several prominent writers, including michael ondaatje, teju cole, and rachel kushner, pulled out of the gala in opposition to what they called charlie hebdo's targeting of muslims and other persecuted communities. those writers and some 200 pen members also signed a letter of protest. calling the massacre "sickening and tragic," the letter says -- "pen is not simply conveying support for freedom of expression but also valorizing selectively offensive material: material that intensifies the anti-islamic, anti-arab sentiments already prevalent in the western world." in response, biard, the charlie hebdo editor, said -- "we have always been anti-racist, and we fight against all discrimination." and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now! democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. juan: welcome to all our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. we begin today's show with a new report based on testimonies of israeli soldiers that concludes the massive civilian death toll from last summer's israeli assault on gaz

later, award-winning nigerian-american writer teju cole posted on his facebook -- "trump is a dangerousclown. but it is important to understand that his idea of "banning all muslims," scandalous as it is is far less , scandalous than the past dozen years of american disregard for non-american muslim lives. no american president in the past years has openly championed 14 islamophobia, but none has refrained from doing to muslims overseas what would be unthinkable to do here to americans of any religion." beijing has issued its first-ever red alert for pollution, as china's capital city is engulfed in thick smog rife with poisonous chemicals that can make residents sick from simply stepping outside. the government has urged schools to close, and has ordered a halt on all outdoor construction work. in some beijing neighborhoods, residents can see only about six -- 600 feet ahead of them. beijing resident li teng spoke out. i think it is really scary. i guess the pollution is serious enough. amy: this comes as the western coast of norway experiences the worst flooding since record-keeping b