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thwithholding of documents could have been damaging to the united states. amy: the pi search warrant reveals former president donald trump is being investigated for violating the espionage act. trump is calling the probe a hoax. threats of violent backlash against the fbi are growing across the country. we will speak with karen greenberg, author of "subtle tools: the dismantling of american democracy from the war on terror to donald trump." in one year ago today, the received email return to power in afghanistan, promising to bring stability after twoecades of war and u.s. occupation. the country now faces a great hunitarian crisis in a severe rollback on women's rights. >> we will raise our voices against every injustice until our last breath. we will stand against all the

tyranny imposed by the taliban on the people of afghanistan, especially on women of afghanistan. amy: we will get an update from afghan journalist zahra nader, editor-in-chief of zan times, documenting women's human rights abuses and afghanistan. then renowned author salman rushdie is in critical condition after being stabbed at least 10 times friday when he was about to speak at the institution in new york. we will hear from rushdie in his own word from 2004 speech on freedom of expression. >> will we become intolerant as our enemies are intolerant? or will we fight for different weapons, weapons of openness with acceptance and seeking to increase the dialogue? this is a big test. will we become, you could say, the suits of armor that our fear

makes us put on? amy: all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the top democrat and republican on the senate intelligence committee have made a joint request for lawmakers be allowed to see the classified documents seized last week by the fbi during its raid of former president donald trump's mar-a-lago estate. democrat mark warner and republican marco rubio made the request sunday to the justice department and the office of the director of national intelligence. on friday, the u.s. district court for the southern district of florida unsealed and released the search warrant for the raid. the warrant revealed trump is being investigated for three federal crimes -- violating the espionage act, obstruction of justice, and criminal handling of government records.

the fbi reportedly seized 11 sets of classified documents during its search, iluding papers marked "topecret/i," which ands for sensitive compartmented information, one of the highest levels of classification. last week, "the washington post" reported part of the fbi search focused on classified documents related to nuclear weapons. according to "the new york times," an attorney had signed a statement in june telling the justice department that all classified material had been returned. but investigators later learned that was not true. house speaker nancy pelosi addressed the raid on friday. >> there are laws against improper handling of this material. there are laws against that. and we have to recognize that. this information, as it is

coming across -- and we will know more later -- is highly classified, well above top secret. it is higher than top-secret because top-secret sei, it is about our national security. as we are told, and we will see. amy: donald trump's response to to the right has shifted day by day. he has called the probe a hoax. he has claimed to have declassified all of the documents at mar-a-lago. and he has demanded the fbi return some documents claiming they are protected by attorney-client and executive privilege. fallout from the fbi raid is continuing to grow across the country as republican lawmakers denounce the fbi, with florida senator rick scott comparing the agency to the gestapo in nazi germany. the fbi is investigating a "unprecedented" number of

threats against fbi agents over the past week. the fbi and the department of homeland security has also issued a joint intelligence bulletin warning of violent threats against federal agents, court officials, and government facilities. we will have more on this story after headlines. renowned indian-british novelist salman rushdie is in critical condition and faces a long road to recovery after he survived an assassination attempt friday morning in western new york. rushdie was being introduced to the audience at a literary event at the chautauqua institution when a man wielding a knife climbed onstage and began stabbing him. the attack left rushdie hospitalized with severed nerves in one arm, a punctured liver, and other injuries that left him on a ventilator overnight friday. rushdie's agent says he's likely to lose one eye as a result of the assault. 24-year-old hadi matar of new jersey was restrained by

audience members and later arrested. he was arraigned on saturday, where he pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon. prosecutors have not yet established a motive for the attack. salman rushdie is one of the most highly acclaimed writers in the world today. he was forced into hiding and lid underground for many years after the late ayatollah khomeini of iran issued a fatwa in 1989 calling on muslims to assassinate salman rushdie over his ok the satanic verses. the novel portrays the quran in an unconventional light and models one of its main characters on the muslim prophet muhammad. the fatwa was finally lifted in 1998. new york governor kathy hochul spoke sunday from the chautauqua institution. >> and those who are motivated to violence because of calls from foreign leaders, even

domestic leaders, calls for violence cannot be tolerated. and so we are going to continue. and i want it out there that a man with a knife cannot silence a man with a pen. amy: president biden is set a sign a sweeping $739 billion bill to address the climate crisis, reduce drug costs, and establish a 15% minimum tax for large corporations. on friday, the house passed the inflation reduction act on a party line vote of 220-207. no republicans supported the legislation. the white house released a video of biden praising the bill. pres. bin: the american ople argoingo see wer prcriptionrug prices, ler heth car costs, d lower ener costs. an bigorporatis are filly gog to art toay theirair share. those th are ping zero dollarin feder income t willow have to p a minum

ta anamerica wiltakehe most aggrsive actn we havever ken a confnting e imate crisiand strethening the new g security of america. amy: despite biden's high praise, many climate groups criticize the package for including major handouts to the fossil fuel industry -- which were added to win the support of conservative democratic west virginia senator joe manchin, who is the largest recipient of fossil fuel industry donations in congress. the center for biological diversity described the bill as a climate suicide pact. idaho's supreme court has signed off on a law outlawing nearly all forms of abortion. on friday, justices rejected lawsuits filed by abortion care providers who sought to stop idaho's so-called trigger law from taking effect later this month. the new law criminalizes abortions just six weeks into a pregnancy and makes it a felony to perform an abortion, with limited exceptions for cases of rape, incest, or medical emergency. idaho's abortion ban still faces

a legal challenge from the department of justice in a federal court. meanwhile, kansas' secretary of state has signed off on a hand recount of ballots cast on august 2, when voters rejected a referendum that would have removed reproductive rights from the kansas constitution. the recount was requested by a private citizen who has spread baseless conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. it will be paid for by antiabortion activists. the recount is unlikely to change the outcome of the election, which saw kansans affirm abortion rights by a 165,000-vote margin. china is warning the united states is "playing with fire on the taiwan question" after another u.s. congressional delegation made an unannounced trip sunday to taiwan to meet with the taiwanese president. democratic senator ed markey of massachusetts is leading the

delegation, which comes less than two weeks after house speaker nancy pelosi became the highest ranking u.s. official to visit taiwan in a quarter century. meanwhile, former u.s. secretary of state henry kissinger is warning about u.s. policy on taiwan and ukraine. in an interview with "the wall street journal," kissinger said -- "we are at the edge of war with russia and china on issues which we partly created, without any concept of how this is going to end or what it's supposed to lead to." in kabul, afghanistan, members of the taliban fired warning shots into the air and used rifle butts saturday to beat women protestersutside the headquarters of afghanistan's edation ministry. the women had been chanting "bread, work, and freedom." protesters were demanding the taliban end its ban on girls attending classes beyond the sixth grade, as well as a ban on women holding most government jobs or traveling alone. one year ago today, the taliban

took power of afghanistan. according to the united nations, 95% of afghans are going hungry, in a food crisis exacerbated by the biden administration's decision to freeze the afghan central bank's assets. this is dr. mohammad ashraf speaking from the packed malnutrition ward at a children's hospital in kabul. >> the fact that misery and poverty is increasing in our country day by day. the higher the poverty rates, the more malnutrition cases there are. i urge the international community and other assisting organizations to help the poor people, especially those suffering from malnutrition. amy: israeli forces have shot dead a 21-year-old palestinian man during a raid on his home earlier today in occupied east jerusalem. according to palestinian officials, mohammad ibrahim

shham was shot in the head at point blank range. in related news, the u.n. high commissioner for human rights michelle bachelet has expressed alarm over the number of palestinian children killed recently by israel. over the past 10 days, israeli forces have killed 19 palestinian children -- 17 in gaza and two in the occupied west bank. in a statement, bachelet said -- "inflicting hurt on any child during the course of conflict is deeply disturbing, and the killing and maiming of so many children this year is unconscionable." in northeastern spain, authorities ordered 1500 people in eight villages to evacuate their homes after a large wildfire exploded in size overnight saturday. it is spain's 43rd large wildfire of the year. this comes as firefighters from across europe are battling huge

fires in france were recent rains have helped bring some blazes under control. european forest fire information system reports record pace of wildfires this year with over 1.6 million acres burned. much of europe has faced record heat this summer with meteorologists warning the climate crisis could soon bring about the continents worst drought in more than 500 years. colombia's new president gustavo petro has named new commanders to head colombia's military and police as part of his push to bring peace to the country. petro, who is colombia's first ever leftist leader, said he picked commanders who had never been accused of human rights violations. >> the new commanders that will lead colombia's public forces are aligned with the human security politics goals w promised and that we want turn into a reality and evaluate

in due time to know about its effectiveness to guarantee peace, the guarantee of decrease in violenc and crime, th guarane of substantial rpect toward human rights, and citizens freedoms of every democracy should. amy: in other developments in colombia, president petro has taken steps to resume peace talks in cuba with the eln, colombia's largest remaining guerrilla group. meanwhile, colombia's new vice president frcia marquez mina was symbolically sworn in by indigenous and afro-colombian leaders in her hometown of suarez on saturday. marquez is colombia's first afro-colombian vice president. >> our commitment with peace is of most important commitment. think thchapter was created for the dishes people and afro colombian's and at the peace treaty signed by the government. i will be the persoin charge of ensuring the ethnic chapter for peace will remain. amy: and sundamarked the 10th anniversary of the disappearance

of austin tice, a freelance journalist and former u.s. marine who was abducted in syria on august 15, 2012. at the time, he was working as a freelance journalist covering syria's civil war. the mcclatchy news service recently reported secret negotiations have been taking place between the u.s. and syrian governments over his possible release. on sunday, austin tice's family spoke at the national press club in washington. this is his sister meagan tice. >> just reflecting on the last 10 years is amazing. i have two children who have never met my brother. we are so ready for him to come home. amy: and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. when we come back, we look at the fbi's search revealing former president donald trump is under investigation for violating the espionage act. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. a search warrant made public on

friday confirms federal agents removed top secret documents when they searched former president donald trump's mar-a-lago estate last week. the top democrat and republican on the senate intelligence committee had made a joint request for lawmakers to be allowed to review the classified documents seized by the fbi . democrat mark warner and republican marco rubio made the request sunday to the justice department and the office of the director of national intelligence. on friday, the u.s. district court for the southern district of florida unsealed and released the warrant signed by the federal magistrate judge who approved the raid. the warrant revealed trump is being investigated for three federal crimes -- violating the espionage act, obstruction of justice, and criminal handling of government records. the fbi reportedly seized 11 sets of classified documents during its search, including documents marked as "top secret/sci," which stands for sensitive compartmente

informatn, one of the hight levels of classification. last week, "the washington post" reported part of the fbi search focused on classified documents related to nuclear weapons. house speaker nancy pelosi addressed the raid friday. >> there are laws against the improper handling of this material. there are laws against that. and we have to recognize that. this information as it is coming across, and we will fill in more later, is highly classified. well above top secret. it is, again, higher than top-secret because it is top-secret sci. it is about our national security as we are told and we will see. amy: donald trump's response to the search of his mar-a-lago estate has shifted day by day as

more information comes to light. he has called the probe a hoax. he has claimed to have declassified all of the documents at mar-a-lago. and he has demanded the fbi returned some documents, claiming they are protected by attorney-client and executive privileges. meanwhile, backlash against the fbi, especially online, is growing across the country following the raid targeting trump. cnn reports the fbi is investigating an unprecedented number of threats against fbi agents and property over the past week. the fbi and the department of homelandecurity has also issued a joint intelligence bulletin warning of violent threats against federal agents, court officials, and government faciliti. last week the cincinnati fbi office was attacked. republican senator rand paul of kentucky tweeted -- "the espionage act was abused from the beginning to jail dissenters of wwi. it is long past time to repeal this egregious affront to the 1st amendment." again, those words of rand paul.

for more, we're joined by karen greenberg, director of the center on national security at fordham university school of law, author of the books "subtle tools: the dismantling of american democracy from the war on terror to donald trump" and "rogue justice: the making of the security state." welcome back to democracy now! it is great to have you with us, caring. if you could start off by talking about this charge, the investigation of espionage against former president trump and how significant it is? >> i think it is very significant. i think symbolically as well as legally. the amendment act -- espionage act raises crimes against the country to national defense. this part referred to in the warrant is not the part about spying at about the handling of national information gathering, transmitting [indiscernible] it is illegal to remove

documents from their proper place, the national archives, if they pose a threat to national security. that is the charge that gets all the headlines that was leveled against the president but there are steps suspected is the president but there are two other issues here. they carry higher charges and are very important. one is the crimin handling government records. it is a prison sentence that could be up to 20 years. this is the obstruction of justice charge that is referred to. finally, there's the potential charge of making illegal the destruction of government documents. it is used in the recent past with petraeus and allegations of otrs but petraeus is the name that comes to mind.

these are incredibly serious charges, not just in the espionage front but other possible charges. he has not been charged. the warrant -- justifies the search legally. we will see what happens. again, he has not been charged but this is what they're looking for in the documents they took away. remember, some of the documts were reported to be classified. we will see what happens. amy: let's talk about the espionage act. we have seen it invoked against edward snowden, julian assange, ellery -- reality winner. now you see those on the right raising these issues. >> right. this is sort ofistory turning itself on its head. obama used the espiona act to

go against whistleblower successfully more than any other president in u.s. history. but the espionage act started in world war i and was used primarily at the time to prosecute successfully those who opposed the world war i. it is been used during the mccarthy era and tried used against daniel ellsberg with the pentagon papers will stop a long history of not really being about what it is being used for now, which is the abuse of power. this is the suspicion. the abuse of power at the absolute highest level of government to harm the country. as opposed to these prior instances referred to which work people who were trying to leak information in order to bring to light some things they thought and others thought were things

the government should not be doing. and so the difference between dense and the use of espionage to prosecute defense and the abuse of power in a way that potentially harms national security, i would argu are two different things. again, i think the country needs to have a discussion about this but right now we need to handle what happened, wh those documents were about -- if we can find out -- and what this president was intending, the former president was intending by holding onto these documents. amy: and the issue they might be connected to nuclear secrets, what that means? >> that means a number of things. one, it obviously is one of the scarier things you could be worried about iterms of holding on to classified information. it also means, though, went to the guilt of the former present and what he did is

that the president claimed he can declassify information -- we think this will be part of what is said by his defense team -- and that you could take a magic wand and declassified things. when it comes to nuclear issues and nucleaweapons, that is not -- first of all, it is not the case anyway without going through a series of procedures and conversations and document by document removal of these from a large cash that you're going to turn over to the national archives. but when it comes to nuclear issues, it is a different standard in the president does not have the right to do this the way he is claiming, in this is regulate about the atomic energy act. it is rather significant that it has been mentioned and recorded this may pertain to some nuclear issues. amy: let's go to what trump and his supporters are finding that trump used his presidential authority to declassify all the

documents in question before leaving office. this is republican senator of south dakota speaking on "meet the press." >> constitutionally, i believe in 1988, there was a supreme court decision, as navy versus egan in which they actually talked about whether or not a president could classify and declassify. it never really has been litigated but it appears a president can classify or perhaps declassify information. if that is the case, then the question would be, and i think it will be looked at as it moves forward, whether or not that was completed while the president was in the white house at that time. amy: this is very interesting and john bolton, the national security adviser, he was never told things were blake atlee declassified -- blanketly declassified.

>> you can sort of understand from the former president's point of view why he would want to say that because it gets him out of the more serious charges aboutishandling classified documents -- which brings very high charges. so i understand the point of view of the defense, but it is not accurate. when you declassify a document, if you want to declassify a document and your president, their ocedures, rules, conversations, there should be a record of that getting to the point about willful misuse of records within the presidency. and we don't know whether there will be something in what they took from mar-a-lago last week, whether there will be something that shows documents that with your procedures to be declassified. it is not just a carte blanche on declassified all set of information. this is a scrutinized distinction about what should be

declassified and what wasn't. we have to see what those conversations were, if they took place, whether there is a record. to this point, we haven't seen that. amy: can you talk about the verbal attacks on the fbi and the justice department, on trump and his allies? the attorney who represents whistleblowers tweeted -- "trump, via breitbart, released unredacted copy of property receipt containing names of fbi agents. based on his history, this can only be interpreted as intentional to cause these special agents and their families grief and subject them to possible threats." your response, karen greenberg? >> my response is that this is just a replay on a different level in a different arena of january 6. this is the call for violence on behalf of the former president and his treatment this time under the law.

and it is a convergence of many things that have been going on inhis couny for a long time. so we now know the narrative, we see how it plays out, and it is very serious and dangerous. this is a pivotal moment. either as a country we note and had to handle such threats or we don't. and that includes how weeks apply the espionage act,ow we protect our law enforcement, and this is a pivotaloment and it matters how this is resolved. it just can't keep going on that the use of the court, the use of the law, the reliance on the rule of law is countered by violence for those who refuse to accept it. amy: what about "the new york times" reporting a trump lawyer have written to the justice department saying all classified documents have been handed over when in fact it is clear they had not? >> again, this goes to

something we have been seeing throughout the january 6 investigation and elsewhere, which is sort of a willful use of if you want to call it disinformation, of lying, of distorting the record. it is going to take a long time to put together this story of what actually went on with the documents that were kept at mar-a-lago. it is partf a larger story, which is what went on inside the trump administration, what is fact and fiction, and what that means. this is one of the most important thing abouthese records that we have minimized because we are thinkingbout the guilt or innocence of the foer president, which is we preserve records for reason. we preserve them so we can understand guilt or innocence but also preserve them so we know what happened in our country, so we have this historical record, so we know how to go forward should we decide to take steps toward adulation that will prevent this from happening again in the future. it is not a minor point.

we're going to need it pay attention. amy: what about many commentators needing -- noting the loss in the warrant do not yield classification? this would be sort of undercut trump's arguments around classification or whether they were declassified. >> yes and no. do classification issue is going to comep we think in any kind of investigation going forward. you could try to separate it out but when you're talking about national defense information, whether or not it was classified , it is ing to make a difference in the their classified document, whether or not they go after it on that specific point -- which i think they will -- is what is involved with the issue of did he do things that could have potentially harmed nional security? so the classification issue just sheds a brighter light on that basic issue, fundamental issue.

amy: as we wrap up, karen greenberg, what are you most interested in finding out and are you concerned about an overall backlash? >> i am always concerned about an overall backlash. i don't think we can worry about it. i think we have to go forward and really find out what happened. when you ask about what is utmost concern, we need know what these documents were -- and we aren't gog to know all of this. some will have to be classified. but essentially, what these documents were, what countries -- if any other countries were involved or named in these documents, what the documents adess. and we really need to understand -- try to understand what former president trump intended to do with this materia why he kept it most was it to cover up crimes in the past? worries about -- allegations

that address the past or was it information that weaponized other purpes? we have no idea. this is what we need to know in the coming days. amy: karen greenberg, thank you for being with us, director of the center on national security at fordham university school of law. her most recent book "subtle , tools: the dismantling of american democracy from the war on terror to donald trump." when we come back, one year ago today the taliban returned to power in afghanistan, promising to bring stability after two decades of work and occupation. we will get an update from afghan journalist zahra nader editor and chief of zan times, running a new women-led outlet. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. today, august 15, marks the

first anniversary of the return of the taliban to power in afghanistan. the taliban government promised peace and stability to a country racked by two decades of war and u.s. occupation. but afghanistan is now instead facing a grave humanitarian crisis. perhaps the worst in the world. according to the united nations, nearly 95% of afghans are going hungry. this is the mother of a 10-month-old child suffering severe malnutrition. >> we feel depressed. myself, father, his sisters, we feel very sad. my husband said he wanted to go to iran to look for work because he because ashamed he could not afford to buy medicine or milk. he sd, my son is dying in front of my eyes but i'm not capable of doing anything. amy: this comes as women now reportedly face harsher restrictions in afghanistan than anywhere else in the world. a piece published in the zan

times, a new women-led outlet documenting human rights issues in afghanistan, reflects on one year since the taliban seized control. "as we write this, an estimated 20 million girls and women have lost their human rights under a 'mullahcracy' that believes in the inherent superiority of one sex over all others, determined to institutionalize rabid, violent sexism. in their second week in power, they ordered women to stay home. in their second month in power, they banned teenage girls from schools, dismantled all systems of support for women and girls, forbade their protests and denied their rights to social and political participation. in their fourth month, they denounced the autonomy of all women and girls, including the right to travel unless accompanied by a close male relative. eight months into their rule, women and girls lost the right to choose their clothes and were ordered to cover their faces in public." despite the repressions and violence, afghan women have continued to protest for their

rights. this is an afghan women's rights advocate. >> we will raise our voices against every injustice until our last breath step we will stand against all the any opposed by the taliban on the people of afghanistan, especially on women of afghanistan. amy: under the taliban's rule, most afghan girls can no longer attend secondary schools. this is an afghan university student. >> all the girls schools are van. we have not studied for one year and this is hard. we demand the taliban to allow us to continue our education and resume our studies next year. and the other change i see is a weaker economy of the country. amy: this comes as lgbtq people in afghanistan have also faced growing violence and targeting since the taliban took over the country. human rights watch documented some of their stories in a report published in january.

>> we re taken ay byen. they told him anytime you want to be able -- [indiscernible] amy: for more, we are joined in toronto by zahra nader, a freelance afghan journalist who was formerly a reporter for "the new york times" in kabul and is now based in toronto.

she is the editor-in-chief of zan times, a new women-led outlet documenting human rights issues in afghanistan. welcome back to democracy now! your reflections on this first anniversary of the taliban taking -- gaining power in afghanistan after two years of u.s. war and occupation? >> thank you, amy, for giving me this opportunity to be here and talk about the anniversary. now we know this is 365 days women and girls and afghanistan have lost the right to basically be human, participating in society, and having their basic human rights. and this is not only the situation of women because mostly when we think about the taliban, we ignore the situation is not only the hardship the taliban are bringing on the

whole of the country. that is why we did this story. started talking to different people in different walks of life, asking them, how was your year? how has the past year? we felt everybody is desperate and men and women are feeling hopeless, feeling desperate, and see noope for the future if the taliban is going to stay in power. that is because the taliban are very narrowminded, a ruling as a mullahcracy. they believe mullahs are basically representative of god and the earth and 2000 people should basically run their life and even -- they should do it. as you said in your report, more than half of afghans facing hunger. this is directly from the

actions of the taliban. women are half the population. when they cannot function in the economy, then they could not participate, half of the economy, half of society is paralyzed. and how the other half can really function? for example, we talked to a woman who said when the taliban asking women to not go out without a man around, they are asking men to not go to work having to accompany their wives or sisters or mother's outside. and how the economy can function like this when there is no jobs and people cannot earn a living? amy: can you talk about the u.s. war and occupation and how that relates to what we're seeing today with the taliban crackdown? >> i think that is a very good question because then we talked

about the u.s. it seems it has been framed we are asking the u.s. to stay in afghanistan or support the human rights of women in afghanistan. but you have to look back at history that we did not get here alone. what we are living is not a making of her own. we did not make these decisions to live under the taliban. it was the u.s. and allies that sort of bring us to where we are today. if you look back in the 1980's when we had the russian occupation -- sorry, the soviet occupation in afghanistan, at that time there was a cold war and the u.s. and its allies supporting the fundamentalist in power and giving them money. when russia left afghanistan and the u.s. and its allies also left afghanistan and the extremists, the islamist,

fundamentalist that they brought to power, that they give money, they dominate our society and they become the ones ruling society for the past four decades. what we're seeing today is the remaining of that history. we are living that history. and once again we are repeatedly -- history is being repeated for afghan people. the problem is that, unfortunately, we were not the ones making this decision. the situation we are seeing is not of our own making. the people of afghanistan did not make this decision. they d not choose the taliban. amy: how did you end up in canada and how is your family doing, if you want to address that? >> when i came here earlier, like five years ago i came to canada, i have a son and -- when

i grew up, i grew up in afghanistan. the first time taliban was around, i was a child, i was a refugee in iran. that experience was very harsh, because i was not able to go to school. i still carry that trauma when i remember how i was deprived of the right of education. that is why i burn inside to ceilings of girls in afghanistan are not allowed to be able to get an education, a basic human right. i came to canada to give my son that chancebecause afghanistan was becoming more insecure by day. i was pursuing a phd in women studies and history. as i looked at afghanistan paul to the taliban, i was not able to pull myself together. we were all in shock. i was planning to return to afghanistan and teach at kabul

university. that was my plan for the future. now i see, like millions of other people whose hope for the future is gone under the taliban . this is not the situation we chose. my family and everybody and afghanistan and everybody has -- are affected by the situation. they are very desperate. the reason when you are a journalist, you stick out -- speak out against the taliban's atrocities, you fear the taliban is on your back. journalist or speaking outcome activists, and women protesters come all of them, the families, everybody is in danger. but we have to try our best. we have to try to speak our truth, to be able to sayhat we want, and that is right for everybody else.

we want a future that we can be able to have all the human rights that we deserve. and this is not the situation that we deserve. people of afghanistan do not deserve the situation. amy: i want to turn to an excerpt from a newly released undercover by a british-iranian documentary produce and pbs frontline correspondent ramita navai. she went to afghanistan and spoke to women who said they were being punished by taliban regime for "moral crimes" or traveling while not accompanied by male chaperones. ramita navai also questioned the deputy spokesman for afghanistan's taliban-run government, bilal karimi. >> i have spoken to young women who told me when they were arrested, taliban officers used tasers to electrocute them. >> many people may make such a claim, however, they may have

other motors -- motives. >> i've also spoken former female prisoners who said some were told if they married, they would be released. liu investigate that? >> i won't comment on that. it is completely basis. >> i've spoken to some families who to me -- amy: that is the deputy spokesperson for afghanistan's taliban government bilal karimi.

speaking in a pbs document recall " afghanistan undercover." zahra nader, your response? >> the taliban, they never accept the truth. for the past year, several, several dozens of reports like you and human rights watch. the taliban responses, this is not true. the only thing they want to say is they want the whole world who believe the taliban are telling the truth and everybody else is trying to lie. i want to very much emphasize that whatever the taliban are saying is not acceptable. we know, this has been documented for very long and if we continue to give platform to the taliban to speak their source of taking part in the

operation of women and afghanistan because we know the taliban are actively, systematically erasing women from society, and if we give them a platform, it means we are ignoring the voices of the women who are telling that the taliban are suppressing them, the taliban are forcibly disappearing, the taliban are killing them and there are 70 atrocities happening in the country. but since the media and the news, the journalists are under suppression, it is very, very hard to document most of those criminal terrorist activities. and also we can see in the video, the documentary produce for pbs, it has documented very rare scenes that we have never really seen. as you say come the taliban claim these are not true because the taliban do not want anybody to see but we know even the taliban early february, the taliban abducted women from

their homes and released the video saying the taliban are behind it, are objecting -- spokesman came on the air in the bbc and other places saying those are lies, that they did not object these women. it later the same taliban issued -- we see the taliban always lie. amy: before we end, i want to ask you about the astonishing figure of 95% of the afghan population is hungry right now and what you think needs to be done? >> i think what needs to be done is put pressure on the taliban. because what is causing the situation, the taliban is the real cause of what we're seeing

and afghanistan. they basically do not allow the economy, the society to function. when you do not allow women to take part in society, when you minimize what men can do -- for example, industries are close. how society can function when part of -- half of society, half the population can't function at all and the rest of the society and economy is sanctioned what the taliban believes society should be and how society and people should act, i think that is a cause. we need more international attention from international sanction on the taliban to force them to accept, reverse this inhumane laws. otherwise, people of afghanistan continue to suffer under the taliban. amy: zahra nader, inc. you for being with us, freelance afghan journalist who was formerly a reporter for "the new york times" in kabul and is now based in toronto. she is the editor-in-chief of zan times, a new women-led outlet documenting human rights issues in afghanistan.

this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. as we ended the show today with the words of the acclaimed novelist salman rushdie, anti-british writer, and a critical condition after he survived an assassination attempt on friday, he was knifed 10 times at least as he was about to speak at a literary event when a man wielding a knife climbed on stage and began stabbing him. the attack left him hospitalized with severed nerves under one arm, puncture liver, other injuries that left him on a ventilator overnight. his agent says he is likely to lose an eye as a result of the assault. 24-year-old hadi matar was

arrested. salman rushdie is one of the most highly acclaimed writers in world, lived underground for many years. this double returning the koran in an unconventional light modeling one of its major characters. the fatwa was finally lifted in 1998. salman rushdie's former president of pen america which supports persecuted writers worldwide. we ended today show with him in his own words in a rare speech he gave in 2004 on the freedom of expression at an event hosted by pen america. >> terrorism does exist. in this city of all cities, we know that. we know what when it exist, what it exists to do, what it has done, what it tries to do. we know it exists and must be fought. i don't think any of us would question that.

how we fight it in my view is going to be the great civilizational test of our time. will we become our enemy or not? will we become repressive as our enemy is repressive. will we become intolerant as our enemy is intolerant? or will we not? will we fight with different weapons, weapons of openness and acceptance and seeking to increase the dialogue between peoples rather than decrease it. this is a big test. will we become, you could say, the suits of armor that our fear makes us put on, or will we not? it seems to us, to pen, to many of us in the last month that we are not passing this test very well. and that there are serious reasons to say that there is a crisis in this country of civil

liberties, freedom of speech and human rights, of exactly the kind that pen has spent over 80 years protesting about when it happens in other countries. it's exactly the things that -- not exactly, because nothing, no power is ever exact, but the kind of things that we have tried to highlight, whether it was in cuba or burma or iran or china -- those sorts of problems are beginning to crop up here. problems of what it is possible to say without being in trouble. what is it possible to have access to the information media, to talk about. the tones which it is possible to talk about these things when one does have access to the news media. the way in which the government is becoming increasingly intrusive into areas of our lives which the government has no business to go into. what books we read. what shops we go to. what books we borrow from universities. what do we think about. that is -- this gets very close

to the thought police, and it something which is not acceptable in a free society. amy: that a salman rushdie speaking in 2004. he concluded the evening by reading from the works of others. >> finally from former president , he said to us, the briefest contribution of anybody. from john dos passos in usa. all right then, we are two nations. however, i also wanted to read from -- [laughter] [applause] what norman said in the interview that is in the current issue of "the new york" magazine he had a conversation with his son, and this is how it ends. norman writes, or says, "wisdom is ready to reach us from the most unexpected quarters. here i quote from a man who

became wise, a little too late in life. 'naturally, the common people don't want war. but after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it is always the simple matter to drag the people along whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or parliament or communist dictatorship. voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. this is easy. all you have to do is tell them that they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. it works the same in every country.' that was herman goering speaking at the nuremburg trials after world war ii. it is one thing to be forewarned. will we ever be fore-armed?" thank you. amy: salman rushdie speaking in

2004 at a pen america city event in new york. on friday, he was stabbed at least 10 times. he is now in critical condition after that assassination attempt. that does it for our show. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]ñcñcñcñc

... dave severin: give me a "c." all: c. dave: give me an "o." all: o. eric campbell: from europe to the us, coal is under fire. dave: what's it spell? all: coal! eric: environmentalists are circling. mines and power plants are closing. even big corporations say it's not worth the trouble. josé rodriguez: we used to make money with coal, but this is not happening anymore. eric: are these the dying days for coal? and what's going to happen to mining communities? we're going to the coalface to find out.