amy: i want to turn to the fcc ajit pai lasast month.attacked or groupup, free press. >> cononsider the leading specel interest in n favor of title ii. numumerous --rlyly nanamed freeee press. they make nono effort to hide ee oup's true a agenda. while e he says we're not at aa point yet where we canan mpletetely eliminanate the tetelephonone and cable e compa, he admits "thehe ultimate goal s to g get rid of the media capitalist and the phone and cable companies and to divest them from control." amy: craig aaron, defend yourself. >> i appreciate being called a leading group. besides that, obviously, this is the kind of new mccarthyism and redbaiting that we thought we left in the past. the reality is, free press for 10 years has five for the free and open internet, advocated for net neutrality, and there are thousands and thousands and thousands of pages filed at the fcc, office published, female sent, our website is filled with content saying exactly why we stand where we do and exactly what we want, which is likely internet.ree and op

federal communications commission chairman ajit pai issued a major order tuesday titled "restoring internetreedom," in which he outlined his plan to dismantle landmark regulations that ensure equal access to the internet. pai described his plan to overturn rules put in place by the obama administration during an interview with the heritage foundation. toessentially, my proposal repeal the obama administration's heavy-handed regulations adopted two years ago on a partyline vote that regulated the internet. what i'm proposing to do is get rid of those regulations. juan: pai's proposal would repeal net neutrality rules that bar internet service providers from stopping or slowing down the delivery of websites, and stop companies from charging extra fees for high-quality streaming. a formal vote on the plan is set for december 14. amy: ajit pai said his plants have broad support. eric schneiderman said he is investigating significant numbers of fake, it's filed with the federal communications commission in its review of net neutrality rules. in the past six months, he said .he fcc for more, we'r

talk about the significance of to beevation of ajit pai to head of the fcc and the stance he takes. >ajit pai is the new sec chairman and should come as a surprise to no one that he poses a significant threat, not only to net neutrality, but also to the digital divide. in his first week in office, he talked a good game about bridging the digital divide. actions speak louder than words. there is a very, very troubling history of voting against reforms to both bring affordable access to poor americans, low-income americans, to people of color who disproportionately lack home internet access, but also a troubling history of voting against net neutrality. he voted against the lifeline order to modernize lifeline and bring affordable log in to low income families. he voted against the rate order to help bring high-speed internet to high schools and libraries and poor neighborhoods. he voted against net neutrality to get the internet opens up people who do not usually get a spot in mainstream media can't tell their own stories, can organize for justice, and can make a living. we are very co

in this remarkable moment, a joke made by ajit pai when he was the featured speaker last week at the deral communications bar association's annual dinner. in response to accusations that he's a corporate shill for the telecommunications industry, pai is a former for ice a lawyer, he played what he jokingly called a "leaked, 14-year-old video" that was actually a recorded skit, supposedly set in 2003 in verizon's d.c. office, where pai worked as an attorney before joining the fcc. in the video, a verizon executive tells pai the fcc is captured by the industry, but "not captured enough, so we have a plan." "what plan?" pai asks. the executive responds, "we want to brainwash and groom a verizon puppet to install as fcc chair. think 'manchurian candidate.'" to which pai replies, "that sounds awesome." this is a clip supposedly of the leaked video. listen closely. [indiscernible] amy: this was played in the last few weeks. the verizon executive in the skit with fcc chairman pai is verizon senior vice president and deputy general counsel kathy grillo. joe, if you could talk about the signif

he directed much of his criticism to fcc chairman ajit pai. is we's the argument don't need title to to have net neutrality. but some of his ideas are almost laughably lax. he reportedly floated just. isp's voluntarily agree not to obstruct or slow consumer access to web content by putting that promise in their terms of service, you know, the thing that no human being has ever read and that can change whenever companies want them to. that idea would basically make net neutrality as binding as proposal on "the bachelor." amy: john oliver ended his show by calling on his viewers to write to the fcc, just as he did after a similar segment in 2014. once again, the enormous response broke the commission's website. which goes to the issue of activism, which is why we go back to evan greer. specifically tomorrow, what are you going to be doing tomorrow? whereorrow is a day everyone can come together. so i many of your favorite netflix,from amazon, you will see prominent messages that will direct people to a place where they can easily take action. we

latest and most controversial of a series of changes led by chairman ajit pai .r the last year, he has also loosened rules aimed at limiting media consolidation and scaled back a program aimed at expanding broadband access among low-income americans. for more we're joined by maya , wiley, senior vice president for social justice and professor of public and urban policy at the new school. welcome to democracy now! talk about your concerns. this vote that happened on thursday, is it set in stone? there are still movements all over the country that are pushing back very hard. >> absolutely. let's start with the fact this is a devastating blow to all of the ways we have come to understand the internet, even those who are part of the founding of the internet have expressed deep, deep concern for the failure to protect net neutrality. even though we just got the rules in 2015, the truth is, we been fighting for net neutrality since the mid-2000's. this isn't really new. the fact there was a fight meant we were essentially seeing some sense onin the gentle internet serv

fcc chairman ajit pai testified wednesday during a congressional hearining. >> if yoyou believeve aswow commmmissioners s in order t thl reform our media ownership rules d help p pull the governmnment oncece and for all out of the newsroom. we will vote on this order at our november 16 meeting. the mamarketplace today is n nog like it was in n 1975. newspapers are shutting dodown. many radio and tv statations a e struggliling, especicially in smalleler markets. onlinene competition for thehe collection and distribution of news is even grereater than it ever was.. and jusust teed have internet companies claim 100% every cent ononline adverertising growth. indeed, the d digital at revenue alone this year r will be greatr thanan the market cap of the entire broadcacasting industry. yet the f fcc' israel's say thte entirely byfined hope and rabbit ears. amy: but opponents say the change will accelerate the consolidation of the mediaia industry, allowing massive corporate media companies, such as the right-wing sinclair broadcast group, to buy y up and control evenen more locacal statatio

fcc chairman ajit pai testified wednesday during a congressional hearing. >> if you believe as i didederal government has no business intervening in the news, then we must stop the federal government from intervening in the news business. and that is why this afternoon i shared with my fellow commissioners in order that will reform our media ownership rules and help pull the government once and for all out of the newsroom. we will vote on this order at our november 16 meeting. the marketplace today is nothing like it was in 1975. newspapers are shutting down. many radio and tv stations are struggling, especially in smaller markets. online competition for the collection and distribution of news is even greater than it ever was. and just teed have internet companies claim 100% every cent online advertising growth. indeed, the digital at revenue alone this year will be greater than the market cap of the entire broadcasting industry. yet the fcc' israel's say the entirely byfined hope and rabbit ears. amy: but opponents say the change will accelerate the consolidation of the media indust

trump's newly appointed chair of the federal communications commission, ajit pai, has begun to attack neutrality rules and other consumer protections. in a series of actions last week, pai blocked nine companies from providing affffordable high-speed internet to low-income families, withdrew the fcc's support from an effort to curb the exorbitant cost of phone calls from prison, and said he disagrees with the 2015 decision to regulate the internet like a public utility. in france, far right-wing politician marine le pen gave a much anticipated speech launching her presidential campaign sunday. she's running on a xenophobic, nationalistic agenda that calls for france to crackdown on immigration and leave the european union. in t the speech, she claimed the upcoming election is a "choice of civilizations," and she said france must follow the path set by the brexit vote in britain, and the election of donald trump in the united states. >> other people have shown the way. the british have shown it to be free with exit. -- brexit. americans have chosen to give priority to their natitional

the reported purchase comes after president trtrump's pipico head the fcc, ajit pai, dramatically rolled baback limis capping the numbmber of stations one corporation can control. sinclair's chairman and former ceo, david smith, is active in republican politics and supported donald trump's campaign. craig aaron, the head of free press, told cnn -- "it sure looks like a quid pro quo: friendly coverage and full employment for ex-trump mouthpieces in exchange for a green light to get as big as sinclair wants." back in washington, d.c. environmental protection agency , administrator scott t pruitt n friday dismissed half of the members of an epa scientific review board, clearing the way for new appointees from the industries the agency is tasked with policing. among those removed from the epa board of scientific counselors was michigan state university professor robert richardson, who tweeted, "today i was trumped." the dismissals come as the trump administration seeks to slash epa funding, roll back environmental regulations, appoint climate change deniers as the heads of government agencie

the federal communications commission's chairman ajit pai is expected to announce today a sweeping plan to repeal all net neutrality rules. the rules were adopted in 2015 to keep the internet open and prevent corporate service providers from blocking access to websites, slowing down content, or providing paid fast lanes for internet service. the new plan to scrap those rules is expected to be voted on during a december meeting of fcc commissionerers. and people gathered in cities across the united states and the world on monday for the annual transgendeder day of remembranc. at least 25 transgender people have an murdered so far this year in the united states. the majority of whom were black and -- black trans women. across the world, more than 300 trans people have been reported murdered so far this year. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. juan: and i'm juan gonzalez. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. today we spend the hour looking at a damning

trump has cap federal communications commission are ajit pai to be the sec chair, fears opponent of net neutrality rules which seek to keep the internetetpen and prprevent ,orprporate fears opponent of net neutrality rules which seek to keep the internet open and prevent corporate service providers from blocking access to websites. slowing down content, providing a fast lanes for internet. it may roll back net neutrality rules adopted by the fcc in recent roles. u.s. officials say they're investigating a phone call the between president trump's national security advisor michael flynn and russia's ambassador to the united states. the call was on december 29 from the same day president obama imposed sanctions against russia and expelled diplomats as retaliation for the alleged russian hacking of u.s. election. u.s. officials are also investigating a handful of donald trump's close associates concluding former campaign manager tom and afford, over possible ties to russia. president trump is handing ambassadorships to two of his major campaign donors. private equity executive lewis eisenber

this is a major moment with the sec chair ajit pai, the federal communications commission rolling out neutrality. what that means and what is happening around censorship in the avenue of free expression. expression and the chance for political dissent, a lot of which these days takes place rough the internet, is in great danger and it is under attack now from both the republicans and the mainstream democrats. the republicans with net neutrality, which essentially will give license to companies to control the internet to start cutting traffic to sites, shutting down sites if they want . and on the other side from the democrats, who have been using the russia issue as an indication to demand that twitter, facebook, google, and others start censoring their posts. there were hearings where the democrats were holding up placards of false information put out allegedly by russia during the election. and the had the twitter people there and the facebook and the google people saying "why didn't you censor this? why didn't you stop this message before it could get posted -- amy: the senators we

fcc chair ajit pai unveiled the plan at a forum hosted by freedomworks, a right-wing group backed by the billionaire koch brothers. the plan would end a rule classifying the internet as a public utility, leaving the industry to largely police itself. evan greer of the digital rights group fight for the future said -- "internet users will fight tooth and nail to defend our basic right to connect, create, learn, and share." the white house says president donald trump told the leaders of canada and mexico on wednesday will remain part of nafta, the north american free trade agreement. while the president seeks to renegotiate the deal. the reported phone calls with prime minister justin trudeau and president pena nieto came just hours after officials said the president was preparing to begin withdrawing u.s. from nanafta. on t the campaign truck, trump called nafta the single worst trade deal ever approved in this country. amy: meanwhile, president trump a review of national monuments potentially opening up millions of acres of public lands to drilling, mining, and logging. trump said hi

you're talking about ajit pai, from right-wing group, where he reallyt his plan to dismantle net neutrality plan that is backed by the koch brothers and classified the internet is a public utility, leaving the industry to largely police itself. every greer of the digital rights group said -- how can congress weigh in here? >> first, we are weighing in. i serve on the telecom committee. mike doyle is the chairman of the committee. we are mobilizing our colleagues to fight, make the arguments, have hearings. we are going to be doing all that we can. there's another reality here. the republicans enjoy a majority in the house and senate. so we don't have the numbers to push them back. it is why evan greer, what he says, the mobilization of people him is absolutely so important. if it is just the democrats in congress fighting for net neutrality without the demonstration of widespread grassroots support, we're not going to succeed. if you remember, when in chairman wheeler was considering this whole issue, there was an enormous outpouring from the public about protecting net neutrality. i think

the study looked at 800,000 unique comments that were submitted last year after fcc chair ajit pai unveiled a plan to roll back net neutrality, reversing obama-era rules barring corporate service providers from blocking access to websites, slowing down content, or providing paid fast lanes for internet service. last month, the justice department sued california after governor jerry brown signing in of the state's own of net neutrality bill into law. a number of legal challenges have been filed in response to the net neutrality repeal including a lawsuit backed by 23 state's attorney general. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. juan: and i'm juan gonzalez. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. wiwith the midterm elections jut three weeks away, voting rights advocates are accusing republican officials in several states of orchestrating a campaign of voter suppression targeting people of color. in georgia, the democratic candidate for governor stacey abrams

repeal net neutrality is the latest and most controversial of a series of changes led by fcc chair ajit pai. over the last year, he is loosened rules aimimed at limitg media consolidation and scale back a program aimed at expanding broaoadband access amg low-income amemericans. the fcc chair pai is a former verizon attorney. secretary of state rex tillerson is speakining to the u.n. secucy is is speakingng to the u.n. security council today, in which he's expected to again recommend talks and diplomacy with north korea -- a stance that puts him at odds with president trump. earlier this week, tillerson broke with the administration and said the united states was ready to begin talks with the north without precondition. only hours later, white house press secretary sarah huckabee sanders contradicted tillerson and said president trump considers talks with north korea pointless. the public rift between tillerson and president trump comes amid reports the white house is planning to oust tillerson from the state department and replace him with cia director mike pompeo. the trump administration

fcc chairman ajit pai said last month he had serious concerns about the merger, which would have combined two of the nation's largest broadcasters. free press groups are celebrating the collapse of the merger. in pennsylvania, south whitehall township police officer jonathan roselle has been charged with manslaughter for fatally shooting an unarmed 44-year-old man named joseph santos two weeks ago. the rookie cop previously served in the army into the tour in afghanistan. new york has become the first major u.s. city to crack down on wall street-backed ride-hailing apps like uber and lyft. the nenew york city council l vd overwhelelminglyly wednesdayay t new w vehicle licenses foror ride-hail services and set a miminimum pay rate for d driver. in japan, residents of nagasaki gathered today to mark the 73rd anniversary of the u.s. atomic bombings nagasaki, which killed 74,000 people and forever changed the lives of those who survived the nuclear attack. this is the nagasaki mayor tomihisa taue speaking at today's ceremony. demand the japanese government agree with the u.n. treaty on the pr

pay part of its salaries bill. the salary bill and the west bank is about $4 billion a year, which is about 80% of the public ajit. at has already been cut prior to the war because of the deductions we mentioned. so salaried employees are receiving less pay and less able to pay their debts which they have taken out in extreme ways or private consumption debts the last five or six years. in the good times, so to speak. then you have all of that reduction in aggregate demand from the non-purchasing power and then you have the workers who have returned from israel, 180,000, maybe 150,000 of whom were sitting in the ledges and camps wedding for something to happen and nothing is happening -- in villages and camps waiting something to happen and nothing is happening. they become lazy, if you wish, or the ever force has become dependent let's say on the option of working in israel which brings in two to three times local wages. there is a major transformation undergoing in the local economy. extreme poverty will be increasing in the west bank, which less sitter incidents in the past. -- less sitter incidents in the past.