03/23/22 03/23/22 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> over the course of my almost decade on the bench, i have developed a methodology that i use in order to ensure that i am ruling impartially and that i am adhering the limits on my

judicial authority. amy: supreme court nominee ketanji brown jackson faces a second round of questioning today from senators as she attempts to become the first black woman on the u.s. supreme court. during a marathon hearing on tuesday, republicans grilled the judge about representing prisoners at guantanamo, her views on critical race theory, and her record on the federal bench. we will hear excerpts and get response from two lawyers. >> judge ketanji brown jackson is uniquely qualifi to serve as our nt u. supreme court justice. she would be the first former public defender to sit on the high court. yet what we're getting from the republican senators is political theater. amy: then to russia's invasion of ukraine where almost 100,000 people reportedly remain trapped in the besieged city of mariupol. can peace talks end the war? >> we're continuing to work at different levels to encourage

russia to move toward peace, to end this brutal war. ukrainia representatives, participating in talks that are taking place virtually every day. it is very difficult to sometimes confrontational, but step-by-step, we are moving forward. amy: we will speak with a ukrainian sociologist. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the non-stop russian bombardment of mariupol continues, reducing the port city to ashes and making the rescue and evacuation of remaining residents treacherous, if not impossible. ukrainian authorities says they -- said earlier today they reached a deal with russia to create nine corridors to evacuate citizens in the regions of donetsk, zaporizhzhia, kyiv, and luhansk. on tuesday, the u.s. embassy in kyiv accused russia of

kidnapping over 2000 ukrainian children from the country's separatist regions. ukrainian forces continue to hold off russian advances around the capital and other areas as a pentagon official said russia combat power declined below 90% of its pre-invasion levels. meanwhile, u.s. and nato officials say belarus could soon join russian troops in combat. u.n. secretary-general antonio guterres on tuesday said it's time to negotiate an end to the war. >> ukraine cannot be conquered citi bikes treaty, -- city by city, house by house. it leads to more suffering, more distraction, and more horror as far as the eye can see. ukrainian people are enduring a living hell. amy: a series of forest fires near chernobyl nuclear plant are

said to be further raising fears of radiation. president biden is traveling to europe today where he will meet with nato allies and is expected to announce new sanctions on russia. meanwhile, ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky expects to spk to chinese leader xi jinping "very soon." in new york, greenpeace activists on tuesday protested a tanker carrying russian oil into the u.s. before a ban on new imports takes effect next month. protesters held up signs that reading, "oil fuels war." greenpeace says the biden administration should invoke the defense production act to build sustainable energy and achieve independence from fossil fuels. this comes as a new report finds wealthy nations must completely end oil and gas production by 2034 to give the world a 50/50 chance of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees celsius. senate hearings for supreme court nominee ketanji brown jackson are continuing for a

third day today. on tuesday, judge jackson rejected republican accusations that her sentences in child sex abuse cases were lenient, saying she ordered "strict sentences and all of the additional restraints available in the law." republicans also went after judge jackson on a number of issues that have become recent flashpoints for the right. texas senator ted cruz grilled jackson over her views on critical race theory, while senator marsha blackburn attacked transgender rights, at one point asking jackson to define the word "woman." jackson declined to do so, asserting, "i'm not a biologist." senator lindsey graham asked judge jackson to rate how religious she is. >> on a scale of one to 10, how faithful would you say you are in terms of religion? i go to church probably three times a year, so that speaks poorly of me. do you attend church regularly? >> senator, i am reluctant to talk about my faith in this way

just because i want to be mindful of the need for the public to have confidence in my ability to separate out my personal views. amy: separately, lindsey graham stormed out of the hearing after he clashed with senate judiciary chair dick durbin over the ongoing detention of guantanamo prisoners, some of whom jackson represented as an attorney. we'll have more on that issue, and day 2 of ketanji brown jackson's historic confirmation hearings after headlines. in coronavirus news, new york city and other parts of the northeast have reported an uptick in cases as the omicron subvariant ba.2 spreads. one genomics firm estimates ba.2 now represents between 50% to 70% of all u.s. cases, though many health experts say they do not expect a major surge. new york city mayor eric adams announced the city's mask mandate for children under five will be dropped on april 4 if

officials deem case numbers remain low enough. this comes as the biden administration said this week it does not have sufficient funds to purchase a fourth vaccine dose for all u.s. citizens if called for and urged lawmakers to pass a stalled $15 billion funding package. white house press secretary jen psaki has tested positive for the coronavirus for the second time in five months. hillary clinton also announced she has covid and is experiencing mild cold symptoms. oxfam international is warning 28 million people in eastern africa a at risk of famine as the region remains in the throes an unfolding full-scale catastrophe. an historic, years-long drought, coupled with conflict, has decimated agriculture in the horn of africa and caused massive displacement. russia's invasion of ukraine has also threatened the region's wheat imports, diverted international assistance, and triggered global spikes in the cost of food, energy, and fertilizer.

to see our conversation with raj patel on how the ukraine war will affect war hunger, go to democracynow.org. one of guatemala's most important judges fighting against corruption has resigned and fled the country fearing for her life. judge erika aifán presided over several corruption cases involving high-level guatemalan officials, including guatemala's president. she had reportedly learned from a colleague that guatemala supreme court planned to strip her off her judicial immunity which put her at risk of being detained. she is now in exile in the united states. in jamaica, pressure ibuilding to remove queen elizabeth as head of state. as prince william and kate middleton toward the area coalition of jamaican , a politicians, business leaders, and others accuse the queen of perpetuating slavery and urge the british monarchy for reparations and to apologize for the destruction caused by colonialism. the royals' visit to the capital kingston tuesday was met with protests. this is a jamaican human rights activist.

>> it is an insult for these young people here to try to persuade as to keep the status quo in place -- the gloved hand on the queen around our next. amy: earlier on their trip, you may take force to cancel a visit to cocoa farm in belize amid protest over indigenous rights in colonialism. back in the united states, senator elizabeth warren and congressmember ro khanna have introduced a bill that would block large corporations from profiting off water and water rights. the legislation, known as the future of water act, was introduced tuesday on world water day and comes as drought conditions, triggered by the climate crisis, are worsening across the u.s. and the world. meanwhile, in el salvador, protesters tuesday called for the repeal of a water law passed last year that critics say allows corporations to control

el salvador's water resources. in louisiana, at least one person is dead after a large tornado, triggered by a series of severe thunderstorms in the south, hit new orleans tuesday night. power outages and severe damage were repord in communities also devastated by hurricane katrina in 2005, including the lower ninth ward. on monday, at least 20 tornadoes tore through parts of texas, where at least one person died. tornado warnings were issued in mississippi and alabama. workers at a seattle starbucks unanimously voted to unionize tuesday. it's the first unionized shop in the coffee chain's hometown and is just a 10-minute drive from starbuck's seattle headquarters. senator bernie sanders called on returning starbucks ceo howard schultz to end the company's massive union-busting campaign. in other labor news, over 500 chevron employees in richmond, california, are on strike after failing to agree on a contract

that would provide safer working conditions, better wages, and benefits. chevron posted $15.6 billion in profits last year. and in southern california, disney employees staged in-person and virtual walkouts tuesday to protest the company's response to florida's so-called "don't say gay" legislation, which bans discussions of sexuality and gender identity in schools. disney ceo bob chapek initially refused to condemn the bill and donated to politicians who back the anti-lgbtq measure. this is a disney worker. >> i feel like everything that is happening right now with disney could have ripple effects not only for the company, but the entertainment industry as a whole. i just came here to show solidarity and hopefully get more representation, not only in front of the camera, but behind the camera and the upper echelons of leadership as well.

amy: and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. when we come back, we will look at the second day of the historic senate judiciary committee hearings on whether ketanji brown jackson will become the first black woman supreme court justice. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: "nocturne no 1 in d minor" composed and played by jon batiste. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman in new york, joined by my co-host juan gonzález in new brunswick, new jersey. hi, juan. juan: hi, amy. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the wld. amy: president biden sub frame court nominee ketanji brown jackson faced a marathon day of

questions from members of the senate judiciary committee tuesday. she is said to make history if she the first black woman and first public defender to serve on the nation's highest court. judge jackson faced a variety of attacks from republican senators. we are going to begin by looking at the focus on her work as a federal public defender who represented people detained at guantamo. this is judge jackson talk about representing guantanamo prisoners. >> after 9/11, there were also lawyers who recognized that our nation's values were under attack, that we could not let the terrorists win by changing who we were fundamentally. and what that meant was that the peop who were being accused by our government of having engaged in actions related to this,

under our constitutional scheme, were entitled to representation. were entitled to be treated fairly. that is what makes our system the best in the world. that is what makes us simpler he. -- exemplary. i was in the federal public defender's office when the supreme court -- excuse me, right after the supreme court decided that individuals who were detained at guantanamo bay by the president could seek review of their detention. and those cases started coming in and federal public defenders do not get to pick their clients. they have to represent whoever comes in, and it is a service. that is what you do as a federal public defender. you are standing up for the constitutional value of representation. amy: judge ketanji brown jackson

was later grilled by republican senator lindsey graham about her time representing people detained at guantanamo. this is part of their exchange. >> so as you rightfully are proud of your service as a public defender and you are presented gitmo detainees, which is part of our system, i want you to understand and the nation to understand what has been happening at it mile. what is the recidivism rate at gitmo? >> i'm not aware. >> it is 31%. how does that strike you? is that about right? >> i don't know how it strikes me. >> it strikes me as terrible. >> that is what i was going to say. >> we found common ground. at the 229 detainees released from gitmo, 720 nine released, 229 have gone back to the fight.

wouldn't you say our system and a terms of releasing people needs to be re-looked at? >> senator, what i say is that that is not a job for the courts in this way -- >> as an american, does that bother you? coax well, obviously, senator, any terminal behavior or repeated attacks, acts of war, bother me as an american. >> and botrs me. amy: senator john cornyn used his questions to try to accuse judge jackson of calling former president george w. bush and former defense secretary donald rumsfeld "war criminals" in a court filing. >> talking about when you are representing a member of the taliban and the department of defense identified him as an intelligence officer for the

taliban and you referred to the secretary of defense and t sitting president of united states as war criminals. why would you do something like that? it seems out of character. >> senator, i don't remember that particular reference. i was representing my clients and making arguments -- i would have to take a look at what you meant. i did not intend to disparage the president or the secretary of defense. amy: in a minute, we'll look at other topics raised in tuesday's confirmation hearings for president biden's supreme court nominee ketanji brown jackson, like sentencing and child pornography cases, issues of abortion and other issues. but we are going to begin with these ones on guantánamo as we are joined by baher azmy, legal director of the center of constitutional rights, where for the past two decades he has been part of a legal team challenging

the rights of guantanamo detainees. and alexis hoag is a professor of law at brooklyn law school. we will talk about ketanji brown jackson being a former public defender. can you talk about the judge's record on these guantánamo cases and the allegations made by both john cornyn and lindsey graham? >> sure. thank you. judge jackson was o ofany hundreds of lawyers who joined the pject to challenge this remarkable authoritarian experiment in guantanamo that purported -- that actually held muslims on an island without any

protection for lower they were suect to persistent torture and arbitrary attention based on say so. sort of criticized her work in that project is nonsensical. she is operating in the highest position of the law. [indiscernible] lies about things like humane treatment, lies about national security and compliance with law. in terms of -- graham is living in a post-9/11 fever dream where he wants to fight these old batts. the 31% recidivism number is made up soviet-style number

design to mask come again, fundamental lies about guantanamo. overwhelming majority has absolutely nothing to do with initiating any fighting, let alone returning to the battlefield. into sort of perpetuating policy that in are dangerous and overwhelming experience -- men who left guantanamo left as the project was designed to do. juan: i would like to follow-up on that. the whole issue of every citizen -- recidivism rate lindsey graham engine. you allude to most of the people in guantánamo had never or not had been convicted, very few were actually convicted of a crime so that even the issue of recidivism when a person has not been convicted is suspect, but

also, even if you take lindsey graham'number of 31%, i looked up what the recidivism rate is in the united states for prisoners in general. two thirds of people who served in u.s. prisons are arrested again within three years and three quarters within nine years. so the "recidivism rate" of people in the united states is far worse than even what lindsey graham is saying about these. >> yes. this is really a made up number. it is garbage in, garbage out like mt of the guantanamo project. you are right. it starts with an assumption that people committed a crime to begiwith. there were no criminal convictions. that is the data should be focusing on. under the government's own statistics, only 8% -- evidence,

sorry, only 8% were ever accused of being members of al qaeda, the taliban, as we all i hope know by now the overwhelming majority are picked up as a result of counties and shipped to guantanamo where officials later secretly recognized the lawyers ultimate league exposed had nothing to do with terrorism. this 31% number is reay -- it is preposterous on its own terms. it includes -- this particular number includes individuals who, for exale, were released [indiscernible] that is the notion of returning to the fight -- under our analysis, there have been a dozen or so who have actually sort of engaged in any

combatant activities after being released out of 779. juan: could you talk about the essential facts to understand about judge jackson's work on guantanamo cases? >> yeah. she is one of many hundreds of individuals from every threat of the legal profession, federal public defende, corporate law firms, ngos like my organization which is responsible for coordinating a lot of these legal efforts, academics, and ultimately, a global movement to challenge this profoundly -- arbitrary dention and abuse there. what she was doing by representing individual detainees was challenging the

executive branch to ensure that any kind of detention of human beings is done pursuant to law and not just executive fiat. in so doing, she was part a projt that exposed any of the lies and brutalities under guantanamo. that is a useful perspective that connects the law to the livedexperiencef individuals who are harmed by the law. i hope that will be the perspective on the court. amy: the specific people that she represented, the four people have since been released. also, this issue that john cornyn said she called them war criminals. she actually did not use that word. in the brief, and there are number of pieces on this come this one in "the new york times," the petitions named bush

and mr. rumsfeld along with two senior militaries who oversaw the guantanamo detention operation in their present official capacities responded. and they said such official acts and ordering or condoning the alleged torture and other inhumane treatment of the detainees constitute war crimes and or crimes against humanity in violation of the law of nations under the alien tort statute. if you could end with that, baher azmy, the accusations against bush and rumsfeld and the government for how prisoners were treated? close her petition alleged what we know to be true that individuals detained at guantánamo were subjected to torture. what follows from that -- responsible for promulgating, particularly after nuremberg, those constitutional war crimes.

it is a bit of a fallacious -- [indiscernible] i want to be clear donald rumsfeld is accused of war crimes, never held accountable for that, although we brought a case and a german court -- in german court. [indiscernible] brought by bush and rumsfeld. amy: baher azmy is legal director of the center of constitutional rights. as we continue to look at day 2 of senate hearings for supreme court nominee ketanji brown jackson. on tuesday, judge jackson rejected republican accusations that her sentences in child sexual abuse cases were lenient, saying she ordered "strict

sentences and all of the additional restraints available in the law." republicans went after judge jackson on a number of issues that have become flashpoints for the right. republican senator marsha was accused of racism after she used her opening statement to attack judge jackson on monday, and asked if she had a "personal hidden agenda" to incorporate critical race theory into the legal system. on tuesday, blackburn moved to ask jackson about a brief she co-signed in 2001 that described anti-abortion demonstrators as "a hostile, noisy crowd." this is part of their exchange. >> let me ask you this. when you go to church and knowing there are pro-life women there, do you look at them thinking of them in that way, that they are noisy, hostile, in your face? do you think of them? do you think of pro-life women like me that way?

>> senator, that was a statement in brief made, an argument for my client. it is not the way i think are characterized -- >> thank you for the clarification. because i think even zealous advocacy does not allow that type of rhetoric on a free-speech issue. amy: early in the day, ted cruz try to tie her to critical race theory. lifting books in the school's curriculum as he waved them in the air. >> they include how to be an antiracist by kendi. stacks and stacks of books. the ones that were most dunning, they include a book called antiracist baby.

there are portions of this book that i find really quite remarkable. one portion of the book says, "babies are taught to be racist or antiracist. there is no neutrality." another portion of the book, they recommend babies confess when being racist. now, this is a book that is taught at georgetown day school to students in pre-k through second grade. so for years for seven years old. do you agree with this book that is being taught with kids that babies are racist? >> senator, i do not believe that any child should be made to feel as though they are racist

or though they are not valued or they are less than, that they are victims, that they are oppressors. i do not believe in any of that. but what i will say is when you asked me whether or not this was taught in schools, critical race theory, my understanding is that critical race theory as an academic theory is taught in law school. amy: in responses, authorkendi tweeted -- for more, we're joined by alexis hoag, professor of law at brooklyn law school. before we start in all of this, this issue of her being a public defender so that people can

examine every case. it is highly unusual for judges, let alone supreme or justices, to have a past where they were a public defender. can you talk about the significance of this? >> good morning. thank you for having me. i, too, served as a public defender before i transitioned into academia. i, too, and proud of my experience. the federal public defender program in which judge jackson worked, ironically, probably two years of over a 20 year legal career, it is part of the federal judiciary. so she would have been an oya of the federal system. about -- any public defenders there to uold the constitutional right of this country. i am thinking primarily, alough not exclusively, of the sixth amendment right to counsel.

our adversarial system of justice which is a hallmark of the american legal system, depends on the fact that you have two parties that are well represented. one is the government, the prosecution. the other is the individual defendant. our system of justice does not function unless you have capable , effective counsel representing people have been accused of crimes. and having that kind of experience has been something that until presidentiden began to prioritize it in judicial nominees, has been a disfavored professional experience. so i am excited at the fact and i think we should all be in this country excited and proud of the fact that someone wi her rich diverse experience representing people accused of crimes is now a nominee for the highest court. and we have lacked that experience since justice

thurgood marshall left the bench in 1991. he was the last person who had regularly represented people were accused of crimes. although not as a public defender, but as an attorney, naacp legal defense fund. i also spent time working there before teaching as senior counsel. and atlds, there is a strategic goal to help dismantle racial inequality. so in thurgood marshall's representation of people accused of crimes, it was to advance that goal and that interest. so at lds, he would pick and choose which claims to represent. i want to underscore the fact that judge jackson as a federal public defender could not and did not choose which clients to represent. she was responsible for representing whatever client in that jurisdiction would find her office and then find her as a member of the federal defenders. juan: alexis hoag, what were

some of the moments that stuck out to you from yesterday's hearing? >> good morning, juan. several stuck out from yesterday's hearing. just in the exchange you played with senator cruz. i felt that sigh in my bones. what we're seeing is a supremely, in many ways, overqualified candidate for this role, having to navigate at times with a little bit of exasperation destruction. she is not being asked about her qualifications and experience to serve on the u.s. supreme court when ted cruz asks her about children's books that are available at a private school. she has continually reminded the senators that as a judge, she does not deploy. she has had to

tell senators that she is not a biologist, she cannot define what a woman is for them. she has a clear methodology as a judge, which is to review briefs, identify law, bylaws the facts and come up with a conclusion. all of this distraction, the political grandstanding, is in many ways disrespectful. juan: assuming she has confirmed, she would become one of three "liberal justices" on the supreme court will stop all of them, women, with elena kagan and sonia sotomayor. greg slipped and of what she would bring to the court even as a member of the court minority? >> i am hopeful that judge jackson in the context of the supreme court would also be able to convince perhaps others on the court to side with sort of a liberal -- two justice roberts

is quite concerned with the legitimacy of the court as an stitution. and we have seen in some of his rulings i desire for consensus or to not necessarily vote on clear ideological -- my hope is judge jackson can convince chief justice roberts and others from the right to join her and justice kagan and soda mayor as they thoughtfully navigate some of these issues that a coming before the court. so i am hopeful that given her diverse experiences, professionally and personally, that she is able to be someone who can convince others to join her and taken and sonia sotomayor on issues that come before the court. amy: i want to ask about the first day of judge jackson's confirmation hearing with republican senator marsha blackburn accused her of praising the 1619 project. "the new york times close or

collection of essays that sees to -- seeks to "reframe the country's history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black americans at the very center of our national narrative." this is blackburn. >> y have praised the 1619 project, which argues fundamentally racist country. you have made clear that you believe judges must consider critical race theory when deciding how to sentence criminal defendants. is it your personal hidden agenda to incorporate critical into our legal system? amy: alexis hoag, if you could respond? also, the gop tweet that shows the jackson initials kbj crossed out and replaced with the acronym crt, as well as the link to a list of important questions

for kbj. if you can talk about this? >> critical race theory has become a flashpoint for the republican party. and most people outside of legal academia had not heard of critical race theory or crt before trump inserted it into an executive order just a few years ago. then it started to pop up frequently on late-night republican sort of right-wing talk shows, radio programs. but critical race theory is a theoretical framework that was developed by law students and law professors in the early 1980's. it stemmed from critical legal studies. it was a way that people who were engaged in the study of law could help make sense of why the civil rights movement wasn't delivering racial equality coming out of the 1960's. i had the good fortune of studying what professor derek bell who passed away a little over 10 years ago, but he was seen as one of the intellectual

founders of crt. the fact that now it has been whittled down to a really rallying cry for the right to somehow characterize a discussion about racism or a way in which structural racism operates in this society has really divorced it from its true meaning and true context. and so senator blackburn -- marsha blackburn from tennessee uses crt, it is really to tailor the message to the right-wing base. they are using it as a rallying cry, fundraising tool, and it is completely divorced from his actually meeting. when asking judge jackson about

the 1619 project, i believe her words were that it was provocative. so this id that somehow she would use the 6019 project in her judicial rulings is just a disingenuous character ration -- characterization. i know we will continue to see on day three is that republicans are mischaracterizing, misquoting, taking out of context words and speeches that judge jackson has made. then we find the democrats are being put on the defensive, having to correct the record post of judge jackson an opportunity to explain herself and a defensive mode. this is all the destruction come again, from a woman who is overqualified for this position. amy: alexis hoag, thank you for being with us. democracy now! is live streaming these hearings from 9:00 a.m. eastern time. yesterday's went for more than 13 hours. we will do it again today.

alexis hoag is a professor of law at brooklyn law school. former federal public defender. only come back, who look at the latest of russia's invasion of ukraine. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break] mikel amy: this is democracy now!,

democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. we turn now to russia's invasion of ukraine. the kremlin is refusing to rule out using nuclear weapons on the battlefield if it faces what it determines to be an existential threat. russian president vladimir putin's spokesperson dmitry peskov made the remark during an interview with cnn's christiane amanpour on tuesday. >> i want to ask you again, is president putin -- thefinnish president said to me when he asked putin directly about this, because president putin has laid that cart of the table, president putin said if anyone tries to stop him, very bad things will happen. i want to know whether you are convinced or confident that your boss will not use that option? >> well, we have a concept of domestic security. you can read all that's written

for nuclear arms to be used. so if it is an an existential threat proud country, than it can be used in accordance with -- amy: that was dmitry peskov, vladimir putin's spokesperson, speaking to cnn. remember, his daughter the beginning of the war, posted on her instagram telegram account "no to war." this comes as the pentagon claims ukrainian forces have launched a counter-offensive in an attempt to regain land seized by russi ukraine said 100,000 people remained trapped in mariupol with little food or water. we are joined now by volodymyr ishchenko. he is a ukrainian sociologist, and a research associate at the institute for east european studies at the free university of berlin. thank you so much for being with us. it is great to have you with us. start by talking about what you

think we are misunderstanding about this war, particularly with all of the close to $1 billion worth of weapons that the u.s. is sending to ukraine? what about focusing on pushing peace negotiations? if u.s. and nato demanded that, with that, without happen? >> i think weapons and sanctions are good in the initial stage of the war because they help to scale down the maximalist demands putin has on ukraine, perhaps after the regime change in ukraine. and now meeting strong resistance and very

strong sanctions -- negotiate and agree to more acceptable conditions. but if the u.s. strategy was only about weapo and sanctions, that means that they would only prolong the war. and that would mean more ukrainians would be dead, killed by russian army. more cities in ukraine would be destroyed. collapse of the ukrainian economy. the weapons and sctions should be absolutely necessarily combined with a very active brokered peace settlement between ukraine and russia. juan: could you talk about your perspective about how this enormous worldwide tragedy,

really, that is occurring there could end and should end? >> it can end in various scenarios. nuclear war is also possible. it is probably -- living in the moment when a nuear war is the most probable thing perhaps since the 1960's. turning ukraine into a failed state for many years is also possible and also a very horrible scenario. something in years people may speak about -- it is certainly not good for ukraine. if russia would take more territories in stop and then try to install a pper government

for kind of like -- mike western and eastern germany during the cold war. [indiscernible] we got the scene as legitimate by most ukrainians who lived there. the best option for ukraine now is for a peace settlement to be reached as soon as possible. probably some very painful compromises. what the western countries like the united states and europe help at this moment, for example, giving ukraine a very clear prospect of new membership. because that would allow mr.

zelensky to claim victory of ukraine. he would say ukraine and only considered to the overwhelming force of russia, but also -- new membership that quite many ukrainians were protesting for since 2014. that would also mean more resources for ukraine. very important for state institutions. human rights situation. that would be a big improvement and also would be supported by the overwhelming majority of the ukrainian population, perhaps -- not compromise with russia. that would mean the peace settlements would be stable. juan: i wanted to ask you, there has been a lot of tension in the u.s. press, i was late, to the repression of the press in

russia and its reporting on the war and the repression of dissent. but in recent days, the ukrainian government has also been involved in some questionable moves. one, suspending of various political parties come opposition parties within ukraine, including the opposition platform for life, which i think has about 10% of the membership of their parliament? and also, the merging of all the national tv channels into one channel, decree by president zelensky supposedly forreating with the government because a unified information policy. what is your sense of these moves and how it squares with the democratic nature of ukraine? >> is not exactly merging the tv stations to broadcast one specific streaming that gives

like a pro-government position. that was to marginalize the criticism coming from the nationalist opposition of the government that started to criticize zelensky for probably accepting some concessions with ssia during the negotiations. about abandoning nato membership for ukraine. speaking about the suspension of the opposition parties, that actually -- it is not even speaking about democracy. it is not in democratic, but some would say during the time of war, you cannot have democracy so you just need to accept it. the problem is, even from a

security point of view, suspension of the parties is simply -- first, not all those parties actually in any sense of pro-russian. the irony is the leaders and the sponsors of the most relevant parties have actually condemned the war. they are contribute into the ukrainian defense specifically the opposition platform for life. recently called all the members to join ukrainian forces to defend the country. so the label pro-russian and ukraine since 2014 became a must meaningless because it does not mean the politician or person is essentially speaking pretty laws

or regulations between russia, but could be called pro-russian simply for acting on ukraine's nonalignment on neutrality, for a variety of positions that simply don't -- pro-western nationalist, leo -- neoliberal positions. but are not actually representing ukrainian society at large. yet understand how meaningless this label is. zelensky, the president himself, was widely attacked, pro-russian, although during the election campaign, his call for joining the e.u., for joining nato, very famous leader of ukraian nationalist a hero of ukraine. complete anti-russian

positions. nevertheless, a little bit alternative for poroshenko, he was attacked as pro-russian. it -- this label is meaningless. suspension of this party, that is not going to increase ukraine's security. because even those people in those parties who would may think about collaborating with russia or helping russian propaganda, they would do this outside of the structure. they would never, ever move russian money through the official accounts. what it actually leads to, that some of the loc organizations of the suspended parties, members of the local councils, mayors elected, active supporters occupied by the russian army, now start thinking

if they had been in ukraine, probably won't be allowed to continue their political activities probably they uld even face prosecution for their positions being members of those parties. it would actually increase chances of collaboration. this moment, it remains quite minimal. but any move that actually alienates -- ukrainian public 18% of voters voted for those parties these elections. it is not some marginal -- part of the ukrainian electorate. if you alienate them, actually are weakening the country. you help the enemy. amy: volodymyr ishchenko, i

would ask you about a part of the ukrainian national guard and if you fear that the massive number of weapons going in, that what is going on right now is actually strain than just strengthening them? it is out leaf racist, anti-semitic. you have first battalion commander saying ukraine's national purpose was to leave the white races of the world in a final crusade against sub humans. you have facebook allowing praise of neo-nazi ukrainian battalion leading into the war, but not allowing its coat of arms and other things to be shown or them to recruit. but because they have been so successful on the battlefield. i want to ask if you can explain who they are and also their role in mariupol? >> -- moderate some of his

position since the moment he entered politics. what you are quoting is coming even before 2014 when he left -- although it was definitely important part of the far right movement which is not just military units but also a political party of national corps -- line amy: we only have a minute and a half. >> sorry. situation as well. if you're sending weapons to ukraine, i'm not sure if there is any possibility to discriminate who these weapons are getting too. the problem is with russian

invasion, what are the outcomes is people like adolph would get probably even more power, even more notoriety in this war, specifically in the defense of mariupol. amy: are you concerned about this? >> i mean, there are many things you shoulde concerned right now. just one of the many, many, many other things -- most of ukrainians are primarily concerned now aut the shelling and bombing, rockets that may strike their homes and kill them all stop amy: volodymyr ishchenko, thank you for being with us.

we want to ask you to stay with us so we can do a post-show and post it on democracynow.org. volodymyr ishchenko is a ukrainian sociologist, and a research associate at the institute for east european studies at the free university of berlin. democracy now! has an immediate opening for a news writer producer. visit democracynow.org/jobs to find out more and apply.■■■■■■■ ú

(sophie fouron) this is japan. but people here don't call themselves japanese. it's okinawa, an island closer to taiwan than tokyo. there's something like a million and a half people here, and they're known to live longer than anyone else on the planet. there's a very strong american presence in okinawa. not only did the americans occupy the island after the second world war, they stayed. there's a very big military presence. the fact that these old enemies coexist on this tiny island, but coexist peacefully, says a lot about the people of okinawa.