12/15/22 12/15/22 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> we have declared a state of emergency. the people will keep protesting. they will keep fighting to the end for all our father and brothers. -- for all our fallen brothers. we are outraged with everything that is happening. that is what we are asking for congress to close down, the

president due to boluarte to resign. she does not represent as. amy: demonstrations continue over last week's ouster and jailing of peruvian president pedro castillo. then we look at president biden's attempt to counter china and russia's growing influence in africa by inviting leaders from 49 nations to washington. pres. biden: we play to commit 55 billion dollars in africa. that number represents a conference of commitment from the united states to invest in africa's people, africa's infrastructure, africa's agriculture, africa's health system, africa's security, and more amy: then to yemen. we willook at why the whe house pressured senator bernie sanders to withdraw a resolution to end u.s. involvement in the -- support for the saudi-led war

on yemen. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the house of representatives has passed legislation that would allow puerto rico hold it first-er referdum to dide beeen statehd, indepdence, or independence with free association. the puerto rico status act was co-sponsored by congressmembers alexandria ocasio-cortez and nydia velázquez, two of the four current puerto rican members of the u.s. house, and was approved on a vote of 233-191. 16 republicans joined democrats in support of the bill. this is congressmember ocasio-cortez speaking from the house floor on thursday. >> well puerto rico is not the united states only colony, it is its oldest. today for the rst time in our nations history, the united

states will acknowledge its role as a colonizing force and puerto rico status as an extended colony. the puerto rico status act begins a process for puerto ricans to decide their own future. amy: the legislation faces an uphill battle in the senate, where it needs 60 votes to overcome a republican filibuster. in china, public health officials warn covid-19 cases are spreading rapidly and show no sign of slowing down after officials in beijing abandoned their long-standing zero covid policy. researchers estimate some 800 million people in china, or about one-tenth ofumanity, could become infected by the coronavirus over theext 90 days. several models predict more than a half million people could die. china's population remains especially vulnerable to a winter surge because few people have been exposed to the coronavirus. there are also concerns about the effeiveness of china's domestically-produced vaccines,

which rely on inactivated forms of the virus. it's a technology that's proven to be less protective than the mrna vaccines widely used elsewhere. the biden administration has broadened its crackdown on china's semiconductor chip industry. on thursday, the commerce department added ymtc and 21 other chinese chip makers to a trade blacklist. the white house has accused china of blurring the line between military and civilian use of advanced semiconductors that can be used to power hypersonic missiles and other weapons. china's ambassador to the rld trade organization accused the u.s. of violating wto rules, adding, "clearly, the united states is a unilateralist and bullying hegemonist." the white house has wrapped up a three-day summit that brought 49 african leaders to washington, d.c. the u.s.-africa leaders summit came as the biden administration seeks to counter the growing influence of russia and china in africa.

on thursday, president biden pledged $55 billion to africa over the next three years, and said he'd seek to expand africa's role in international politics. pres. biden: the united states fully supports reforming the u.n. to include permanent representation for africa. today i'm also calling for the african union to join the g20 as a permanent member of the g20. amy: biden said he and vice president harris will be going to africa next year. we'll have more on the u.s.-africa leaders' summit later in the broadcast. the senate passed the $858 billion national defense authorization act thursday in a 83-11 vote, sending it to biden's desk for his signature. the measure provides $45 billion more for the military than requested in biden's budget. it scraps the pentagon's vaccine mandate in a major concession to republicans. it also earmarks billions of dollars in military aid for ukraine and taiwan.

one provision not included in the ndaa is west virginia senator joe manchin's permitting reform, which was shot down for the third time this year, in a victory for climate activists and the planet. the amendment, which would help fast-track fossil fuel and mining projects, failed to garner the 60 votes needed despite president biden coming out in support of the measure. the climate action group 350.org blasted biden's backing of manchin's dirty deal, writing -- "we need to phase out fossil fuel projects swiftly and completely. that's the only way to move forward a just transition to an equitable, renewable energy future." in turkey, thousands of people flooded the streets of istanbul thursday to protest the conviction of the city's elected mayor on what his supporters say are trumped-up charges. >> we came here today so we can continue to live in country governed by the rule of law. we think the law has been

violated. we came here to defend our rights. amy: istanbul mayor ekrem imamoglu was found guilty wednesday of insulting public officials and sentenced to two years and seven months in prison. he remains free pending an appeal. if his conviction is upheld, he will be removed as mayor and barred from running in next year's elections, where he's seen as a challenger to turkey's authoritarian president recep tayyip erdogan. spain's parliament has passed a landmark sexual and reproductive health law that guarantees people as young as 16 the right to voluntarily terminate a pregnancy in the nearest public hospital. the bill also guarantees access to sex education, free contraceptives, and menstrual hygiene products in high schools. it also provides paid medical leave for people suffering from painful menstrual cramps. spain's equality minister irene montero championed the legislation. >> we are restoring the right of

women between the ages of 16 and 18 to decide about their own bodies. we also affirm the state recognizes and respects the autonomy of women to decide, that we do not doubt their decisions. amy: here in the united states, water bottles, a place to sit, or extra bathroom breaks. the bill passed with overwhelming support in the house. the biden administration is suing arizona republican governor doug ducey over his state's illegal construction of a makeshift wall along the u.s.-mexico border, built with double-stacked shipping containers and razor wire. the complaint filed by the justice department demands arizona halt construction and remove the barrier, which immigration and environmental advocates say is destroying precious biodiversity in the sonoran desert and putting the lives of asylum seekers at further risk as they attempt to cross to the u.s. for refuge. ducey has said his administration was trying to

fill up the gaps in former president trump's unfinished border wall. the lawsuit comes less than three weeks before ducey leaves office on january 2. texas republican governor greg abbott is calling on the state to investigate whether nonprofit humanitarian groups are helping asylum seekers cross into the u.s. in a letter to texas attorney general ken paxton, abbott claims, without any evidence, that humanitarian groups "may be engaged in unlawfully orchestrating border crossings." abbott has intensified his anti-immigrant hate speech as the trump-era title 42 pandemic policy that has blocked over 2 million migrants from seeking asylum in the u.s. is set to end next week. abbott has also described the growing number of asylum seekers arriving to the u.s.-mexico border as an invasion. in michigan, three men convicted of providing material support in the 2020 plot to kidnap governor gretchen whitmer were sentenced thursday to prison terms ranging from 7 to 12 years.

prosecutors say paul bellar, joseph morrison, and pete musico were part of the militia group wolverine watchmen, which planned to kill police and elected officials, as well as kidnap the governor. the plot was hatched after then-president trump urged supporters to "liberate" michigan from coronavirus public health measures. twitter has suspended the accounts of over half a zen journalists without warning after billionaire elon musk accused them of posting assassination coordinates for him and his family without providing any evidence. the reporters from cnn, "the new york times," "the washington post," the intercept, and other outlets were suspended after twitter changed its policy on "sharing living location information." many of the journalists had reported on the latest policy change and musk's mounting crackdown on accounts he disagrees with. in a statement, cnn said -- "twitter's increasing

instability and volatility should be of incredible concern for everyone who uses twitter." texas lawmakers and grieving families of the victims of the mass shooting at robb elementary school in uvalde testified before the u.s. house judiciary committee thursday, where they blasted uvalde law enforcement over its botched response during the massacre, and demanded federal gun reform. the hearing began with the sound of the gunfire that killed 19 students and two teachers on may 24. this is faith mata, whose 10-year-old sister tess was killed that day. >> the days following the death of my sister, i took on the responsibilities and tasks that my parents could not bear to do. my parents should not have to plan their own child's funeral. i felt the need to step in when they needed me the most. our lives have changed forever.

it has darkened because our light has left. amy: in louisiana, five officers have been charged in the 2019 killing of ronald greene, a black motorist who died after he was put in a chokehold, beaten, and tased by louisiana state police officers. the charges, which include one count of negligent homicide, come after years of organizing and protests. authorities originally told greene's family he died due to injuries stemming from a crash but body camera footage shows officers assaulting greene, who tells them, "i'm scared." a texas jury has found white former fort worth police officer aaron dean guilty of manslaughter for the fatal 2019 shooting of atatiana jefferson. jefferson, a 28-year-old black woman, was shot and killed by dean who was responding to a wellness check requested by her neighbor who noticed the home's front door had been left open. jefferson was babysitting her eight-year-old nephew at her mother's home at the time.

the young boy, now 11, testified at the trial and was asked about the moments after his aunt was shot. he told the courtroom, "i was thinking, is it a dream?" and minnesota congressmember ilhan omar is calling on president joe biden to commute the sentence of daniel hale, who is serving 45 months in a federal prison for leaking classified information about the u.s. drone and targeted assassination program. hale pleaded guilty in march of 2021 to one count of violating the world war i-era espionage act. his lawyers say he sought to bring attention to "immoral government conduct committed under the cloak of secrecy and contrary to public statements of then-president obama regarding the alleged precision of the united states military's drone program." on thursday, congressmember omar said biden should pardon daniel hale and set him free. >> daniel's case is exactly what

the pardon power is for step where the letter of the law cannot capture the complex moral judgment that humabeings make in extraordinary circumstances. revealing classified information extremely seriouslybut what daniel did was courageous. what daniel did was patriotic. what he did was public service. amy: and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we begin today's show in peru, where mass protests are intensifying following the ouster and jailing of president pedro castillo. according to the news agency efe, at least nine protesters were killed thursday, bringing the death toll to at least 17 over the past week. many of those dead are teenagers. police have attacked protesters with tear gas and live ammunition. on thursday, a judicial panel ruled castillo should remain

locked up for 18 months of pre-trial detention. the right-wing peruvian congress voted to remove castillo a week ago on after he moved to december 7 temporarily dissolve the peruvian congress ahead of an impeachment vote. castillo's vice president dina boluarte was quickly sworn in to replace him. on wednesday, she announced a state of emergency across peru. protesters are demanding castillo be returned to power. >> they have declared a state of emergency. they want to shut the voice of the people. but the people will keep protesting, fighting for our fallen brothers. we are furious, outraged with everything that is happening. that is why we are here asking for congress to close down and for the current president to resign. she does not represent us. amy: pedro castillo is a left-leaning former teacher and union leader who was president

for less than a year and a half before his ouster. last year, he defeated keiko fujimori, the daughter of peru's former dictator alberto fujimori. protesters accused the peruvian congress of unfairly targeting castillo ever since he defeated fujimori. >> it is totally unfair. i hope the peruvian people will rise and defend the popular vote. we elected him. the peruvian people elected him. the congress did not let him work. the commerce never allowed president castillo to work. amy: the leaders of mexico, colombia, argentina, and bolivia have issued a joint statement to voice support for castillo calling him a victim of anti-democratic harassment. meanwhile, the president-elect of brazil luís inácio lula da silva has said castillo's removal power was "carried out within the constitutional framework."

for more we go to lima, peru, where we are joined by eduardo gonzález cueva. he is a peruvian sociologist and human rights expert. welcome to democracy now! can you just explain what is happening right now and give us a description of the lead up to why the president castillo is now in jail with thousands surrounding the jail? >> good morning, amy. thank you for having me. a massacre. that is what is happening right now in peru. on one side, those in the country who believe the likes of campesino -- caused by the incompetence of our political press, and i'm including pedro castillo and neighbors who were always incapable of finding

political solutions for political problems. it is caused by the despair of the people who see this constitutional order -- that is what is happening. what is happening is a coup within a coup. castillo did not have -- try to dissolve parliament. but it is important to remember that he did not try to dissolve parliament only. he also announced he would rule by decree and he would also intervene the judiciary power. the idea was a coup not just against congress, which is an institution widely regulated in the country, but also the judiciary which was investigating accusations of corruption has seemed to be quite serious. that was castillo's attempt. why did he do that? we will know at some point. the reality is, the parliament

in a position did not have the votes to actually impeach him. but of course, that attempt of a coup was responded by a real coup. that is congress actually proceeded to impeach castillo. it did not have the votes. people from parliamentary groups that supported -- stormed in the vice president of castillo's presidential -- nina boluarte. what happened is of course we have had the situation in which people reacted quickly because of the accusation, obviously, the situation -- castillo was not very popular. his popularity was around 2%.

-- his popularity was around 30%. it was a fight between legitimate political sectors. what happened is the repression with which the first attempt failed, that is what causes -- the complete capability of the regime to find forms of solution with what people are asking. what the people are asking are several different things, sometimes even contradictory among themselves. some are calling for castillo to be arrested. some are calling for new elections. new elections means castillo willot be in power. there will be a process to find a different political leadership.

other people are asking for boluarte to resign. their problem is if boluarte resigns, since there are no more vice president, it will fall on the head of congress, which is massively hedge in gym iced. the situation is quite complicated. i don't think anyone knows exactly where things are going. i hope as a peruvian citizen more than just an observer or social scientist, my hope is, first of all, the massacre has to be stopped. the state of emergency is lifted. that people are free to demonstrate. and a process of dialogue start so we've find what are the best reason ahead. it is clear to me that with the massacre that has been

committed, the current government led by mrs. boluarte has lost all -- i think also the conflict in our region, the governments in our region should try to avoid fanning the ames. we need to ensure and invoke the authority in this country to stop the repression until it peruvians find the right way to solve the political crisis started this repression. amy: i want to turn to president pedro castillo speaking earlier this month before his impeachment. he accused lawmakers of trying to blow up democracy in peru. >> the intent of law of democracy and disregard our people's right to choose a the figure of the presidency in order to take advantage and seize the power of the people. tired of being left behind, a few people want to continue

dividing peru took from them at the polls. amy: that is the president who is currently jailed. can you give us a thumbnail sketch of his history? this is the first political office he has held. he is a teacher and union leader. tell us about his rise to power and why he speaks particularly to the marginalized in peru. >> castillo is the son of campesinos from the northern region of peru. this is a region that has a very interestg and important story in our country. this is the region where spaniards first met the incas, where they started the massacres of the conquest, capturing the first incas.

this is also a region -- able to enter because of basically community police from the campesinos. castillo is very symbolic because of his social extraction. politically, he did come from some sort of -- a union of teachers that rose against the majority union in that sector. he respondedhen to a very messy confrontation between leftist factions trying to dominate the union, the teachers union. so he came to some kind of civility because of a strike he led that was not just against the government but against his own union. so that allowed him to be

basically selected by a small left-wing political party to be the presidential candidate. did not expect to win wasn't members of the party have been clear about this history of the election. but if they did when, clearly -- the fact we were coming off two years of pandemics, the fact this was a country where more people died in the pandemic than ywhere else in the world per capita. he won. he entered into the second round -- we have a two round system here. he won the first round with only 60% of the vote. the second person, keiko fujimori, had 13%.

in total, they got less than half of the vote stuck with those credentials, they go into the second round. he did not have a majority in congress. it did have a respectable parliamentary group in terms of size, one third of congress, but the reality is in the disputes within his party between the different factions of the left, it very soon to the dispersion of the block that protect -- castillo during his tenure did not demonstrate a lot of political [indiscernible] he named ministers that have questions around them. ministers and advisors who actually after being accused of

corruption, turned on him immediately. some of the impeachment attempts have emerged because people who were named by castillo as advisors or people in his entourage, came to the prosecutors to accuse castillo in order to give themselves up. caillo never demonstrated a lot of political leadership or capacity. the reality is that he was a bum president. simple as that. he never had a chance because the right wing completely -- took all the possible accusations against him, even some that were incredibly frivolous. so we had a situation of an impasse that -- at some point, there was going to be an attempt to break that impasse. it is unfortunate that -- that

is castillo made the first move. if congress had impeached him, i think we would have -- [indiscernible] the problem is castillo basically squandered what he had by trying to dissolve not just congress, but also the duty sherry. castillo is probably -- there is a distance -- [indiscernible] amy: on thursday, relatives of

the ousted president visited him in jail, in jail in the foothills of the andes. his niece said he is not doing well. >> his hands started shaking. we brought him pills. he is my family. this is my mother and my aunt. this is the family of president castillo. we want the press to see our reality, how we live, the life we lead, so they don't point at us is that we are that corrupt family. amy: if you could talk about this scene at the base of the andes, at this jail with 1000 people camped outside, peruvians from all over peru and outside flying in? >> so there are a number of

demonstrations. some are happening in front of the police station where castillo was arrested. i have the impression these demonstrations are no longer about castillo. the demonstrations in front of these police stations are not as significant as the ones we are seeing elsewhere in lima most of the demonstrations yesterday, which were called by the union federations, were quite large. the reality is a said before, the protests and the demand the people are expressing are not necessarily only linked to castillo and his situation. people are calling for new elections and also for a constitutional assembly. [indiscernible]

i think it is important, and at least this is my position, my honest assessment of the situation, that this is no longer about castillo personally. this is about the people of peru who do not see themsves represented in the political system and are calling for change. amy: the leaders of mexico, colombia, argentina, and bolivia have issued a joint statement to voice support, calling him a victim of antidemocratic harassment. at a news conference tuesday, mexican president andrés manuel lópez obrador said castillo should have never been removed from office. >> let it be known this is not interference that originates from the so-called political elite, economic interest, and the media. they are the ones that cause the instability that harms peruvian people.

the recognition of pedro castillo as president peru has nothing to do with our foreign policy. the will of the people who elected him must be respected, recognized he won and cannot be dramatically. amy: that was the axiom president obrador. meanwhile lula has taken a different stanza saying castillo 's removal was "carried out within the constitutional framework" and the chilean president has also recognized peru's new president dena boluarte. as we began to wrap up, what this means for latin america and this divided response? >> first of all, i would like to say peru is quite different from other countries in latin america. i really as a peruvian highly recent when the agency of

peruvians in the project close of our country are reduced to a certain precept narrative. the narrative the right wing uses supposedly in the hands of -- or the narrative behind everything there is some kind of imperial are right wing plot against -- we are difrent and quite more complex than that. i hope that the presidents of latin america focus first of all on the human rights crisis and the humanitarian crisis which are not -- talking about the fact there are 17, 18, 20 people killed already, that is the point where they should be focusing on rather than the recognition of -- what was the event that led to the situation. i do think actually we should go

reflectively beyond the immediate political reflex of looking at what was -- the people who lost power or who have power now. the president should be looking at the situation and the terrain and suffering of proving people and express all of the early first with the peruvian people. amy: eduardo gonzález cueva, thank you for being with us peruvian sociologist and human , rights expert speaking to us from lima, peru. next up, look at the u.s. africa leaders summit that brought gether 49 african leaders in washington, d.c. this week. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: "ambulante soy" by los shapis. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. prident biden has just wrapped up a three-day summit in washington with leaders from 49 african nations. the u.s.-africa leaders summit

was held as the u.s. is trying to counter the growing influence of china and rusa in africa. during the summit, president biden pledged $55 billion to africa over the next three years. pres. biden: we plan to commit $55 billion in africa. that number represents a conference of commitment from the united states to invest in africa's people, africa's infrastructure, africa's agriculture come africa's health system, africa's security, and more. amy: president biden also announced that he and vice president harris will visit sub-saharan africa next year for the first time as president and vice president. he expressed support for the africa union to join the g20 and for africa to have permanent representation on the united nations security council. senegalese president macky sall, who is the current chair of the african union, welcomed biden's -- refuse to work at rushing with russia and china but welcome bidens pleasures.

-- biden's pledges. >> we want to advance our common agenda with you and take our partnership to the next level in an inclusive approach bringing together governments, the private sector, civil society, and the african base. amy: to talk more about the u.s.-africa leaders summit, we are joined by emira woods. she is the executive director of the green leadership trust a network of black, brown, and indigenous people on boards of environmental organizations and philanthropies. she is also an ambassador for africans rising for justice, peace, and dignity. originally from liberia. thank you so much for joining us again on democracy now! talk about the significance of this three-day summit, what surprised you, what came out of this, and the relationship between the united states and these african nations that were there and those that were not

invited. >> it is always a joy to be with you. thank you for having space for this conversation. the summit, it comes after four dismal years of the trump administration where the former president was literally calling african countries derogatory terms. shocking abuse that came out of that administration. so when you see a summit like this, yes, it is very much a photo op quite frankly it is being welcomed. we have to look beyond the photo op to recognize that africa is still very much, whether it is a democrat or republican administration, it is still very much a scene in the lens of geopolitics but also in the lands of this resource war. i think what we have -- yet to

pull back the lens. historically, african resources have driven the global economy, whether it is the colo that goes into coca-cola or the uranium that was from democratically republic of congo. there is a long history of africa's resources being used by the global economy, being used, quite frankly, to create the industrialization that we see in europe, in u.s. it is the resources of africa that drove that industrialization yet africa did not benefit. what we see is a global economy that is deeply unjust, almost marginalizes, continues to marginalize africa and the african world and people of african descent all over the world. it is a deeply racist capitalist extractive system that quite

frankly has destroyed the plan, leading to climate change, global warming, disasters all over the planet. what you see is people on whose land those resources lie continue to be rendered invisie. whether it is china or russia or the united states, the story is the same. the extraction at the expense of communities, at the expense particularly of women, children, and people who are desperaty seekg a healthy, brighter future. amy: let's turn to u.s. defense secretary lloyd austin speaking to the u.s.-africa leaders summit. >> regarding russia and china, the prc, we are will willing to see the prc expand its footprint on the continent, on a daily basis. they are also expanding their economic influence. the troubling piece there is they not always transparent in terms of what they're doing, and

that creates problems that will be eventually destabilizing if they are not already. turning to russia, we see russia continuing to peddle cheap weapons. some of that was mentioned before by one of our senior leaders here. and also we see russia employing mercenaries across the continent, and that is destabilizing as well. amy: if you, emira woods, can respond to this? the difference between how china and russia deal with africa? the number of just u.s. military bases in africa alone and how biden is trying to deal with countering chinese russian influence? >> let's remember, amy, 90% of u.s. trade with africa is a new oil, gas, in mining, the

extractive resources. it is in those areas where the resources lie that there has always been military interest. this is from colonial days to the neocolonial days and regardless of the country, u.s., china, russia, the military follows the companies, the multinational corporations that are interested in extracting those resources. so what you have had is an african continent where it is almost -- the geopolitical nightmare. they take one country, somalia, let's say, somalia throughout the cold war went from the ussr to the u.s. almost trading their opportunities for weapons, particularly dumped into somalia, making simile a incredibly -- somalia incredibly ungovernable. we have to recognize it is the interest and resources, whether it is uranium in the northern

part of somalia or the strategic positioning of somalia in an area with the global trade flows. it i the centrality of these countries that makes the global political battl more intense. so what you have had is the u.s. for the last 10 years expanding its military might in africa, expanding use of drones in places like somalia where you have seen untold deaths of civilians with the increased use of these drones stop at essentially, it is the u.s. picking and choosing where to send and build military machinery unleashed then against the people. in the case of somalia, it was a u.s. drone but the u.n. also funneling weapons to ethiopia for ground war in somalia. militarizing a region that is already -- what you see, the

u.s. expanding its efforts to add to the conflict, to add to the chaos in an interest to be able to have access and controlling those resources. you have a similar situation with decreasing military expansion from china, increasing military expansion from russia. and in each of those cases, it is both the uniformed officers as well as the mercenaries, right? it is the u.s. military contractors increasing u.s. security in civilians, whether it is the horn or throw the continent, these relationships are being deepened. so what you have is a continued push by mostly fossil fuel driven industries interested in the extraction. you have military sin supporting those very narrow defined "national interests" and you have a continuation of

relationships that are propping up those who are seeking to open up channels for the resources to flow. amy: i want to go to the president of the democratic republic of congo felix tshisekedi addressing the issue of climate change at the summit. >> since we are gathered here fighting about climate chang if you will allow me, i would like to first speak with regret to let you know about the crisis that my country is lived through. floods and rains because of the climate crisis that has caused hundreds of deaths as well as enormous material damages that could have been avoided if the commitment of the polluting countries would have been held, would have been kept for the past three years. it is necessary. amy: that is the drc president. emira woods, you are in sharm el-sheikh in egypt at the

climate summit. if you can talk about the issue that was the subject of the summit, loss and damage, the u.s. pushing hard against it, don't want the liability even though it is the largest greenhouse gas emitter and had the world. what it means for africa? >> clearly what we see around the world, particularly in africa, is those who do not -- did not contribute to the climate crisis are paying the heaviest cause. it is black, brown, indigenous people around the world that are bearing the cost. remember when we talk about africa, the resources were extracted to industrialize european consonants, industrialize u.s., and those resources were extracted at the expense of communities where those resources lie. what you have seen is incredible climate change, global warming, the repercussions, the impacts

on those communities on the health, their opportunity to live healthy lives is disastrous. we have seen increases in floods, increases in heat waves throughout the world. it is these deeply racist structural global economic decisions that are creating the unjust trading system, the expansion and i fossil fuels -- oil, gas, mining -- destroying communities. in the case of the democratic republic of congo, the best example. there are in the rain forest of the drc, lands that are opportunities for nature-based solutions to thelimate crisis. these were solutions that indigenous people, community-based people who know the land have been putting forward. so i think we have to recognize when we talk about climate

change, those who have paid the heaviest price are also those who have solutions. and must be in the decision-making. we saw in sharm el-sheikh it was the fossil fuel lobbyists that outnumbered almost all delegations there in egypt. i think we have to begin to recognize that we will continue to have a path of destruction of the planet unless we change the structural systems that oppress communities. the solutions are there. when it comes to loss and damage, the solution has been really clear. there must be reparations, centering justice in our global economy, understanding those who have paid the heaviest price have also borne the cost and there should be opportunities where there is investment in a just transition for the future, in renewable energy that is community-, in opportunities to actually bring forward innovative financing.

there's a lot of discussion a special drawing from the world bank and the imf to innovative -- find solutions that would move resources toward a just transition, toward a global green new deal. t only for africa, but for the world. amy: we only have a minute and i wanted to quickly ask you, president biden and vice president harris, their trip to sub-saharan africa will be the first since president obama. i was wondering if in a minute you could reflect on obama's legacy and africa but particularly look at the 2011 attack on libya and the effect that had on the continent. >> once again we have got to look at the issues of fossil fuel industries and militarism. that was the case in libya whether it is the obama administration or now for the biden administration and future administration's. it is getting rid of the power of the fossil fuel industry that will put us on a path that not only protects the planet but

protects community's. when we look at the obama administration, we have to think about the expansion of africom, which was established, quite frankly, it's first act was and he libya. we have got to recognize with the expansion of militaries, there will be continuous political and economic chaos. we have seen the implications of the crisis in libya, the ouster of omar qaddafi under the obama administration has led to disastrous results not only for libya, but for the entire region, particularly the neighboring countries and even countries as far off as mali work coups were being organized by those who carried guns supplied by the u.s. and libya across borders into other states. we have got to stop the flow of militarism. we have got to understand the links of militarism to the fossil fuel crisis, to the climate crisis.

have got to begin to create other opportunities where fossil fuel companies are taxed and we looked at opportunities to cap the flow of his harmful fossil fuels into our global economy and look at all of these opportunities to change global governance so that those particularly black, brown, and indigenous people have the opportunity for what he said at the beginning of the show in puerto rico, self-determination. this is the cry across the planet, self-determination of people. amy: emira woods, thank you for being with us executive director , of the green leadership trust. also ambassador for africans rising for justice, peace, and dignity. originally from liberia. coming up, we look at why the white house pressured senator sanders to withdraw a resolution to end your support for the saudi-led war in yemen. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: "cabral" by senegal's orchestra baobob in honor of the pan africanist revolutionary amilcar cabral. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we turn now to the crisis in yemen. a new unicef report finds that over 1000 children have been killed oinjured in the u.s.-backed, saudi-led war in yemen since 2015.

a six-month ceasefire between warring parties expired in october. meanwhile, senator bernie sanders withdrew an expected vote on his yemen war powers resolution tuesday night after coming under pressure from the white house. he said he would bring the resolution back if they could not reach an agreement on ending u.s. support for the war. we go now to shireen al-adeimi, a yemeni-american assistant professor at michigan state university and a non-resident fellow at the quincy institute. it is great to have you with us. can you respond to what took place this week, what you think needs cap it in yemen right now? >> thank you so much for having me. this is a culmination of years of trying to work with the administration to end their war in yemen. as you recall, president biden was very adamant about having u.s. involvement when he took office except he did not really

fulfill his promise and his obligation to end the war. since he biden administration took office, they have been kind of operating under the assumption that atever support their providing the saudis is defensive and not offensive but ver really clarified to congress what it means. we have been trying to work to try to push another war powers resolution which, as you recall, did pass when this war was seen as trump's war in 2019, passed congress in a bipartisan way and vetoed by trump. we want to say to the biden administration, if you're serious about ending the war -- if not, here is this bill that would reassert congress' authority to declare war and to end all your support, which currently includes logistics and intelligence. it has changed since 2019 but still provide the saudi-led coalition with various forms of military support from including

training private people and soldiers and whatnot. although things have changed in the past year with the truth that lasted for a few months a then ended and there hasn't been any saudi heavenly airstrikes since april, the situation on the ground is still volatile that this war powers resolution is essential to make sure if there was an assumption of -- resumption of airstrikes, the u.s. would not support the saudi happen led coalition whatever way they needed. amy: we spoke to ryan grim and it was right before senator sanders withdrew his resolution. he said sanders never expected to have it passed but if like 40 democratic senators supported it, would be a sign to mbs, the crown prince of saudi arabia, that he would be in trouble if he broke the cease-fire, even if it has expired. so what does it mean it has been withdrawn?

>> not quite sure if they would've had the votes or not. it is really surprising because like i said, many of the people in biden's administration back in 2019 were saying we should end this war and try to pass the wtr even know they supported the war efforts before but they are silent now and we have docrats who have essentially taken on the same position. but we still have an opportunity to pass this. i understand senator sanders started to get pressure from the white house who threatened to veto the bill, so president biden essentially threatened to veto the bill even though he has been saying for the last couple of years he wants to end u.s. involvement in the war. the fact he withdrew it, i am disappointed, i'm disappointed by the outcome. i think the effort put fth by antiwar coalition over the last couple of yes has been definitely the right strategy to try to push for this.

this is one of many -- amy: war powers resolution. >> it is part of the strategies to end u.s. involvement in the war. here we are now in december and we're going to have a republican-controlled house next year. i'm not quite sure how we're going to try to pass this again but it certainly would have centered yemen again to the conversation, which has been put on the back burner since fishing truly -- since essentially the war on ukraine. in the case of yemen, saudi arabia attacks yemen, sovereign country in the entire world continues to support them despite the unequal balance of power and the immense casualties on humanity -- yemeni lives the past several years. we're talking about hundreds of thousands of people who are starting to death, those who

have already starved. yemenis still continue to suffer despite the cease-fire because bombs were not killing most people, the blockades have been killing most people and continue to kill most people in yemen. saudi arabia has not suffer the consequences of this war. they have been engaging in this war. occupying parts of yemen and using its resources and yet in the u.s., we are not able to face her own complicity after all these years. we are not able to say we should not be engaging in war crimes. any form of u.s. support is not acceptable. none of this should be happening and yet here we are all these years later unable to come to the conclusion we really should be ending -- this is the bare minimum we can do and we are not there yet.

amy: shireen al-adeimi, thank you for being with us yemeni-american assistant , professor at michigan state university and a non-resident fellow at the quincy institute. that does it for our show. a very happy birthday, renée feltz! democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. e-mail your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693