09/09/22 09/09/22 aptioning made posble by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> the death of her majesty the queen is a huge shock to the nation and the world. queen elizabeth ii was the rock of which modern britain was built. amy: queen elizabeth ii has died at the age of 96. 70 years after she took the throne. we will look at her life and

legacy of britain's longest serving monarch british journalist ash sarker, harvard professor who just wrote a piece in "the new york times" "mourn the queen, not her empire," and priya gopal, author of "insurgent empire: anticolonial resistance & british dissent." >> the passing of een elizabeth ii is a solemn moment. as we mark this historic occasion, the time have come to reflect on the institution she was part of, the british monarchy and enormous wealth, privilege, power, and inequality that it represents. amy: railing in washington to protest the mountain valley pipeline and legislation to fast-track fossil fuel projects.

>> the voices and sources of people gathered here today say more than no sacrifice zones. we say let us live and let us thrive. amy: all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. southern california is bracing for torrential rainfall as tropical storm kay packed winds of up to 70 miles per hour, expected to bring up to a years worth of precipitation but instead of relief from historic drought, officials are warning of dangerous flash floods and high winds that could affect region wildfires. over the past week, the u.s. has broken nearly 1000 temperature records, with excessive heat alerts affecting some 42 million people. in china, forecasters predict above average amateurs will

continue to the end of the month after china recorded its hottest august on record. in europe, officials say the summer right as the hottest on record, surpassing previous record set last year. researchers in greenland say the arctic territory experienced its largest september melt event on record, one typically only seen during peak summer months. this comes after a new report from climate central on rising sea levels could flood or than 4.4 million acres of u.s. coastline by mid century with some 650,000 privately held properties set to fall below title boundaries. hundreds of climate protesters rallied in washington, d.c., thursday to demand lawmakers reject changes to how the federal government grants permits for oil anand gas projects. they say the proposed reforms would weaken environmental laws, limit court challenges to oil and gas projects, and clear the way for new pipelines, including proposed non-valley tract gas

pipeline in west virginia. chuck schumer said he agreed to the permitting reforms to win the support of west virginia democratic senator joe manchin for their inflation reduction act, president biden has called the biggest step forward on climate ever. on thursday, the white house said it supports the reforms. bernie sanders took to the senate floor to condemn what he called senator manchin's dirty side deal. >> can listen to the fossil fuel industry and the politicians they take for spending huge amounts of money on lobbying and campaign contributions to pass this dirty side deal. all week -- or we can listen to the scientists and the environment of community who are telling us loudly and clearly to reject this ideal and eliminate the 15 million in tax breaks and subsidies congress is already

providing to big oil and gas companies each and every year. amy: ukraine's government says it has made significant progress in a counter-offensive aimed at retaking ground seized by russia. on thursday, president volodymyr zelenskyy said ukrainian forces had liberated more than a thousand square kilometers of territory since the start of september. zelenskyy made the remarks from kyiv thursday eveng after u.s. secretary of state antony blinken pledged to support ukraine for "as long as it takes." blinken was in uaine's capital on an unannounced visit, where he touted the latest tranche of u.s. military aid to ukraine, nearly $2.7 billion. >> we also notified our congress of our intent to provide ukraine with an additional $1 billion in what we call foreign military financing. this is for longer-term acquisition of systems. we are also providing $1 billion additional and financing for european allies and partners who haveeen doing so much to support ukraine.

amy: on monday, a coalition of peace activists will kick off a nationwide week of action on ukraine, demanding a ceasefire and diplomatic solutions to the crisis. codepink co-founder medea benjamin said in a statement -- "the white house and congress are fueling this war with a steady stream of weapons instead of pushing for talks to end the conflict. that's why we, the people, have to rise up with a demand of negotiations, not escalation." elizabeth ii, the queen of the united kingdom and other -- the british commonwealth, died thursday at the age of 96. elizabeth held the british throne for seven decades, second only to louis the 14th of france as the longest-reigning monarch in history. her son charles has now become britain's new king, taking the name of king charles iii. the queen's death punted tributes from british allies across the globe, including president biden,hile former british colonies have used her death to call on the u.k. to make amends for its colonial

crimes. we'll have more on the life and legacy of elizabeth ii after headlines. britain's new prime minister liz truss said thursday she is lifting a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, that's been in effect since 2019. truss said it's part of a larger plan to increase domestic oil and gas development, aimed at lowering energy costs across the u.k. >> we will end the moratorium of shale which could get back flowing as soon as six months when there is local support for it. amy: the plan was swiftly condemned by environmentalists, climate campaigners, and some opposition members of parliament. the civil disobedience group extinction rebellion promised more confrontational actions like blockades. one activist told the guardian -- "we will pull out all the stops. and this time we won't settle for a moratorium either. we're just going to keep on hammering this until we get the proper ban on fracking."

south carolina senate has failed to pass a total ban on abortion that would have prohibited the procedure without exceptions for rape or incest. but lawmakers approved more restrictions to its existing state law, which bans abortion after six weeks of pregnancy. that law is currently blocked by the south carolina supreme court due to ongoing litigation. the south carolina senate has proposed reducing the time rape and incest survivors have to se an abortion from 20 to 12 weeks. in related news, the michigan supreme court is allowing voters to decide in november whether to enshrine abortion rights to the state constitution. the ballot initiative gathered over 700,000 signatures in support. this comes after a judge on wednesday struck down a 1931 michigan anti-abortion law that prohibited the procedure unless the pregnant person's life was at risk. the justice department said thursday it will appeal a federal judge's decision to appoint a special master to

review whether the fbi properly seized documents from trump's mar-a-lago home. the appeal comes after u.s. district court judge aileen cannon order the justice dertnt to ha its revw of thousas of claified docunts recored by ants executg a sear warrantt trp's me on aust 8. many othe docunts were maed "top secret." judge cannon was nominated to the u.s. district court for the southern district of florida in 2020 by then-president donald trump. her ruling this week led for calls of her impeachment. slate magazine legal writer mark joseph stern tweeted -- "the problem, of course, is that cannon is not a real judge, but a trump judge, and one of the most corrupt of the bunch." donald trump's former white house political adviser steve bannon has surrendered to police in new york where he faces state charges he defrauded donors to an anti-immigrant nonprofit called we build the wall. bannon was first charged by

federal prosecutors in 2020 but received a pardon from donald trump ahead of his trial. two of bannon's co-defendants later pleaded guilty to the federal charges. new york attorney general letitia james announced the new state charges thursday, saying bannon illegally pocketed donations that were given to fund sections of a barrier wall to be built along the u.s.-mexico border. >> he basically stole millions of dollars to line his own pockets. and those of other politically connected people. today he and we build the wall are being charged for defrauding these donors out of more than $15 million and for laundering the proceeds to further advance and conceal the fraud. amy: a democratic national committee panel has rejected a proposal to ban dark money funding "during any and all democratic primary elections." the resolution led by nevada

democratic party chair judith whitmer, would have also established procedures to investigate dark money groups and discipline dnc members for acpting donations from anymous dono. the rejection comes after dark moneflooded democratic primary races across the country this year targeting progressive candidates seeking to challenge democratic incumbents. public health experts are hailing a new malaria vaccine after it showed 80% efficacy at preventing the disease in a clinical trial of children in burkina faso. the vaccine was produced by researchers at the university of oxford, who published their results in the british medical journal the lancet this week. the vaccine is relatively cheap and easy to produce, and the world's largest vaccine manufacturer, the serum institute of india, says it can produce at least 200 million doses annually. malaria is among the world's deadliest infectious diseases, and the mosquito that carries it has been described as the world's deadliest animal. in 2020, more than 640,000

people died of malaria, the vast majority of them in africa. north korea's leader pledged thursday his nation will never give up nuclear weapons as it seeks to counter u.s. hegemony. -- to counter that threat of the u.s. arsenal. kim jong-un made the comments at a gathering of north korea's parliament, where members on thursday approved a new law allowing north korea to carry out a preventive nuclear first strike, while declaring the nation's nuclear-armed status irreversible. >> as long as imperialism remains and follows against republic are not terminated, our work to strengthen nuclear force will not cease. amy: and hundreds of google and amazon tech workers are demandinthe corpations dp a $1.2illion pgram kno as project nius, whicwill providadvanced artifial telligen toolso th israelgovernme and milary.

the #nothforapareid campgn led protests thursdain new rk, n francisco, seattle, andurh, north rolina. thiss ariel koren, a jish googlemployee o says s was foed to qu due to r acvism a supportf pastinian ghts. >> over 10 google workers will now be going public with their names to denounce project nimbus and say workers say no tech for apartheid. amy: you can see our interview with her at democracynow.org. and those are some of the headlines. when we come back, queen elizabeth ii has died at the age of 96, 70 years after she took the throne. we will look at her life and legacy. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we begin today's show looking at the life and legacy of queen elizabeth ii, who died thursday at the age 96. she spent 70 years on the throne, longer than any other british monarch. her son charles has now become britain's new king, taking the name of king charles iii. in a statement thursday, king charles said -- "we mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished sovereign and a much-loved mother. i know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the realms and the commonwealth, and by countless people around the

world." queen elizabeth was coronated in 1953, less than a decade after the end of world war ii. her last public appearance was on tuesday when she formally appointed liz truss to be britain's new prime minister. truss was the 15th prime minister to serve under the queen. truss spoke on thursday after buckingham palace announced the queen's death. >> it is a day of great loss that queen elizabeth ii leaves a great legacy. today the crown passes, as it has done for more than 1000 years, to our new monarch, our new head of state, his majesty king charles iii. with the kings family, we mourn the loss of his mother and as we mourn, we must come together as a people to support him, to help him bear the awesome responsibility that he now carries for us all. we offer him our loyalty and devotion, just as his mother devoted so much to so many for so long.

amy: across the world, nations paid tribute to the queen. in a statement, president biden described the queen as a "a stateswoman of unmatched dignity and constancy who deepened the bedrock alliance between the united kingdom and the united ates." on thursday, he signed a condolence book at the british embassy in washington, d.c., and spoke briefly about the queen. pres. biden: i had the upper unity to meet her and she is incredibly decent woman. our thoughts and prayers are with the people of the united kingdom and the commonwealth. amy: the death of queen elizabeth has also led to new calls for britain to make amends for its colonial era crimes. carnegie mellon professor uju anya made headlines thursday for her sharp criticism of the queen. the nigerian-born professor wrote -- "if anyone expects me to express anything but disdain for the monarch who supervised a government that sponsored the genocide that massacred and displaced half my family and the

consequences of which those alive today are still trying to overcome, you can keep wishing upon a star." in a separate tweet, professor uju anya wrote -- "i heard the chief monarch of a thieving raping genocidal empire is finally dying. may her pain be excruciating." twitter removed her tweet. birmingham city university professor kehinde andrews, who is of british african-caribbean heritage, also reflected thursday on the queen's legacy. >> i guess it depends what you think a good job of being queen is. if it is to represent white supremacy and colonialism, then yeah. if you look at the royal family institution, it is still very strong, weathered heavy storms including prince andrew. had she kept the image of the royal family very established,

that think she's done a good job. amy: to talk more about the death of queen elizabeth ii and the future of the british monarchy, we're joined by british journalist ash sarker, harvard professor maya jasanoff whose new york times guest essay is headlined "warn the queen, not her empire," and university of cambridge professor priya gopal, author of "insurgent empire: anticolonial resistance & british dissent." we welcome you all to democracy now! professor go paul, let's begin with you. your thoughts on the death of the longest-reigning british monarch, queen elizabeth ii? >> it is the end of a long eventful rich life of the person who had a ringside seat at many important global events. find myself appreciating the circumstances under which she

passed. she was in secure shelter and a place she loved. i am glad for that. i do wonder whether given the stakes that were -- which is a state of crisis, whether many british [indiscernible] i think many people will be [indiscernible] certainly without access to good medical care. in a country where the monarchy really has come to represent

profound and grave inequality. one to be a problem in the months to come. mako ash sarker, you are in london come a journalist, contributing editor at media. what is your response to the death and legacy of quee elizabeth? >> i suppose my personal sponse is one of curiosity. there are a few moments that are truly historic. the death of britain's longest-reigning monarch is definitely historic. we tend to measure by kings and queens rather than other things that may be going on politically. it is prettyentral to our national finh. one thing to explain for

american viewers is how top-down and craig graphed theational morning is -- choreographed is whenhe mourning is. when princess diana die it was a bottom-up outpouring of grief. people spontaneously let flowers outside buckingham palace. rprised i the emotional response offeredp by the couny. when the queen dies, it is a different thing. the bbc immediately changes its programming so there will be no comedies being scheduled between now and the funeral. even the music on the radio changes to more somber playlists. television presenters are dressed in black. even though this is something which is directed by either the government or royal protocol, public sentiment like football matches are being suspended. one of the really critical things is that parliamentary business is also suspended.

one of the things that priya mentioned is we are in the middle of this crisis. energy bills are out of control. parliament will be suspended perhaps seven days, perhaps for 10. to pending on how those days are calculated, whether it is business days or calendar days, it could mean the opptunityo pass the legislation needed to control energy prices, that window of opportunity closes. the government will be negotiating with the palace in order to try to make thtime to pass that legislation. i think very few people would consider it an ideal political system where an elected vernment effectively has to haggle with the institution of throyal family, the institution of the palaces in order to get vital government business done.

amy: professor maya jasanoff, you wrote this piece in "the new york times" with the headline being "mourn the queen, not her empire." talk about the queen and the empire. >> the queen was born into a world that looked tragically different in certain ways from the ones that she departed yesterday. she was born in 1926 at a time when something in the order of 105, will -- when she became queen in 1952, the prime minister was winston churchill. the leaders of the u.s. and china, these were figures who were associated now in our minds

with a banish europe and the queen long-lived them. the empire partially disintegrated under her tenure on the tone. survived well into the 21st century. i find myself reflecting on this occasion [indiscnible] the fact she was still with us into this radically new world i find sort of moment of

reflection on what kind of visions people have for order. this is an important moment for trying to think through what a new vision might look like in a period obviously of both national crisis for the u.k. in many ways of climate change. amy: at the issue of many commentators -- not only british media that is only covering this, the u.s. media, especially the cable channels, are almost exclusively just the queen step. one of the commentators, she was deeply knowledgeable about foreign policy, which goes to

the issue of the british empire. what we should understand about the 20th century. we will start with professor maya jasanoff and then priya gopal. >> the queen and her role of monarch, she was never [indiscernible] she did preside over the consolidation and massive expansion of the commonwealth into whichost of the former british colonies were assimilated. [indiscernible] she presumably undertook this out of the idea she is sustaining vals of members of her class long associated with

their imperial rule, for ample, the sense of constitutionalism, human rights, and so on. she falls in perfectly -- was involved [indiscernible] it is also really important to note the commonwealth -- when the colony chose to break away from them. to the extent of the queen's kind of leans into that role, she was part and parc of the perpetuation of annapolis that carried on deep into the 20th ceury. another quick point i would make, the queen has -- had these weekly members with only her prime ministers. many of those prime ministers

have commented, as you say, how knowledgeable she was and so on. it is interesting this is the part of the government business of u.k. that is not on the record at all. although the power of the monarchy, this rather negligible in terms of their expcit ability to dictate policy and so on, but the ft every single week the prime minister has an audience with the queen that is not monitored or documented or anything of thkind is quite remarkable black box [indiscernible] amy: professor priya gopal, you wrote the book "insurgent empire: anticolonial resistance & british dissent." we usually speak to you at the university of cambridge. can you elaborate more on the british empire, looking at

africa, looking at india, looking at -- in moment we will go directly to the caribbean, to barbados. >> i wonder if we in fact live in a different world from the one that she came into in 1952. let's remember when she became queen, britain had just commenced a brutal, vicious insurgency that carried on for severa years. in recent years, it had canyons who were tortured by the british -- kenyans who were tortured by the british. vicious violence of the british state. i do wonder whether we actually live in a different world. we live in a world where

formally the british crown is no longer in a serial cwn but let's remember elizabeth ii made sure charles iii would be made head of the commonwealth. somehow her empire [indiscernible] she sat at the top of the table and now charles iii will sit at the top of that table. much of that order has not changed. the other thing i want to s is we often talk about monarchy as an acronym. she came into a world where monarchy was normal and now it is an acronym. naturally we still had a world of order in which both in

britain and -- there is enormous concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a few. monarchy represents exactly what -- in the u.s. as much as anywhere else, power and privilege and wealth and it hands of a few, which the rest of us are then invited to worship and think of as perfectly normal. so monarchy is really one aspect of -- ruled by the wealthy. that is not essentially change from 1952 to 2022. here we are again, ruled by hand of oligarchs across the world as or near in britain and beyond suffer deprivation. i wonder if we do in fact live in a very different world from the one that she inherited.

in terms of the knowledge of foreign policy i think what it is is she was very faithful and dutiful, as the world is often the -- the word is used in the british press, about representing the british, understanding its own foreign policies. i have no evidence she was knowledgeable about what was happening [indiscernible] when she came to power, there were brutal counterinsurgenc ies not just in kenya, but elsewhere. [indiscernible] how much she know? we won't know that but did she speak on these matters? who did she speak on these matters? was she knowledgeable about what took place? i'm afraid i have no evidence of anything other than the institution of the monarchy

perpetuates the british narrative [indiscernible] amy: in november, barbados officially removed queen elizabeth ii as its head of state, freeing itself from the british monarchy after nearly 400 years of colonization. prince charles joined the ceremony, where he formally acknowledged britain's "appalling atrocity of slavery" in the caribbean. joining us now, a historian of a former chair of the barbados reparations task force. professor, you are in britain when the queen's death was announced. you just flew back to barbados. thank you for joining us on the phone. can you respond to the queen's death and what the monarchy has meant for barbados? >> thank you very much.

more certainly, the passing of the queen has some importance with respect to the very fragmented relationship between the colonies in the caribbean and britain. i am saying this because the history of the monarchy and [indiscernible] the british monarchy was embedded in the institutions [indiscernible] through the centuries, continue to benefit from the colonial exploitation of the colonies in the caribbean. but having saidhat, we are entering an interesting period in which things go inside the

first one is that -- coincide. the first one is there were monarchies in africa and in fact the very first rebellion that was planned that we know of in barbad [indiscernible] plan to install a monarch. so the notion of a monarchy was not necessarily foreign to african citizens. not necessarily agreement, but respect for an institution of monarchy, an institution that speaks of power. when one looks at the whole question of the persistence [indiscernible]

very successful [indiscernible] aspects of her british culture. i think most caribbean people [indiscernible] understand the history of our people, understand the enslavement of our ancestors has led to a legacy of deprivation, a legacy -- that is one of the reasons why we have the reparations commission, which is seeking to get to britain and other former colonial powers.

to the question, wit respect. respect that all africans give to a patriarch or matriarch. that respect does not necessarily mean we have forgotten what that monarchy did in its institutional phase, what he did to our people in the past. amy: i know you have to leave. we go back from barbados to london, or journalist there, ash sarker, if you can talk about what is acceptable to talk about in this time of mourning. and a mourning king charles iii has an s will go something like seven days beyond the funeral, not clear when that will be. what is acceptable and also if you can talk about nowing charles iii, prince charles? >> in terms of what is

considered acceptable by the media, it is very, veryittle. in some ways, this is oprtunity toedraw the undaries of judah met opinion -- legitimate opini. it is still technically against the logical for the abolition of the monarchy on british media. it is not a law enforcement i think it tells you something about the framing these issues. i think that one of the problems that we found consistently in this country is that the monarchy has managed to adapt itself to a totally revolutionized media environment in a way which has consolidated a lot of their cultural power. it wasn't always going to be a certain thing. during the 1990's, tabloid press intrusion in terms ofhe statu of their marriages of prince charles and princess diana, sarah ferguson and prince andrew, it really threatened to

demystify and kill the -- the queen as an individual managed to largely float above that kind of afraid that it did threaten the monarchy in terms of their public image for quite some tim that era i think is -- what we've seens a renewed insistence on deference. one way you can see that really clrly is the suspension of the football matches this weekend. if anyone knows about england, we are a football-mad nation this is it something that even happened after the death of george vi, the quee's fat thath tells yosomethinge about the top-down mood ofr. m nationalourning. when it comes to prince charles,

is the oldest monarch we have had at a time of the ascension to the throne. i think that does pose some difficulty for the nation's self image. the queen coming in young was something really integral to her public image. she was seen as a maternal and grandmotherly figure. that was carefully cultivated by her press advisors. priya has been talking about the nature of the commonwealth and the way in which it embodies many of the imperialist dynamics , in anecdote which kind of spells out the uneven distrition of power within the commonwealth. the queens former private secretary described the queen descending upon the commonwealth as being likeanny or mother and she could discipline her unruly chilled with a single look, no more ofour bloody

nonsense. that image was essential i think to the queen steering the monarchy through a time of profound change, the end of formal empire at least and also the media revolution. prince charles comes to the throne as already an old man, somebody who's private life has been splashed all over the front page of the british tabloid. it is a very different thing i think in some ways tarnished by some of these more intrusive press practices. i wonder if what we will see is a redoubling on monarchal fervor on the part of the press in order to make up for their former bad behavior. amy: democracy now! isn't british media. would you call, ash, for the abolition of the monarchy? >> i am a republican. i thin that a modern -- amy: that has a different meaning in the united states. >> democratic accountability --

i understand that. i republican, i mean a monarch restitution or not should not be the head ostate. i think we should have an elected president. one of the problems having the kind of an codified constitution we have here in the u.k., also having a so-called constituonal monarch, is the exercise of power in some ways is very, very opaque. i can give you another example. the privy council which is made up of british laws and mps, ministers, former ministers, it is not -- countries which include british overseas territories of shows they ambiguous status like the british virgin islands, which are a notorious international tax haven. amguous legal status, the fact the privy council is still th highest court of appeals, means in some ways the british virgin

islands can operate as a kind of dark twin sibling of the city of london. if the city of london is good enough for you to hide your wealth from public authorities, the british virgin islands, legal proceedings will hardly ever see the light of day because the government are always arguing about whose responsibility it actually is. constitutional monarchy allows for that very opaque exercise of power, which i think is in itself politically toxic. but even if that wasn't the case, i think as a modern state, we should be looking toward an elected head of state rather than one who was placed there by the narrative of bloodline superiority. amy: i want to thank you all for being with us. interesting fact, even as harry and meghan markle left the royal family and charged the royal

family with racism, their children will now become prince and princess, archie and lisbeth diana, who live in the united states, because harry's father, prince charles, has now ascended to the throne and they are his grandchildren. that is king charles iii. ash sarker, thank you for being with us, could turbid in editor at novara media. historian and former chair of the reparations task force guarding us from barbados, just back from london. harvard university professor maya jasanoff, we will link to "mourn the queen, not her empire." and university professor professor of cambridge author of , "insurgent empire: anticolonial resistance & british dissent." next up, no sacrifice zones. frontline communities rally in

washington to protest centre manchin's mountain valley pipeline. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: to see lee bragg's performances, go to democracynow.org. as california faces a record breaking heatwave, climate activists joined indigenous and appalachian groups at a rally in washington, d.c., thursday to protest against the mountain valley pipeline. the protest came after president biden signed the $739 billion inflation reduction act which included major concessions to west virginia senator joe manchin, the biggest recipient of fossil fuel money in congress. one provision expedites fossil fuel permitting, including for

controversial m.v.p., that's mountain valley pipeline. if built, the mvp will carry two billion cubic feet of fracked gas across more than 1000 streams and wetlands in appalachia, including parts of west virginia. on thursday, senator bernie sanders slammed what he described as a disastrous side deal. >> the senate has a fundamental choice to make the coming weeks and months. we can listen to the fossil fuel industry and the politicians they pay who are spending huge amounts of money on lobbying and campaign contributions to pass this dirty side deal. or we can listen to the scientists in the environmental community who are telling us loudly and clearly to reject this ideal and elevated $50

million in tax breaks and subsidies congress is already providing to big oil and gas companies each and every year. mr. president, what the legislative text of this ideal has not been made public, according to a one page summary that was released last month, this will would make it easier for the fossil fuel industry to receive permits to complete some of the dirtiest and most polluting oil and gas projects in america. specifically this deal would approve the $6.6 billion mountain valley pipeline spanning from west virginia to virginia and potentially onto north carolina. we are talking about a pipeline would generate emissions equivalent to 37 coal plants or over 27 million cars each and

every year. mr. president, it is hard for me to understand why anyone who is concerned about climate change would consider for one second voting to approve a pipeline that would be equivalent to putting 27 million more cars on the road each and every year. amy: senator sanders spoke on the same day as protesters rallied in washington, d.c., gives the mountain valley pipeline. we are joined by two guests who took part. russell chisholm is the mountain valley watch coordinator for the powhr coalition and an army veteran of operation desert storm. crystal cavalier is a citizen of the occaneechi band of the saponi nation in north carolina and the chair of the environmental justice committee for the naacp of alamance county.

we welcome you both to democracy now! crystal cavalier, let's begin with you. if i mispronounce the name of your nation, please pronounce it correctly for us. talk about why you are in washington and why you went to the white house as well for a meeting. >> thank you for having me here. i am here -- we were here yesterday to lobby congress but we are also here to have a rally in we organized this rally in less than 30 days and we were here to have our voices heard all across turtle island, which is the united states, to show our fights are very similar and we do not want this dirty deal that senator joe manchin bang pushed forward. that is the number one reason. we were here to uplift our voices, especially our indigenous community. we are often invisiblized and a

listen to or heard. amy: talk about what kind of -- describe them out for us and how it goes from west virginia to north carolina and what it would mean. >> it starts in west virginia and goes through the mountain tops. only mountaintops are our sacred burial grounds of our nations. the mvp, they call these burial mounds rock piles and often say these do not exist -- which often -- they're trying to extinct us or genocide us again. it is going through sacred mountains, going through waters, under rivers. these sacred waters like the roanoke, the whole river, very sacred to my tribe and my community. this pipeline, the mvp south

gate extension coming five miles from our home. it is also going through the backyard of my relative renée who lives and rocking him county. it is going to destroy a lot of water. what these companies don't understand, they don't come and consult with us and these agencies do not do a good job of listening to the community. we are here to talk about the national environmental policy act, which this dirty deal is going to gut, is going to cut the time in half of what we come especially on the eastoast, stake recognized tribes, we need to respond to that. i believe we get about a seven-year period to respond to that due to the nepa process. but when they got this, this limits our time to respond back to these dirty pipelines and

dirty planes that are coming to our community. these agencies do not do a good job of advertising. therefore, i feel they are helping these dirty companies. amy: russell chisholm, if you could talk about what you discovered, what happened to your community in virginia if the mountain valley pipeline is can be -- completed and what stage is that right now? >> thank you, amy. good morning. currently, the best way to describe this stage of the mountain valley pipeline is segmented all along those 303 miles. for example, the first incomplete stream crossing they come to is less than three quarters of a mile from milepost zero on the project. so what is remaining is some of the most difficult and challenging work in all of the heavy construction work adjacent

to come around, under streams, wetlands, rivers, creeks. dr. cavalier described it well. these are water sources that feed our community's, feed our households, the people used to take care of their livestock. in all of that runs downstream, destroys habitat, puts people's health and safety at risk. there is a lot of heavy construction remaining on that project and yet there is a lot we can also save, which is why we continue to show up, continue to show up and link up with other frontline communities to stand together as we did yesterday and say this project must be stopped and these extractive industries th create sacrifice zones must also be stopped wherever they are happening. amy: dr. cavalier, what do you say to joe manchin, the largest

recipient of fossil fuel many in congress, his power, and what bernie sanders called this dirty side deal? what do you say to the other senators? >> they need to wake up. i honestly believe you are killing millions of people, millions ofnimalsand you're ultimately killing our water. this is how we are going to survive. this is how the human race will survive. it is that your hands that you're causing the destruction and death of it. i just can't believe this is happening. i was talking earlier today, this is how government works? these backdoor deals to help a child who throws a tipper tantrum because he cannot get the mvp pushed through? he is being very childish. just disappointed. you're letting your constituents down stop the other senators who are not saying, wait, what is going on? or the other house of

representatives, do not given in to his demands. he is literally twisting your arm behind your back to get what he wants. amy: the connection of the mvp developers to joe manchin, the senator? >> most definitely. next era donated to his campaign as well i believe they donated to chuck schumer's campaign, to. how are you guys not in ethics violations? you should have recused yourself and of someone else to dthis. listen to bernie sanders. he should have been heading up this and he wod have major we would not have had no side deal, especially the mvp coming to our backyard. that is horrible. this side deal come this whole ira, are going to give the ira and you're going to still push fossil fuels? what is that? come on, president biden. why did you sign that? you think it is ok to give a little bit of fossil fuels but it is ok because we will give you $700 billion?

i don't think so. amy: thank you so much for being with us, the occaneechi band of the saponi nation in north carolina and the chair of the environmental justice committee for the naacp of alamance county. and russell chisholm of the mountain valley watch coordinator for the powhr coalition. that does it for our broadcast. we ended today on a very sad note, we want to extend our deepest condolences to our democracy now! producer maría ines taracena on the death of your grandmother ana elsa herrera in guatemala. mama elsa was 94. and also dear maria on the passing of your brother david miller flores in a tragic car accident in arizona. he had turned 26 years old last sunday. our condolences to your whole family. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who

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