of prisoners are illegal

immigrants, not true. 7000 emergency cases in the last three years cause of illegal immigrants, not true. close that is as straightforward -- amy: you made an announcement on your show and it is not true, illegal immigrants are not responsible for 7000 cases of leprosy over the last three years. >> not the last three years. amy: that was lou dobbs in 2007. foxbusiness recently dropped to show after he and the network were sued for spreading lies about the 2020 election. on september 1 two thousand eight, democracy now producers sharif abdel kouddous, nicole salazar, and i were among the journalists arrested during a police crackdown at the republican national convention in st. paul. as the riot police came at nicole shouting, "on your face," she shouted back, "press! press!" >> get out of here! get out of here! >> press!

press! >> on your face! amy: that was nicole salazar screaming as the riot police took her down. as sharif abdel kouddous told the police to calm down, they kicked him twice in the chest, threw him against the wall, and arrested him as well. when i got the call on the convention floor about what happened, i raced outside of the corner of seventh and jackson were the right police had formed a line, having fully contained the area. i asked to speak with the commanding officer to get them released. >> ma'am, get back on the sidewalk. amy: i'm coming from the convention floor. sir, i want to talk to your -- do not arrest me. do not arrest me. >> stay right there. you're under arrest. back up.

>> don't do it. amy: we would sue the st. paul and minneapolis police. when we come back, we will have more on our 20 that anniversary special and moment. nicole salazar has just won a major producer award at sundance for producing a series called "philly da." stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: "people have the power," patti smith performing live at riverside church in 2016 marking democracy now!'s 20th anniversary. michael stipe was in the audience and he jumped up on the stage and joined her. to see all of the shows including these excerpts, can go to democracynow.org. this is democracy now! i'm amy goodman. we continue to look at 25 years of democracy now!, we turn to the egyptian revolution that ousted president hosni mubarak in 2011. democracy now!'s sharif abdel kouddous was on the ground in cairo. >> we are on the edge of tahrir square. many rocks and stones have under the ground here. army tanks stood by as mubarak's thugs came in and attacked crowds. there are many wounded. they are bandaged. here's a child about five or six years old. he is being fed yogurt by his

mother. he is bruised on the side of his face. i asked his mother what happened and he said he is a revolutionary. he is fighting for his future. as we move on, we talk about september 21, 2011, democracy now! broadcast live for six hours from the grounds of the prison in georgia where troy anthony davis was executed. we were the only news outlet to continuously broadcast live from the prison grounds. amy: from george's death row prison in jackson, this is a democracy now! special broadcast. we are just an hour from the scheduled execution of troy anthony davis, an execution the whole world is watching. >> i would like to say i've been battling cancer for 10 years most of the item have cancer

anymore, but i am reading some of the effects. several months ago, i could not -- i was doing fine. after that, i could not get up out of the chair. but i'm here to tell you that i am going to stand here for my brother today. [applause] >> i am troy davis! you are troy davis! we are troy davis! >> the court order execution of troy davis has been carried out, 11:08 dm the media witnesses will be coming out to give the first hand account of what happened during the execution. amy: prison official sharing the news that troy anthony davis was executed at 11:08, the time of death.

and standing with -- >> wesley boy. i would like to say there has en a travesty of justicend i would like to tell america they ought to be ashamed of themselves. god help america. if you're live in america, please don't come to georgia. do not buy any georgia pecans. don't buy any georgia peaches. don't bite any trade with georgia. the whole world. don't buy anything with georgia. god bless america. god bless troy davis. amy: in july 2014, israel launched a massive 50 day assault in gaza in july, ultimately killing more than 2200 palestinians, the majority of them civilians, including more than 500 children. and israeli gunboat shelled a group of palestinian children on a gaza beach, killing four. democracy now's sharif abdel kouddous was in gaza, where he spoke with the boys' families. >> i met with the mother today of an 11-year-old who was killed.

he loved the sea. he had seven sisters. his father ruined his back about 10 years ago fishing, and they were waiting for him to grow and become the family breadwinner. there was deep, deep tragedy and sorrow in the house. amy: on august 9, 2014, white police officer darren wilson fatally shot unarmed african-american teenager michael brown. the shooting sparked mass protests and became a key moment in the black lives matter movement. in the aftermath of the shooting, democracy now! traveled to ferguson. amy: tell me your name and what your sign says. >> my name is mona. the same as the arabs fought for the civil rights to oust their corrupt government, we are fighting for our civil rights, our human rights. we would like the end result, one of the results, to further to be a law. police officers should not be

allowed behind dust to hide behind a badge. it is not fair. they should not be treated like extra special humans. amy: in july 2015, democracy now! interviewed all three co-founders of the black lives matter movement -- patrisse cullors, opal tometti, and alicia garza. this is alicia. >> the black lives matter movement has two by its very nature be intersectional because of the complexities of who black people are in this country and throughout the world. there's nothing separate about wages from black life in the survival of black people than police violence and police terrorism. we still have situation in this country where we have black workers who are not covered by federal labor texans like domestic workers and farmworkers. so we certainly cannot just look at the issues of police violence. police violence is the tip of the iceberg when it relates to

the conditions overall black people across the globe. amy: in 2015, democracy now! was in paris for the historic u.n. climate change convention. we traveled an hour and a half north of the city to calais, site of the largest refugee camp in the country. 6000 to 7000 people were camped out in makeshift tents. what was known as "the jungle." >> i am from syria. i am here like everyone escaped from the war. everyone is fighting in my country, yes. i escaped. i don't want to be dead from nothing. amy: we are now on the street of makeshift restaurants, barbershop. this is a couple café. right near here is a map of the hall,. the map is like a map of the

world or a part of the world. it is a map of where refugees are from. most of these countries have been bumped by the united states. >> i really did not think about it. it is looking like the map of the world. amy: syria, afghanistan, iraq, sudan. >> yeah, yeah, it is true stuff i did not think about it. but it is true. >> my name is siddique and i am from afghanistan. nermeen: what do you think the u.s. should be doing now? >> u.s. is just increasing the war. actually, the u.s. don't want to finish the war. it is their game. it is the game of george w. bush, obama, and others.

they don't want to finish that. amy: moving on to 2016, democracy now! traveled to the standing rock sioux reservation in north dakota to document the historic indigenous fight against the dakota access pipeline. >> criminals! you guys are criminals! go get your money somewhere else! amy: we're standing at the construction site of the dakota access pipeline. it looks like at least three bulldozers country people surprise at this moment, actually bulldozing the land. there's a helicopter above. hundreds of people have been marching up when they heard the construction site is active right now. people have gone through the fence. men, women, and children. the bulldozers are still going. they're yelling at the men in

hard hats. one man through a protester down. they are marching over the dirt mounds. some of the security have dogs. >> amy goodman -- look, it is all my sunglasses. they smashed me in the face. then through dog on me. amy: let me see. >> going through the dog on me. >> over there, that dog. i was walking and they threw it at me. without any warning. look at this. look at this. amy: ma'am, your dog has been a protester. -- that a protester. are you telling the dogs to buy the protesters? the dog has blood in his nose and mouth. why are you letting her dog go

after -- only a few hours before the attack, we sat down with standing rock sioux trouble the story and the donna brave bull. >> i don't understand why we are expendable in america. i keep telling people, we do our best comment we have always been here. this is our land. why should we fight to live on her own land? why should we have to do that over and over again? we have no choice. we have to stand. no matter what happens, we have to stand. amy: we posted the video of the dpl guard attack on the indigenous water protectors and over around 24 to 48 hours, 14 million views. north dakota issued an arrest warrant for me. we returned for the arraignment but that would ultimately drop the charges. the hundreds and hundreds and

hundreds of indigenous people were arrested over the months that protest. in late 2016, democracy now! became the first foreign television news crew to get into occupied western sahara in years. amy: we are in occupied western sahara in the capital of what many call africa last colo. morocco occupied western sahara more than 40 years ago in 1975. western sahara, were peaceful protesters led by women are beaten in the streets. thousands have been tortured, imprisoned, killed, disappeared all resisting the moroccan occupation. close he jabbed amy eye with his baton. i was yelling atim, "hey, u moroccanyou pulledut my eye!" amy: where natural resources are plundered, from phosphates to

fish >> i say that our damnation comes from the natural resources we have re. if iwasn't for these natural resources, morocco never would have invaded western sahara. amy: where a massive wall divides a people, the sahrawi, the native population, denied a vote for self-determination. >> if we don't speak out, especially us, as victims who have suffered all of this, if we don't speak out and defend our cause, this problem will remain. amy: in 2017, democracy now! closely covered the protest movement from the historic women's march to protests over trump's muslim ban. this is nermeen shaikh at jfk airport. >> let them in! nermeen: we are outside terminal 4 where thousands of people have

gathered to protest the trump administration's executive order which has prevented many people from seven muslim majority countries from entering the united states. more than 10 of them here detained at terminal 4. thousands of people here are chanting "let them in" "this is what democracy looks like" and efugees welcome here." let's talk to some of the people. >> i am here today because as a muslim woman, i find this an extremely personal because i family members who are on visa and now they are at risk of not being able to leave or enter the country. amy: in 2018, democracy now! traveled to delta conservation camp, an hour north of san francisco, to meet the prisoners who are fighting california's devastating wildfires.

we begin today's show with hidden heroes on the front lines of california's raging climate-fueled wildfires. prisonerirefighters. they make one dollar an hour but are rarely eligible to get jobs as firefighters after their release. according to some estimates, california saves up to $100 million a year by using prison labor to fight its against environmental problem. the democracy now! traveled to the delta conversatn does conservation camp where 100 men are in prison. >> my name is marty. and 25 your soul. i came to this camp about mid july of this year. amy: you're risking your life. >> that is exactly what is going on. everything we do, no one has really promised to come back. amy: how much do you make? close one dollar an hour. amy:

when you're fighting a fire. >> we are typical great, make dollar 45 a day. and because some have called it slave labor. what you think of that? >> i don't really want to cl the work slave work, but i feel like it is their whole mentality and what they're thinking about at the end of the day. no matter whether we are incarcerated or free, we're getting paid a dollar an hour. amy: we were surrounded by guards as he spoke. in 2018, the team reported from the u.s.-mexico border in texas. we're broadcasting from brownsville, texas, on the u.s.-mexico border. behind me, the border wall that stretches in sections all the way through to california. this rio grandeli valley is the epicenter of the trump administration's zero-tolerance policy that has led to the forcible separatn of mor tn 2000 cldren om the pants. ople wersked to kp - that wked for to entethe

feralourtuse he in brnsvilleere mignts have beetaken. many migrants separed fro thr childr. they areemdingo go iide. lice areere. dertmentf homela secury. we wl see wh happens >> we're he to reque access to t court hrings th are tang place we want toellowed io the aringst this ment. cls ihey don't gett -- close sh it down >>e're abo to fedel courthse to s the trement the children d the pents, ee just trum saithe parentwill be sepating th chilen butru also said ey shod not en have urt orawyersr judges. amy: in december 2018, democracy now! traveled to poland for the

climate summit where i spoke with then 15-year-old swedish climate activist greta thunberg in her first broadcast interview in the u.s. >> what we do now, future generations can't undo and in the future. we are deciding right now how we want our future to look like. amy: and when did you decide climate change was issue you wanted to devote your life to? >> i mean, i have read a lot about it. one thing i have found very scary tipping point, that once we reach the tipping point, there's no going back. it is a chain reaction beyond our control. that is very scary. i thought instead of worrying about our future how it might turn out, we should try to change it while we still can. so that is what i wanted to do. amy: and we end our 25th anniversary special with the words of angela davis speaking in june 2020.

>> this is an extraordinary moment. i have never experienced anything like the conditions we are currently experiencing. the conjuncture created by the covid-19 pandemic and the recognition of the systemic raci that has been rendered usable under these conditions because of the disproportionate depths of black and latinx communities. this is a moment i don't know whether i ever expected to experience. amy: those are just some of the highlights from the first 25 years of democracy now!, kicking off our 20 foot anniversary year. we will be playing excerpts and posting on a website democracynow.org many of the programs we want to highlight. we want to thank the hundreds if not thousands of people who have helped us over these 25 years.

what an honor it has been to work with all of you. with my colleague juan gonzalez and nermeen shaikh, we thank you all for being with us for 25 years. i am amy goodman. wear a mask. wear two.

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