08.27.12 08.27.12 >> from pacifica, this is democracy now! tampa, florida. war and peace in the presidency. as tropical storm eyes it hits the galt region, thousands are being evacuated in louisiana, mississippi, and alabama at. the convention here had been postponed today but protesters are planning to march on the heavily fortified rnc. >> we are here to oppose the ongoing wars and occupations

that were started by president bush, the occupation of afghanistan, the thousands of soldiers who have lost their lives for no good reason, and now the on going killer drone attacks. >> we will air a voice that you will not hear at this week's republican national convention. >> we are spread too far run the world. we are in 140 countries. they are preparing right now to go into syria and it probably will not be too long before we could be in iran. we do not need another war, we need us more. >> republican presidential candidate ron paul speaking at the rnc. he held his own convention of sorts in tampa on sunday. he never mentioned mitt romney's name once. we will also get a tour of tampa from a radio station host.

this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. a hurricane warning has been issued for the northern gulf coast as tropical storm isaac looms over the florida area and louisiana, alabama and mississippi have declared states of emergency, leading to evacuation's. the hurricane warning comes nearly seven years to the day after hurricane katrina struck the gulf coast. isaac is headed to the gulf coast after battering haiti and southern florida. at least six deaths were reported in haiti. here in florida, the storms led

to the cancellation of today's first full day of the republican national convention. the republican spokesperson said that the convention would continue on tuesday. >> we are in constant communication with authorities. we are going to make safety our primary concern. we will see how things unfold. at this point, we are confident that we willthe republican tuese by the convention. >> syrian government forces are accused of what could be the deadliest massacre in the 17- month-old conflict to date. activist groups said that 300 bodies were found showing mostly execution-style murder. video shows the bodies wrapped in sheets. the killings occurred at the syrian regime.

over all, activists say more than 400 people killed -- people were killed on saturday. dozens more were killed in violence on sunday. earlier today, rebel forces claimed responsibility for downing a rebel hero -- helicopter over damascus. a new study shows for weapons sales tripled last year to more than 75% of the total global weapons market. the regimes of saudi arabia, you claimed responsibility for downing80, and zero mom bought s at record levels. ecuador says it received notice over the weekend from britain that there was no threat to enter the embassy. the president of a pair held the news. >> we consider this unhappy incident to be over.

a great mistake for them to say that they would enter our embassy. but we consider this over. however, i hope the british do not distort what happened. >> at least 39 people were killed in venezuela on weapons at record levels. sunday and an explosion at the country's biggest refinery. it was the deadliest accident ever for the oil industry in venezuela. israel has blocked solidary activists from entering the west bank. the protesters tried to enter through jordan. one activist denied entry said israel is trying to block witnesses to the occupation. >> they reject us because we openly say we are in solidarity with palestinians and because they do not want any witness to

see what they are doing to palestinians. >> two members of the russian dissident van have let the country to avoid prosecution. two were sent to prison for the protests earlier this month. a judge rejected the argument that the act was political freedom. the former u.s. astronaut neil armstrong has died at age 82. armstrong was the first person ever on the moon the ms. lee announcing what he called one giant leap for mankind. those are some of the headlines, this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. war, peace, and the presidency.

democracy now! covered from the republican national convention in tampa. day one has been essentially called off due to troubled a storm is it, forcing officials to redo the schedule. republican officials plan to formally convene a convention today and then immediately recess until tuesday. mitt romney is still scheduled to give his acceptance speech on thursday night. while romney and the republicans have often decry government spending, they are holding their convention in a sports stadium built largely with government money. government dollars consisted of 62% of the arena's budget. national guard members have fanned out across downtown tampa. the city's police department received $50 million from congress ahead of the convention. purchases have included armored vehicles and high-tech surveillance cameras with behavioral recognition software. authorities have been issuing

warnings about plan filed by anarchists, but so far all protests have been peaceful. a bulletin published claimed anarchists could try to use it improvised explosive devices, but no evidence has been presented. the report states anarchists and other domestic groups probably lack the ability to overcome the high and security measures at the rnc and dnc venues, but could target local venues and businesses. on thursday, peace activists gathered outside of pay raytheon plant to protests in drone warfare. meanwhile, protesters are planning to march on the rnc today despite heavy rain. we begin this hour breaking with convention with longtime tampa radiobroadcast their rob laura, director of public affairs.

welcome to democracy now!. >> great to see you. welcome to tampa. >> interesting to be here. give us a tour of the preparations of the city. it was raining hard last night, very windy, although it looks like, new orleans could be in the eye of the storm. >> for those that do not look like tampa -- who who do not know tampa, much of the city has been militarized with armed guards. there has been talk of protesters, but really the romneyville camp has only 100 people. the occupy camp has only a few

dozen people. we have not seen the influx of protesters authorities warned us about. what is interesting is you cannot get through downtown tampa within blocks of the convention center. if you have business in that part of town, you have no access. it seems, in some ways, this is overkill, that they are preparing for a knee that did not arise. >> set the scene of the twin cities. -- prepare for a need that did not arise. >> last night at the tropicana dome, there was a big party for the media and the rnc. that, too, was blocked off four blocks and blocks. you had to go in by a special bus that had two special security personnel per bus. only a few dozen people. there were 1800 law-enforcement national guard security personnel to protect the people inside going to the party. several of the protesters outside, but it was raining, the

conditions of the protest were really hard, and there was no threat. the amount of security was incredible. it was like a no man's land four blocks and blocks. >> they have something like $50 million? on security. >> yes, for machine guns and other security measures. you see these people in tan uniforms, deputies and shares from around the state. they have pistols, what appears to be teargas. they are waiting for the worst. tampa is not known for having major protest. we are not like new york or seattle. why they prepared in this manner, i talked to the police department, they said they were trying to learn the lessons from new york and chicago recently.

but this goes way beyond. i do not know what the number is, but there is probably tend security personnel for every protester in town. >> talk about those who will be inside, give us the political landscape. governor rick scott, the positions he has taken, how he himself rose to be governor. now people are hearing about him because of the voter purge and that is going on in florida, defying the obama administration around him. >> he was a private health care executive. his company was being investigated by the federal government. he invoked the fifth amendment several times as he was being deposed about whether his company was ripping up the government, especially when it came down to medicare. he stepped down from the company and the company gave him a parting gift of $300 million.

he used that fortune to spend on his campaign for governor. he spent $75 million, all of his own money, on the campaign. he won by 1% in 2010, the year that the tea party and conservatives were winning big. he beat the democrat by just 1%. he has had a variety of interesting policies. he has required drug tests for all state employees, people on welfare. the people that have looked at these programs have found very few people are killing these tests and the cost to the state is enormous and we're not really finding that state employees are heavy drug users. his approval ratings are in the 30's 240's. there is even talk that republicans within the party are so upset with him, there could

be a courageous republican that steps forward to run against him in two years. >> i want to ask you about former florida governor charlie crist, who endorsed president obama on sunday. he said, "as republicans gather to nominate mitt romney, americans can expect to hear tales about how president obama has failed to work with their party or turn the economy around, but an element of the party is so far pitched to the right that they have proven incapable of governing for the people. the truth is that the party has failed to demonstrate the part seriousness that the voters deserve. this is the former republican governor of florida. >> he will address the democratic convention in charlotte. charlie crist is a moderate. he started off on the conservative side, but when it

came to teachers issues, whether felons should have voting rights restored, he was on a moderate position. at one point, he controversially -- for the republicans -- embraced president obama, when he came to florida, saying that he would provide some stimulus funding. when charlie crist embraced him, that turned the republican party against him. there was a struggle over whether he would be the standard bearer for the senate nomination or marco runio. -- rubio. republicans inside the party wanted to support rubio, and then try crist was pushed out side of the republican party, ran as an independent, and lost. >> it will be charlie crist and

the mayor of san antonio. julien castro will be the keynote. charlie crist, the former republican gov.. >> there had been rumors about this, that charlie was going to have a coming out party. some people firmly believe that crist will run for governor in florida in two years. right now he is not registered as a democrat. he is still an independent. we do not know whether he would change his party affiliation before the charlotte convention or whether he will decide to run as an independent. all indications are that he will run against our current governor in two years. >> there is an interesting tour you give in the local paper. i want you to give it to our listeners around the country. right across from the convention there is an empty lot.

>> what i tried to do was give an alternative history of tampa. across from the convention center is an empty lot. seven years ago, donald trump came to tampa and made a big splash and said he would build the tallest condo project in florida. lots of dignitaries were at that press conference. after years past, he never came through with this promise. yet, he is promised as a businessman who always gets the job done. i suggest delicate will want to look at that while they are in tampa, this empty lot. you mentioned to government spending on the tampa bay times forum, where the convention is taking place. there is a lot of government spending in this town that these people, the republicans, are relying on. miguel air force base, started by the wta under fdr.

>> mcdill is home of central command. explain what that is. >> that is the central control for the wars in iraq and afghanistan. all of that fighting is directed out of tampa. the interesting thing is, if you look at the legacy of the wta < it is everywhere. we have the longest continuous sidewalk in the world. that was built by the wta. next to that are million-dollar mansions. those would not be there if it was not for that investment. the other thing is that camp also has an interesting history. people from cuba, spain, other

ethnic groups came here in the early 1900's as cigar workers. they had a very militant working history. they were part ofthat was built. the cio. they were alienated, not accepted by the white government in the central part of tampa, so they set up their own community, their own latin quarter, which has a community of socialism, anarchy, there's lots of anarchists that live in that community. they built social clubs. ironically, at one of them, the cuban club, the republicans will be having a party there. fidel castro raise money there for the revolution? >> in spanish republican cause that was fighting against franco, tried to overthrow spain, the republican supporters came here to try to raise money.

the cigar workers funded ambulances and other relief aid for the republican cause to try to stop fascism in latin quartee before franco over -- franco took over and before hitler eventually took over. fidel castro knew this. he came here in the mid 1950's to raise money for his cause to overthrow the batista dictatorship, and was met with a warm welcome here in tampa. >> there is an interesting senator herecurrent cente that goes back to the issue of his family coming from cuba. >> marker rubio -- marco rubio's biography said that his family escaped under fidel castro.

however, his family came here in 1956. most of the people leaving cuba were tried to flee the batista dictatorship coming here because they did not like what was going on in cuba. rubio had covered up that part of his family's history for a long time until reporters discovered it a few months ago. >> this tour of the city? >> i suggest the republicans go to the lot in quarter and look at the social clubs. also, there were lynchings here in the struggle for civil rights. among the people lynched in the early 1900's or anarchists from italy. as i said, we have strong labor traditions here. in the early part of the 20th- century, a strong activist tradition. there was a robbery at a cigar factory. the authorities could not figure out who had robbed the factory

in the early 1900's. the enemy at the time of business, local community leaders, were the anarchists. there were two spanish art -- anarchists that were rounded up within hours. they were hung at the corner of what is now kennedy boulevard and howard avenue, 1 mile from the convention center. i told the delegates that they may want to know this part of tampa's history. there was no trial, no evidence that they were guilty. just because they were politically unpopular. i am sure it has happened in other communities, and in other towns we could find other examples like this, but this is part of the hidden history of the u.s. >> thank you so much. you are usually sitting where i am here at this public

television station, pbs. it is wonderful to broadcast with you in tampa. i am reluctant forward to doing a fund-raiser on friday night at the palladium theatre. people can check out our website as we travel through the country, beginning now that the republican convention right through the elections on our silenced majority tour. a longtime leader, community radio station, wmnf. great to see you. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. when we come back, the protests that are planned for this week in tampa.

>> this is breaking with the convention, war, peace, and the presidency. while the republican national convention was canceled for the day -- it will not start tuesday due to a tropical storm isaac -- there were some other whether issues as well, and mitt romney was planned to speak tonight. the broadcasts only wanted to do three days of coverage, but they cited the storm as the reason for the cancellation tonight. supporters of ron paul held their own conventional -- their own convention over the weekend. on sunday, 7000 people heard ron paul speaking at the university of south florida. the event was described by some as a farewell rally, who was for paul, who was not invited

to speak at the republican convention. over the years, a key parts of congress member paul's platform have included shutting down the federal reserve and cutting federal spending by eliminating the epa and permanent education. congress member paul has been a vocal critic of the 1964 rights act. his ties to certain groups have long drawn scrutiny. in a moment, we will play a part of ron paul's speech, but first we turn to his son, center rand paul. many expect him to run for senator in 2016. he began with a joke about the tsa. >> anybody in favor of abolishing the tsa? [applause]

you know, when i say that in washington, they say, what are you complaining about? you could go to the airport. if you do not have health insurance, you can get a free breast exam, a free mammogram, and if you mention the ron paul revolution, you can get a free colonoscopy. the only problem is, some of us would prefer that our position not be selected by advertising that is on the pizza hut box. i had the director of tsa come before my committee, and he said, we have got to pat down these children. i showed him a picture of a 6- year-old girl from bowling green, kentucky, and the agent had his hand down this little girl's pants.

and he said to me, in all seriousness, a girl in kandahar set off a bomb. i said, this girl is not from kandahar, she is from bowling green, ky. [applause] and there is a professor at harvard and he wrote recently, the next time the tsa asks you to put your hands above your head, no, just a bit higher, a little bit higher, and when you stand there for a vulnerable 7 seconds, the next time we do this, you ask yourself, is this the pose of a free man? we have had the beginnings of some great victories but we have yet to have the great victories.

we did have a great victory in the house when we passed the audit the fed. [applause] this is a credit to a certain congressman from texas who god every republican to vote for it, and 100 democrats to vote for it. [applause] a lot of news reports are saying is dead now and it is going nowhere, and i can tell you that is not true. one of the great thing that has come out of audit the fed is that people have heard you. they have heard audit the fed. here is the thing, because we have talked about it so much, we are now talking about audit the pentagon. [applause]

because of hurricane isaac, it is not sure whether my message will get to the republican national convention, but i'm pretty sure i will be able to speak. one of the messages i will give to them is that republicans need to acknowledge to that not every dollar is well spent or sacred in the military, and we have to look for waste in every department of government. >> center rand paul, republican from kentucky, speaking kentucky -- speaking in tampa at the routable celebration. moments later, his father and republican presidential candidate, congress member ron paul of texas, addressed the crowd. >> i give to you the guy that is my hero, the guy that is the

greatest representative of the liberty movement in our time, my father, ron paul. [applause] >> the three probably have to face, number one, the attack on personal liberty. the people truly understood what personal liberty means, you have self ownership, you have a god- given right to your life, and therefore, you have a right to your liberty. we defend all life and liberty refer this of our judgment about how people are using the liberty. then we would have the natural sequence of saying, if that is the case, you have a natural right to keep the fruits of your

labor. [applause] personal liberty, when it returns once again, you will be what to drink raw milk. [applause] you will be able to make ham. you will be able to feel secure in your house. the federal government will not be able to bust in your house without a search warrant. [applause] you will be allowed, without a government permit, to buy additional products when you please and what you please. no longer will the government

assume they have the responsibility of protecting you against yourself. nobody can do that. [applause] the emphasis will no longer be on economic and personal security. the government will take care of us. but it will emphasize the fact of the government is there to protect our liberty. they can give us security, whether it is economic or personal security, but if the government says we can provide perfect security, isn't that what we do with animals that we've agreed to raise up and eat? this is what happens. they are secure in cages, you fat on them up, you take care of them, they have all the food they want, until it is time to butcher. you say what you want is liberty. you do not want this false sense of security that governments cannot give you. we are spread too far around the

world. we are in 140 countries. we have 900 basis. they are preparing right now to go into syria and it probably will not be too long that we may well be in iran. we do not need another war. we need less wars, and we need to quit. in talking about foreign policy like this and emphasizing low back, somebody said the other day on the internet, those paul people, if they had been in charge, osama bin laden would still be alive. you know what i think the answer is? so would the 3000 people from 9/11. [applause]

and so with the 8500 americans killed in iraq and afghanistan. they would be alive as well. [applause] and also, those 44,000 military personnel that have come back severely injured. they would not be separate those consequences, and we would not have hundreds of thousands suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome as well as a brain injuries. so i would say, if you take that and add $4 trillion, our side with the argument by a long

be no regulation. no, if you go bankrupt, you do not been bailed out by the government. the really big question we have to decide upon is which way are we going to go? we see the end of an era, where is it going to go? i think the choice is one of two. i do not think there will be

another marxist, long to restore enthusiasm. i do not think tomorrow we will have the same thing as a hitler or mussolini. but we do have to worry about fascism, expansion of what we already have which is already corporatism. the buddy system between big corporations, big banks with the government, that is the reason that we have to be on the side of saying yes. if you are big in made your money because you the special benefits and bailouts and protection from the government, that is wrong. but if you are big because use all the good product to us and you got rich, you have a right to be rich for doing that. >> republican presidential candidate ron paul speaking on sunday here in in made your money because you the special benefits and bailouts and protection from tampa. after the rally ended, we spoke with the author of the new book "ron paul's revolution." he talked about the role that he

will have at the republican convention. >> tampa and the buildup to the rnc has been the ron paul forces, the official campaign and the grass roots champs, the finding where they move from here, and the manner in which they move, in a world in which they have to admit ron paul will not be the republican nominee for president the campaign has made it delivered strategy, even in the face of what the grassroots see as delivered disrespect to shenanigans on the part of the rnc to keep what they see as legitimate rumple delegates from having a chance to be seated at the rnc. the campaign has chosen that they do not want to be a fighting rebel within the gop, in a matter that i think a lot of fans would like to be. they want to normalize themselves as what you may call the loyal opposition, but they

would characterize as just a legitimate faction of the party, especially given that paul doubled his percentage goes from 2008, rather than 4 percent said of gop primary voters. this is a significant part of the party with a distinct ideology from the romney mainstream wing. they are tried to play that weway. the coldwater fans were considered to grant tax -- anti- government, rockefeller-scranton establishment. the disaster came 16 years later with another goldwater elected as president. the religious right is another analogy which is mentioned on the floor of this paul reilly, the notion that after pat's robert failed, he got his people

doing the same thing that ron paul possible are doing, taking apart from the bottom up, being the people that go to local precinct meetings, get people elected, become delegates to the national convention, even if they do not get to vote for their candidate. they become the party establishment and the rule makers who are running the wrong ball people down. >> what role do ron paul delegates have been in their convention? >> from what i am gathering -- and i am not expert on republican national committee for procedure. i am talking to a lot of delegates who have never been here for. most of them feel like there will not be any actual outlook for them to feeexpressed their support for paul.

there is a spokesman for the delegation that announces them. most of the delegates believe because paul has not been placed in nomination, there will not be any opportunity for anyone to say, there are this many votes for paul. it will seem like a run the coronation even though we know that there are people on stage to would vote for ron paul. >> of wanted your take on the speech from ron paul. he did not mention mitt romney once by name. >> of course. paul is not endorsing mitt romney. i expect that to continue. he does not like -- he does not support what mitt romney supports. he knows his band to not support what mitt romney supports. as much as the republican party might let the discipline, ron paul understands and his political machine understands that he would lose all the credibility he built up with

these people here, plus the million that voted for him, if he did that. >> if mitt romney loses in november, what direction does the republican party go? >> a loss would actually be a great opening politically for the presumptive heir to the wrong ball movement, his son, rand paul of kentucky. what it would be a mistake to assume that the loyalty of their fans is transferable and inheritable, it is true that his fans are inclined to want to like rand paul. if he does that do anything the completely angers him, they will stick with him. he is making an attempt to appeal beyond his father's face. he will speak the language of your talk radio read state republican in the way that his father tends not to do. when he talks about foreign policy, rather than decrying the crimes of the empire, the way

that his father might, ran the ball is likely to talk about the constitutional authority to wage war belonging to the senate. he is more apt to emphasize the fiscal responsibility, the fact that we cannot afford the empire. he does not tend to decry in moral terms the way that his father might. a romney loss leaves the field open in 2016 and the rand paul is, by all accounts, ready to take that ron. he is certainly going to run for president in 2016 in the case of a from a loss. i should think a defeat for the party's mainstream would lead the direction of the republican party in a great deal of flux, a great opportunity for an insurgent movement that has already proven itself that it can shift a party. >> the author of the new book "ron paul's revolution."

he was speaking at the sun dome. talking about the role that ron paul delegates will have at this week's republican national convention, and what ron paul's candidacy made for the future. we are broadcasting from tampa, florida. next week, we will be in charlotte, n.c. for breaking with convention, war, th peace, and the presidency.

>> that is the christian choir at the tampa theatre at the faith in freedom celebration. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. breaking with convention. more, peas, and the presidency. a democracy now! special two- hour coverage from the

republican convention in tampa. you can also go to our website, democracynow.org. even as hurricane is it bears on the gulf coast, thousands are expected to protest. today's official events were cancelled due to the storm, organizers spent the night in casing their picket signs in plastic. on sunday, they held a press conference to announce the protest would still go forward. representatives from local groups were still present. this is someone who traveled from chicago, a spokesperson for the national anti-war coalition. >> i understand there is a storm coming. you have already heard we will be out here marching anyway. the storm we will regard it -- we are going to face here in tampa tomorrow is nothing compared to what happens in the

villages of iraq, afghanistan, pakistan, yemen, somalia, at an end and under the missiles and drone slots by our government. that storm has been going on for 11 years. we are going to march tomorrow to say no to war, to say bring all the troops home now. we are going to tell this party, and then in one week, we're going to join the folks in charlotte, to tell that party that we won all those troops home now, we want that money, the trillions of a year, to go for all things ever on this banner, good jobs, health care, quality education, and of course, peace and equality. >> my name is carlos from the southern california immigration coalition. i am from los angeles tonight with a coalition to march on the

rnc. we understand that during this current the ministration, we denounce the deportations, but the point out the republican national convention has a history of discrimination and racism, especially targeting immigrants come from california, to arizona, to alabama. republicans have introduced racist anti-in red legislation. arizona has been a leader in introducing sb 1070. alabama, a anti-immigrant legislation such as english- only. we also had the anti at the studies that specifically targets immigrants, mexican americans. we are here in unity. we are going to march, rain or shine, demanding equality and peace. an especially good jobs, health care, and affordable public education for all. we know immigrants suffer and

all those categories. >> we have several lenders. >> for all the activists who have been mobilizing here in tampa and also coming from around the country, the message is resistance to a right wing and racist program that has been put forth by the republican party but is challenged by neither party, and it really takes the movement in the street. >> a few of the activists with the coalition to march on the rnc. it looks like there is plenty of rain on the way. protesters will likely encounter the same heavy police presence as those who protested sunday, although they never reached the tampa bay times forum. the building had been barricaded off by concrete walls and barbed wire. meanwhile, thousands of officers are patrolling the streets near the rnc, in an area being called the green zone. for more, we are joined by two

guests hoping to organize protests. with me is the author of the new book "drone warfare." code pink demonstrated outside of the raytheon production plant to protest its production of war for equipment. the joint special operations command for iraq and afghanistan. we are also joined by tracey who traveled from minneapolis to help organize today's march on the rnc. that marks landed her on the fbi surveillance list for providing material support or resources to

put it -- terrorist organizations. agents raided her home in 2010, along with the homes of other activists. investigation is ongoing the fbi surveillance list. we welcome you both to democracy now! media, the first protest was on thursday at raytheon. organizers of the rnc and authorities in tampa say they are not using drones to surveil what is happening this week. >> first of all, we are not sure about that. everything related to drones is in secret. we thought it was important to start at raytheon, working with a local group which has been protesting how this area is so dependent on the military, between the air force base, central command, the jobs involving the manufacture of things like drones and missiles, and also to show the connection between the money that these manufacturers put into buying congress people so that they turn around and give the money back to the companies.

this is supposed to be an example of capitalism at its best but these companies would not exist if it was not for the taxpayer. >> drone warfare has escalated enormously under not a republican president, but the democratic president, president barack obama. >> which is precisely why we knew it -- we will be at the democratic party as well -- convention as well. both party support the drone strikes. they are both making threatening moves with relation to iran. they are both more parties. we think it is important to protest both of them and the modeling as this is the kind of policies we want. >> talk about the distinctions between the drones, whether they were or were not using them here at the convention, and a drone warfare you're talking about in places like pakistan, yemen, afghanistan. >> the manufacturers are worried that the wars are winding down,

and they are continuing for the drone strikes overseas and more bases set up around the world. in the meantime, they see the u.s. as a place to market their drones. they see the police departments around the country and they say we won every department to have its own fleet of drones. they have experimented here in the local departments. in fact, they said it was done very effective, but there are about 30 departments around the country that have been given special permission. when the faa opens up the air space in september 2015, that is when we will see this huge influx of drones in police departments and fbi and other homeland security agencies around the country, unless we do something to stop it, which is why code pink has been having this campaign together with the antiwar groups to say let's stop the drone attacks overseas and let's stop the drones from

spying from -- on us from home. >> you have traveled from minneapolis. you have already been in a lot of trouble for your activities and protests of the republican convention in 2008. why continue here? >> the reality is they are doing this to scare us, they want us to stop organizing. we do what we do because we believe in it. i know there is a better world and it does not include an occupation of afghanistan or war against iran. i think it is important that, despite the ongoing investigation of the 23 subpoenaed activists, we are here to say that we still demand an end to the occupation of afghanistan. we still demand an end to the war in iraq. we will not stand for the republican agenda that is anti- woman, anti-immigrant, anti- people. >> talk about the trouble you

faced in minneapolis. >> in 2010, they raided my home and the homes of five others. it directly related to our organizing of the 2008 republican convention. it became very clear after the raids that they had actually put a spy into the anti-war movement, which took two years to collect data on the work we had been doing, our support of -- our international solidarity work with people of palestine and columbia, who are both suffering because of u.s. foreign aid, going to the government of colombia and the israeli government. >> talked about the level of surveillance in minneapolis and you faced at the 2008 convention, and what you are facing now? >> in 2008, prior to the protest, they shut down st.

paul, the capital of minneapolis. going in and out became impossible. there were police everywhere who would get randomly searched without any cause or reason. they had police forces all over basically watching people and randomly arresting people, gathering people up. there were different areas of protest and they would arrest those people, including yourself. >> yes, my colleagues and i were arrested the first day. more than 40 reporters were arrested during the republican convention. >> they continue that basically the entire time p.w. face possible in the map for those activities four years ago? >> it is starting there. for two and half years, they collected data on what we did. it is not clear because the intend to indict somet.they ony

combination of the 23 of us. it is unclear what the charges will be. >> if romney became president, he would increase military spending by $2.10 trillion. president obama has also expanded the 23 of us. it is the military budget. >> the reality is, both parties are partners of war. they have every intention of continuing to have troops in afghanistan, even after suppose of the pulling out. there will be troops in iraq. both parties, including -- it is clear that there was part of the obama administration that was part of targeting the occupy most and also of as a form of political oppression happening currently. they are going after anarchists on the pacific northwest coast, targeting them for their beliefs. >> quickly, protesters here using ied's. >> it is absolutely upsurge.

it is part of this scare tactic of keeping people from here, keeping the conversation away from what people want to talk about, jobs, the economy, and instead try to scare them about protesters. >> i want to thank you for being here. that does it for the broadcast. breaking with convention. war, peace, and the presidency. we are doing two hours every day from the republican and democratic convention. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning. email your comments to outreach@democracynow.org or mail them to democracy now! p.o. box 693, new york, ny 10013. box 693, new york, ny 10013.