should diplomacy fail. benjamin netanyahu been called on obama to maintain sanctions against iran and even tighten them shouldn't make nuclear dances. >> is that we can resolve this diplomatically. i will repeat that we take no options off the table, including military options. have asure we do not nuclear weapons in iran that would destabilize the region and potentially threaten the united states of america. work,s diplomacy is to those pressures must be kept in place. and i think they should not be in lessened until there is verifiable success. it is israel's firm believe if iran continues to advance its nuclear program during negotiations, the sanctions [indiscernible] >> president obama's phone call

with rouhani on friday marked the highest level contact between u.s. and iran since 1979. in response to netanyahu's comments, the iranian foreign , "we have seen nothing from him but life connections to deceive and scare ." united nations chemical weapons experts arriving in syria today to launch their mission on destroying the assad regime stockpile. the mandate was established in the un security council resolution adopted last week. it sets a timeline of mid-2014 for the complete elimination of chemical weapons from syria. the steering foreign minister on monday continued the regime's denial of using chemical weapons, claiming foreign governments are supplying them to syrian rebels. however, there remains the challenge that is facing all of us whether those who are supplying terrorists with these

types of weapons will abide by since terrorist use poisonous gases in my country have received chemical agents from regional and western countries that are well known to all of us. >> the arrival of the u.n. disarmament experts comes as a team of inspectors have completed their second mission investigating alleged chemical weapons attacks in syria. a final report is expected later this month. the latest disclosures from the leaks of whistleblower edward snowden show the nsa is storing the internet metadata of millions of people for up to a year, regardless of whether or not they are linked to an investigation. the stored metadata includes a vast personal records of internet use, including browsing history and account passwords. the online information is stored in a database code-named marina. dirty three people have been

detained in texas after crossing into the u.s. from mexico as part of her protest against record deportations. livedocumented youths who in uss children as well as through their parents are being held at the laredo crossing. it is the second time in three months that undocumented immigrants attempted to reenter the u.s. through an official point of entry. wasoup called the dream 9 held for three weeks after trying into enter the u.s. in july. all nine are now seeking asylum. on monday, the activists marched across a bridge connecting mexico to u.s. wearing graduation caps and gowns, chanting "undocumented and unafraid." two marine corps generals have been forced into early retirement over security lapse in afghanistan last year. major generals charles gurganus and greg sturtevant were found to have committed a series of errors that led to militant attack on u.s. base, leaving tumor instead and a number of

warplanes destroyed. the forced resignations of high- ranking officers of the first in the marine corps since the vietnam war. the venezuelan president maduro has announced the expulsion of three u.s. diplomats over what he has said her efforts to destabilize his government. in a televised address, maduro called out the diplomats by name. >> three north american h lomats, i have told to proceed with their expulsion. their 48 hours to leave. -- they have 48 hours to leave. get out of venezuela. y, go home. get out of venezuela. >> president maduro says the three met with extreme right opposition groups in a bid to disrupt event as well as electrical power grid and sabotage its economy.

in a statement, u.s. embassy said it completely rejects maduro's allegations. thousands of people rallied in port-au-prince, haiti to mark the 22nd anniversary of the first u.s.-backed ouster of them president aristide, haiti's first democratically elected leader. the current president is facing pressure to call long-delayed senate and municipal elections. a pair of hunger striking canadians jailed in egypt for over a month without charge spoken out for the first time about their ordeal. john grayson, a toronto filmmaker, and tarek loubani, a doctor, were arrested in cairo on august 16. they were slated to visit gaza were grayson was to film tarek loubani as e train emergency room doctors. in a statement smuggled out of their prison cell, grayson and tarek loubani said they were arrested after rushing to the scene of a mass shooting by

state forces of supporters of ousted president morsi. grayson says he began filming the shootings aftermath while loubani treated some of the injured. they said they were then -- "arrested, searched, caged, question, interrogated, videotaped with the syrian terrorist, slapped, beam, ridiculed, hotbox, refused phone calls, stripped, shaved bald, -- accused of a being foreign mercenaries." a british university is pulling its more than $1 million investment in a military firm that makes parts for armed u.s. drones. the university of edinburgh announced its divestment from the company altra electronics following campaign from students and human rights activists. altra supplies air navigation

systems for the u.s. flee the predator and reaper pilotless drones. student activists from the city university of new york are continuing protest against the schools hiring of former cia director and military general david petraeus to teach a class. on monday, demonstrators rallied outside of the building where petraeus'course has been relocated following several rallies. >> you see the videos on youtube. it is terrible. you see them getting pushed around. it is like, why would they go to these extremes? why would you need that if this is just a class? >> even though they be me down, i'm still not scared. i'm still not scared and i won't stop until we have petraeus out. students are facing charges following their arrest at a protest last month.

and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. on the road in louisiana, broadcasting from new orleans public television wlae. has become arnment partial shutdown for the first time in 17 years after congress failed to break apart and unlike break aght deadline -- partisan deadlock by midnight deadline. the office of management and budget issued orders shortly before the midnight deadline saying that -- some 800,000 federal workers are to be furloughed and more than one million others will be asked to work without pay. the shutdown was spearheaded by tea party conservatives who backed a house bill tying continued government funding to a one-year delay of the affordable care act and the repeal of a tax to pay for it. the democratic controlled senate

insisted on funding the government through november 15 without special conditions. senate majority o leader harry reid spoke just after midnight. the tea representing party, the anarchists of the country. the majority of the republicans in the house are following every step of the way. this is an unnecessary blow to america. to the economy, middle-class -- everyone. >> house speaker john boehner addressed reporters soon after the government shutdown began. >> the american people are worried about their jobs. they're worried about their incomes rising. because they're all under pressure. the economy is not growing. why isn't it growing? one of the issues that is standing in the way is obamacare. the fact that nobody knows what the rules are, employers are

scared to death to hire new employees, cutting the hours of many of their current employees, and for what reason? this law is not ready for prime time. the government shutdown comes as republicans and democrats face a nearing deadline to increase the nation's borrowing limit or risk a default on u.s. debts. republicans had previously threatened to tie their bid for an obama to repeal to the debt ceiling vote. despite the government shutdown, key initiatives of obamacare begins today. individuals seeking health insurance under the new program can now enroll online through the new marketplaces. to talk more about the government shutdown, we go to washington, d.c. where we're joined by tim murphy, a reporter at "mother jones." welcome to democracy now! explain what has happened since midnight eastern time, what exactly is being shut down. short answer is about 20%

of the federal government, 800,000 federal workers, will show up to work today and be sent home, including 400,000 civilian workers in the department of defense, the department that is probably seeing the most cuts from this. the longer answer is, pretty much various things that you use in your everyday life will no longer be open to you. people apply for mortgages will have trouble getting that from the federal government. people trying to figure out their taxes will no longer be able to call the irs to ask asa questions. the coast guard is cutting back some of its navigation assistance. new automobile inspections will be curtailed. the epa's closing 94% of its responsibilities for the foreseeable future. there is this perception the shutdown mostly just affects washington, d.c., and it really does affect the sea, but it goes ith broader than that --

does affect washington, d.c., because much broader than that. >> republican congress member charlie dent of pennsylvania said "it's time to govern. i don't intend to support a full scared at this point hurco republican congressman of new york said "the circus created the past few days is a reflective of mainstream republicans." and republican congress member paul ryan of wisconsin said -- tim, can you talk about the division among the republicans? days,r the last couple of there been the emergence of a block of mostly upper midwestern were northeastern a push to become a moderating influence of the party. what we saw last night as they

really are still the minority and a very small minority. peter king of new york, republican, attempted to lead a small rebellion against john boehner's proposal to delay the implementation of the affordable care act by year. he got about 20 votes. that died. for the for siebel future, they are in the minority of the republican party and what they consider to be mainstream is anything but. -- those that harry reid called anarchist last night who are driving public policy in the house of representatives. >> explain exactly who gets affected by this first phase of the shutdown and when the voting will reopen government? with the shutdown is it essentially gets worse the longer it goes on. for995 and 1996 it went on 28 days and ended up costing

u.s. about $2 billion in economic losses just because people don't have money and are spending it. you have the thousands of workers that will be furloughed without pay. when the shutdown eventually ends, they will get the pay. in the meantime, they're trying to make ends meet. the government did pass an emergency measure to continue paying members of the armed services last night, so they will still work and get their pay. families whose loved ones die in afghanistan will not get death benefits in that timeframe. civilian contractors will not by large be showing up to work. the epa will shut down almost all of its services. the national zoo will close, will shutanda cam down. nasa come i think is for loan about 97% of its staff. furloughinghink, is about 97% of its staff. it is up to each state whether they will get food stamps going

forward. heating assistance as the weather gets colder is something that is now up in the air. there's is just this wide range of government programs -- headstart start, a program that has already been really hammered by the sequestration cuts in the last seven months, we'll get further cuts over the next couple of weeks ithe shutdown process as grants are now put on hold. whether you have kids, whether you're a college student relying on federal student loans or pell grants, whether you're a senior citizen, whether you're living in a cold region without heat, the shutdown will affect you. morning, msnbc monday ron johnson of wisconsin suggested democrats jammed through the affordable care act on a partisan basis. >> the reason we're at this point today is because the amocrats jammed through on

100% partisan basis a huge reform. they did not do the work or try to get a bipartisan consensus on how to do health care reform. >> that is not true, senator. >> come on. please. >> pass an appropriation bill in over two years and so now he is reading the polls and rather than keeping us in session, they're going to swat this away. billould have swatted this away. harry reid should have taken a vote as soon as the house passed this. we gave ourselves time so we could avert a shutdown. i don't want to shut down. let's face it. it is the root cause, this is an incredibly partisan, very divisive bill and we are dealing with that right now and it is a real shame. >> tim murphy, if you could respond? >> the very brief parties democrats have been running on making health care affordable and available to everyone for

most of the last four decades. they won the election and passed it on a partyline vote. the longer answer is, this really did reflect the bipartisan consensus at the time the affordable care act it's the idea for the individual mandate originally from the conservative heritage institute and prior to that affordable care act, gallipolis this was an amended der mitt romney of massachusetts. -- and prior to the affordable care act being implemented, it was under mitt romney of massachusetts. it is essentially a bipartisan creation that passed on the partyline vote. but since then, republicans have made this the staple of their platform and they view it as the key to electoral success. >> tim, you have a long list of what is going to go down today. what are some of the government

services that won't be provided. just share some of those with us. >> sure. for instance, the national park service's closing 401 sites so that applies to things like slicing and hiking, but also applies to the retirees and folks like that -- sightseeing and hiking, also applies to the retirees and folks like that. they have 48 hours to relocate. u.s. geological survey is canceling all of its long-term scientific research. the same goes for agencies like noah and the environmental protection agency. noaa and the environmental protection agency. department of defense civilian employees. or even folks on the left side from the spectrum might be ok with and conservatives are ok with, but for instance, the

bureau of land management will no longer be giving out permits for oil and gas were new oil and gas exploration. the department of energy advanced research project program, they do things like scoreable batteries and driving energy from algae and things like that, they are shutting down entirely. is bureau of land management not going to be giving out permits for renewable energy, either. the nuclear regulatory commission runs out of its funding stream in one week. they can continue functioning as normal this week, but then they lay off i think all but about 20 agency nexteir week. that could mean a reduction in inspections. we will see a reduction in automobile inspections and beef and grain. a lot of the stuff we eat is no longer going to have that second look from federal inspectors. the fda is going to slow down its research on drugs.

as flu season gets going, the center for disease control will no longer be able to properly monitor outbreaks both at home and overseas, and it will be properly were able to properly implement floozies and vaccination programs. >> and the nuclear recommend nuclear regulatory commission, they would furloughed 92% of the employees -- furlough them now? >> yes. the department of energy has made it a priority of urgent nuclear cleanup but the broad scope of this activities will be drastically curtailed. gun permits will be given out? won't ben permits given out. finally, a backwards way of getting gun control. but in a situation i don't think

anybody really wants. happens with, what the debt ceiling debate next? as bad as the shutdown is, and it is pretty bad and affecting all these people, the debt ceiling -- failure to raise the debt ceiling would be far more catastrophic and that comes october 16. treasury secretary jack lew says at that point we will no longer be up to meet our nation's obligations unless congress can raise the debt ceiling, which has been a fairly routine thing over the past few decades, then we run the risk of default. if we get into a default, then the u.s. dollar runs the risk of no longer being a global currency and we run the risk of plunging into a second recession in triggering kind of a whole new global economic crisis. >> tim murphy, thank you for being with us. tim murphy is with "mother

jones" magazine and we will have a link to your piece on democracynow.org. we are in new orleans and we're going to talk about what is happening here. the worst oil spill in history two years ago has gone to court. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

>> this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we are on the road in louisiana, broadcasting from new orleans public television wlae. we are not far from the gulf coast, said of the worst offshore oil spill in u.s. and april 2010. 11 workers die when the deepwater horizon well exploded, analyst finally and barrels of crude oil leak into the ocean before the well was plugged after 51 days. this week bp, the come to responsible for this bill, is

back in court. on monday the second phase of the trial began with lawyers accusing the oil company of lying about how much oil was leaking during the 2010 oil spill. part of the trial will determine exactly how much oil spilled. under the clean water act, polluters face maximum fines of $1100 per barrel of spilled oil. if the polluter is found to be grossly negligent, the fine can grow to $4300 per barrel. the on the well-known devastation caused by the bp oil spill, the oil and gas industry louisiana has also been blamed for destroying coastal wetlands that provide a vital barrier against flooding from storms like hurricane katrina. headeday, democracy now! to the frontlines of this issue, the lower ninth ward of new orleans. the team met with community theizer jacques morial, son of the city's first african american mayor.

jacques described the scene at the edge of the water to democracy now! plus amy littlefield. we are here in new orleans. we're just about to play you this piece of community organizer ja. >> i make community serving here in new orleans. i'm glad you are here at the lookout. this place, more than any other place, amplifies how close the see is to our communities and homes of so many people. is open water. when i was a kid, it was mostly dry land. it was a little boy's paradise. you could run through back

there, chase boar or have them chase you. right now it is open water. this is brackish water, mostly saltwater. it is within 150, 200 yards of people's homes. this is the see right here. right here. this is the ocean right here. water, it isthis not fresh, it is salty. is where the flood wall, before he was reinforced with , this this aggregate here is where it was overtopped. just about 1200 meters from here is where the barge crashed through the flood wall. >> during katrina. >> yes. , he is a dear friends little bit older than me, but in much better shape than me, but the waterway from seven inches to seven feet in his home in

three minutes. it was about six blocks from here. thankfully, he swam to safety. the primary cause of this particular area is probably the dredging of the mississippi river outlet, which the business leaders decided in the late 1950s, early 1960s, to dredge a shortcut between the port of new orleans and the gulf of mexico. so because the river meanders come it is about 100 miles from the foot of canal street to the gulf of mexico. this was a shortcut, about 60 miles, and it never achieved any commercial success. but it did allow the saltwater to intrude into this area, destroy our first line of defense, and put us at great risk for storm surge flooding and dozensin cost,

of people, if not thousands, their lives. the operation of the oil and gas pipeline companies. say dredged about i would to miles north of here. they basically carved up this natural ridge the protected new orleans east no word ninth ward. -- east lower ninth ward. they did not find that much oil and gas, but they never fixed what they broke. that is why the flood protection authority is taking them to court. thank god for them. >> new orleans community organizer jacques morial, here thanksorleans, special to amy littlefield and sam alcott and renée felt for that report. now the southeast louisiana flood protection authority east is trying to hold oil and gas industry accountable for the damage caused by thousands of

miles of canals and pipelines carved through the wetlands. afterard was created hurricane katrina to provide independent oversight of flood protection in metropolitan new orleans east of the mississippi river. in july, the board filed suit against 97 oil and gas companies, including bp, exxon mobil, and chevron, accusing them of killing plant life, eroding soil, and carrying out a "mercilessly efficient, continuously expanding system of ecological destruction." votedne board members unanimously in favor of a lawsuit, but louisiana's republican governor bobby jindal, who reportedly has received over $1 million in campaign donations from the oil industry, has staunchly oppose the effort. governor jindal said the suit would be a litmus test for new nominees to the flood board and vowed not to read .2 members whose terms had expired, including the board's vice

president, john berry, who spearheaded a lawsuit against the oil companies. committee thathe selects nominees for the board chose not to renominate john berry, citing his support for the lawsuit. which the majority on the board supported. john berry joins us now. he will remain in his post until governor jindal chooses one of two people picked by the nominating committee to replace them. john berry is also an award- winning historian and author of several books, including, "rising tide:the great mississippi flood of 1927 and how it changed america." john, welcome to democracy now! talk about the significance of what happened last night in the lawsuit you have spearheaded. lawsuit is more important in anything that happened to me. because of the destruction of the land in the industry is not responsible for all the destruction, but is responsible for a good part of it, then increased storm surge attacks our levees.

suing to getlly them to abate the problem, to make the storm surge go back natural -- i hear you saying you just lost me. is that the case? i will keep talking, anyway, in case you didn't. surge comingtorm against our levees has increased because of the loss of the land, so we're trying to get either the companies to fill in that boardere to pay the levy compensation so we can improve the flood protection system. >> john, can you talk about this raucous meeting yesterday and how it is when you had unanimous

support of the levy board here in new orleans yesterday for unanimous support for the lawsuit. they chose to not nominate you vice president of the board. >> politics did intrude. that is kind of unique nominating committee that was created after katrina. it was supposed to be created to insulate the selection process from politics. if you look at the members of our board, it is really kind of extraordinary. we have the author of the most advanced storm surge modeling the world. we used to have a past president of the american society of civil engineers. writeve engineers who college textbooks. this is a board of truly capable people. the members of the nominating committee made no bones about it

politics were letting intervene. the governor was against the lawsuit. they didn't want to offend the governor. so they did not renominate me. the governor had already said i was not going to get reappointed. in terms of substance, it is not a deal, but it is offensive to the process that this board created to insulate us from politics, stated outright they were yielding to politics. more importantly, a majority of the board, no matter who is appointed, will still support the lawsuit. so the lawsuit is going to continue. >> so, john berry, what actually happens now? the is three years after oil spill. three years.

so with this lawsuit, we see the other lawsuit in court today, just this week, but what happens now? >> well i could really hear your question. -- interesting interview. i will say the processes are continuing legally. there is going to be an argument in a few weeks over whether or not it goes to federal court or he goes back to state court. it is not really that big of a deal either way, although, we would prefer it to stay in state court. we will start the discovery process. i think when the discovery process is underway, we will find some interesting things. i think it is important to note we are not suing the oil companies simply because they

have deep pockets. we're suing the oil companies because we believe they have broken the law. and that lawbreaking is ongoing. throughout the state, they have dredged 10,000 miles of canals and pipelines. ok, break? >> i'm going to take a break and then we will come back so we can fix the ability to hear each other. ofn berry is vice president the southeast louisiana flood protection authority until yesterday when he lost his post because he is spearheaded this lawsuit against some 97 oil

companies. he'll hold onto the post until governor jindal appoint someone else. when we come back from break, we will be joined by activist and lawyer monique harden. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

>> this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we are in new orleans. we are on the road in louisiana. our guest today is monique harden, environmental lawyer and activist. as we talk about the latest round bp, because it is back in court, that's right, in looking at a reuters piece right now in the frantic days after the 2010 gulf of mexico oil spill, bp lied about how much oil was leaking from its macondo well and took too long to cap it, according to plaintiff's lawyers monday in the opening phase of the second part of this companies trial. talk about the significance of this lawsuit that is now in court. the second part of the lawsuit that has been presented by federal court judge

. they've scheduled about a two- week timeframe to delve into two key issues, which is what happened after the spill occurred or during the spill, which is the efforts by bp to fill the well and how much oil actually flowed into the gulf of mexico. highly those issues are questionable because of the false reporting and data that bp was providing the federal government authorities and the press. >> i want to play a clip of the coastal zone director p.j. haun who visited some of the areas shoreline on september 27 just a few days ago, and shows the oil that remains a long the marshes, more than three years since the spill. >> wherein one of the hardest eas hit by the bp oil spill. you can see the amount of oil still left ear, the marsh over three years later, right here you can see the oil it is just

using out of the marsh plants -- oozing out of this marsh plant. there are small crabs and crustaceans that are feeding in this area. the birds are coming in here and other wildlife like raccoons will come in and feed on the small crustaceans that are covered in this oil that are also feeding this area. unfortunately, this is one of the most active estuary areas on the planet. >> monique harden, your response? >> this is going to be a problem. it will last for decades. the litigation is currently going on is critical in terms of the resources exacted are extracted from bp, in this case, the pay for the repair and the remediation of the damage. we're talking about a difference between what the department of justice would like the court to -- the department

of justice is looking for $18 billion altogether with its estimate of the barrels of oil spilled into the golf. bp is looking for a number under $3 billion. 80% of that money is coming to the five gulf states -- texas, louisiana, mississippi, alabama, and florida. it is for remediation and repair the damage. so what this part of the oil spill case will result in is really determines the outcome for these coastal areas of our states. meant for has this the community here in new orleans? it means a lot of things in terms of seeing how our system of governance is to our lives.

right now we have a situation where governing authorities have always differ to companies like bp for the economy and environmental stewardship. we see now where that has gotten us. people are dealing with serious health problems from exposure, as they went out to clean up the oil and present -- event the spill from coming inland. without any medical care or compensation for those injuries they have sustained. economically dislocated. a lot of people can continue the jobs they had that has been in their family generations -- in their families for generations. newle had to start a whole way of life all over again. it has been a serious hardship for many of our coastal communities. it is one that bp needs to be held accountable to. i think one of the things that is extremely important for people understand is this lawsuit at the end of the day

will generate a number. that number is going to be an amount of money that bp is going to have to pay. what we do with that money is really important, and very difficult right now to ensure that the money will be put into the places where it is dated the most. and that is our coastal communities. people are struggling to find a way to have a voice in directing a future where those money should be, that their lives can be restored. centercent report by the for american progress found states like louisiana there received the most disaster payments also have a large number of lawmakers who are climate deniers -- those who doubt the science linking greenhouse gas emissions to her temperatures and more violent storms. the study found louisiana has 5 congressman who fit this description, one of them is republican senator david fitter, ranking member of the environment and public works committee. this is the senator speaking during a hearing in may. >> climate change is happening.

it is always happening. there many significant influences that are making it happen. just a cursory lance at recent thattific literature shows influences, major influences on climate, include solar activity, solar cycles, ocean currents from the cosmic rays, and greenhouse gases that occur naturally as well as those him it'd from many countries -- countries.m many >> that is climate change denier david vitter for the senator from here in louisiana. >> i'm going to tell a secret that he would not like many of the people in louisiana do know, he is a rhodes scholar. he is a very smart man. he knows better, but he's being paid by oil companies and gas companies who like things to

remain the way they are. so denying that climate change exists, that it is real, has taken the people's lives in louisiana, separated children from parents, has displaced over one million people after hurricane katrina -- that this is ok. it is not ok. pullingg we're doing is our resources with groups across the gulf region to bring together a people's movement assembly in mobile, alabama at the end of this week, october 4 through saturday, october 5. the whole point of this gathering of this people's movement assembly is to make the connection that our community, we live on the frontline, both the causes and effect of climate change. we also are the first to receive the first and the worst, the effects of climate change from storm surge, flooding,

hurricanes. these are all the affects of climate change that we have. however, the protection of our communities are in the hands of people like senator vitter and to changeo us that. our lives and communities depend on it. >> john berry, can you talk about how euros and of the coastline affects flooding? >> it is easy. as i said earlier, that land outside the levees protect the levees. it cuts down the storm surge. so the destruction of the coast means you are greater risk to hurricanes. and that is the basis of our lawsuit against 97 of these companies. when they did these operations producing oil and gas, they agreed to maintain these canals

without allowing them to erode further. when they were down with them, they were supposed to restore them to their prior case, and they haven't done that. that is why we say they're breaking the law. that increased storm surge is going to be growing threat just going to be a growing threat. we have better protection in new orleans than we have ever had, but it is still the lowest in the developed world. >> john, how much of the erosion is due to oil and gas drilling? >> it varies from spot to spot, but there was a study by the u.s. geological survey a few years ago in which oil industry scientists participated, which concluded statewide it was about 36%. in some areas, it is probably 90% and other areas probably

were there is no activity it might be almost zero. >> monique harden, can you talk about other communities? >> is a historic african- american community, montville, toxics in the midst of 14 industrial facilities including phillips 66 will refinery, coal- fired power plant operated by entergy, the largest cluster of final manufactures and a whole host of local production facilities all around this small historic african- american community. i think the lawsuit that john john barry and the board filed is important in bringing these countries to account for the damage they've done. the residents of this town have resolve to bring our u.s. account for the

basic human rights to life, freedom of racial equality. what we have found is that we are chambering our government for human rights -- we can bring our government up for human rights. it is a judicial authority that has jurisdiction over our government for human rights abuses. they found -- what we have shown taking place in montville, which is happening across the country where permitting laws disregard basic rights to health, where people are daily exposed to toxic chemicals, that these reviewf laws warrant a by the commission to make a determination as to what our government should be doing to protect human rights. right now we have an entire body of laws, system of laws for protecting our environment that disregards isaac human rights. >> can you talk about the issue

of environmental justice and race? >> sure. what we find across the united states, what is going on in montville is part of a large pattern, national pattern. some 79% of neighborhoods that are predominately african- also the places where high levels of toxic pollution, dangerous levels of pollution, are released. this is according to epa's own study. other studies by both governmental and nongovernmental organizations show when it comes to people of color, indigenous people, african-americans, latinos, asian-americans, pacific islanders, where their predominate in a particular residential community, you will wasteind toxic hazardous facilities and petrochemical operations going on there. >> montville named for the next wave who founded this community. >> yes. the descendents are still there. it is a really interesting community because it is not like aftere where people move

five or 10 years. this is a community that has been there, descendents have lived there -- families have been there for generations. people who live there can count back to their founding settlers. the president of the action now talks about being a young child as her father and uncles cut the to access therea place where they would build the homes. and from there, build the infrastructure and go from there. each family has that memory of what it took to settle this place. and have a sense of the community that they have, real value the -- for the historic value and also pain over what it has become with the pollution and the industrialization that is taken place all around. >> we have to leave it there as we head back to new york, but we certainly will not continue --

we will not stop continuing the story. thank you, monique harden, codirector of advocates for environmental human rights here in new orleans, and thanks to john barry, author of, "rising tide:the great mississippi flood of 1927 and how it changed america." he lost his bid for renomination monday because he has led a lawsuit against the oil and gas companies against 97 of them. we had the aerial tour, you can go to democracynow.org to see that. 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 new york, new york 10013. [captioning made possible by democracy now!] a special thanks to folks here at wlae, new orleans public television. you can go to the website to see the audio broadcast and transcripts.

we will pivot to a conversation with m. night shyamalan. thes known for taking us to

edge of our seats. he is tackling another subject that has given nightmares to many in this country, how to reform the education system "i got schooled. he has a new book out that is called "i got schooled." -- he has got a new book out called "i got schooled." >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

tavis: we have been here before, depending on wher when the program airs. the government is either shut down or still open for business, barely. that is one crisis we are dealing with. joining me now to get an assessment on what discontinued x-men ship means for the rest of thisaul krugman -- and continued brinksmanship means for the rest of us, paul krugman. president spoke earlier today and it appears the moment to be standing firm, for those who think that his standing firm represents recalcitrance, not wanting to negotiate, not wanting to work with the other side, so the argument goes, your

thoughts about his standing firm today? >> no, what is going on right now, this has no president. we have -- precedent. a political party said we're going to destroy the government, we will destroy the economy unless you give us what we want and you do not give in to that. you do not -- you have to take a stand that this is not a legitimate form of behavior. this is not something we bargain over. because this is something that is in everybody plus interest to keep functioning. to keep our credit good. he has to say we're not going to blink and this has to be resolved, this has to be the time. >> since this brinkmanship is so unprecedented, and i am not naïve and asking about this book for those who have not been following this everyday, how do we get to the point where the government could be held hostage again? different.nd of

had hostage have crises of a kind. we had a government shutdown in 1995, 1996 the cousin newt gingrich was trying to extract cuts to medicare and we had threatened default on the debt anding in 2011 a current -- the republicans had won big in the midterms and trying to blackmail and succeeded to a certain extent. what is funny about this is the publicans are off having lost an election. it is quite clear that the republican leadership is not in control. that it is running scared of the extreme wing of its own party. this is actually in some ways worse. there is nobody to talk to. gone is -- this is a party basically crazy. this is a party that has lost it , with leaders who are too