ben chavis, member of the wilmington 10, former assistant to dr.rtin luther king, jr., former executive director of the naacp. when we last spoke on "democracy now!" it was in december when he and others for making a last- ditch push for the north carolina governor bev perdue to pardon him and nine others known as the wilmington 10. it was 1971, the city of clinton was in the midst of a civil rights struggle. after what and restored a black neighborhood was firebombed, police officers and firefighters arrived to extinguish the flames but came under gunfire. an african-american teen was killed by police that night, a white man was shot and killed the next day. the national guard moved in. nine black men and one white woman were rounded up, hustled off to jail for their alleged involvement. the young defendants, the majority just high school age, were collectively sentenced to a total of more than 280 years in prison. rev. ben chavis served more than five years in prison. shortly after he appeared on "democracy now!" last month, governor perdue issue

there will be no inauguration on thursday, but the government has called on chavis' supporters to rally next to the presidential palace. and officials insist the chavez swearing in can be delayed after the president has recovered. the opposition claims any delay would be unconstitutional. the supreme court is soon expected to issue rulings on parts of the constitution related to the ongoing debate. if the government wants to target the one way, the government the other way, what do we do? interpret it as a what? we have to look at an answer from the supreme court. i did not know what the judges are waiting for. >> despite the government's announcement, everyone is venezuelan are still wondering if and when chavis will return. the big question is what will happen next if he cannot. al jazeera, caucus. >> still ahead, dozens of community -- communities under threat as a brush fires raged in australia. a new season of "witness" begins january 28. >> hello within. top stories this hour. the syrian government has agreed to release more than 2000 prisoners in exchange for 48 hostages held by

esto ocurrio en el area de chavy chase. alli una camara de video capto al sospechoso en accion. se pide ayuda de la ciudadania para poder identificarlo. si lo ha visto y puede identificarlo llame al 301-657-0112. ...y hay buenas noticias para los inmigrantes amparados bajo el estatus de proteccion temporal o tps. por primera vez podrian ser incluidos en una reforma migratoria...esto lo dijo una importante organizacion que esta haciendo cabildeo en la capital claudia uceda con la informacion. ..hablando de inmigracion.. .esta tarde salio a relucir que la cÁmara de comercio de estados unidos unirÁ fuerzas con sindicatos, organizaciones religiosas, agencias de la ley y grupos e Étnicos para impulsar una reforma migratoria integral en el paÍs. estos dijeron que una nueva ley migratoria debe incluir un mecanismo que permita que 11 millones de inmigrantes que viven de manera ilegal en el paÍs obtengan la ciudadanÍa. afirmÓ que ya se ha hablado del tema con legisladores y con el presidente de la federaciÓn el gobierno federal emite nuevas y estrictas regulacione s para evitar prestamos

it includes benjamin chavis. of all, remind us of the wilmington ten, what they were accused of. >> justice for the wilmington ten, but only six are still alive. go back to 1971, after the desegregation of schools in wilmington, north carolina. the black high school in that city was shut down, there were boycotts, protests, and ben chavis, a reverend -- still a reverend, called in to quell some violence. one night of rioting a white-owned supermarket was firebombed. chavis, eight other black males and a white female seeing on the screen now were convicted of arson and conspiracy and sentenced to a combined 282 years. no one was killed in the fire but convicted. and a few years later, one of the witnesses recanted his story from the trial and said that he was coerced and bribed, others did the same. their convictions were overturned and they were released after about eight years. just yesterday, north carolina governor bev perdue pardoned them and gave them a pardon of innocence. here's part of what she said. conv

vice president's speech has filled venezuelans with new uncertainty and many are wondering whether chavisill be back for his inauguration on generic tent. but government supporters say that even if something were to happen with the president, the revolution is here to stay. >> the opposition is to control the media and almost everything. now it is us in the slums and the bar is. we have a structure that we did not have before. so we are ready for what comes next. >> a future left uncertain. but what venezuelans to do know is that the coming year will be filled with new challenges. al jazeera, caracas request just want to show you some amazing pictures from brazil where a helicopter has crashed off the io.st near re it happened close to coca cabana beach. they were able to swim to shore without any injuries. hundreds of people had gathered to the beach for the new year. tens of thousands of people rallied in hong kong today, calling for the city's chief executive to step down. we will tell you why. and another group hoping for a change in power this year. italy's young voters, while many a

. >> you are a writer who respects chavez and you are a fan of chavis as well. but when you look of the revolution and what he has done in terms of the nationalization of utilities and energy companies, how many more legs to keep on going? when you look at the transference of wealth from the rich to the poor, how long can this be sustained? >> i think it should be able to go on. chavez himself always every year would come up with an amazing development. the last one was to emphasize on housing. housing was always a serious program. he put through a program to build houses for the poor. i think a new president will have a difficulty coming up with these sorts of new ideas. i think essentially venezuela has been digesting all of these changes. obviously that has been a lot of nationalization, but it is still true that france has a larger public sector van venezuela, which is a statistic we always ignore. >> thank you very much, indeed, for joining us of the program. bush fires are still burning in australia. fire crews are trying to deal with 120 of them in the so

was suffering complications caused by a long infection and as well as vice president has tried but chavis is fully conscious as a constitution of a socialist president is due to be sworn in for a third term in a week. inside bomb attack south of the iraqi capital has killed at least twenty seven shiite pilgrims they were on their way from the holy city of karbala it turns out thousands had been attending annual rituals of warning that followers almost two weeks of sunni protest against the current prime minister nuri al maliki the latest violence highlights the continuing sectarian tensions that threaten to further divide the country. israel has announced it's going to build a new bahrain along the occupied golan heights the reason it says is to protect its citizens from the ongoing violence is syria said your state has completed the bulk of the work of a fence separating itself from the egypt from egypt aimed at rooting out illegal migration and earlier my colleague bill dog spoke to activists jamal zuma who believes these actions have nothing to do with the safety. israel has to recalcu

president has overcome his risperidone infection according to the country's information minister chavis will continue to be treated for breathing complications following his fourth cancer surgery in cuba last month the country's vice president i'm a do er recently sat travis is in his best moment and will return within weeks and he should have taken a new oath of office on the tenth of january but has not been seen in public since mid december. over three hundred prison inmates were released by rebels who besieged and stormed a major jail in northern west syria in northwest syria according to opposition activists dozens of detainees have been tortured to death by the regime in the detention facility the government sent army reinforcements as all communications work out of. thousands of teachers from around portugal have flooded into the conversation listening to show their anger at proposed spending cuts the government plans to privatized many public schools and to cut about fifty thousand jobs hoping to slash one point three billion dollars from the education budget portugal is facing

so the chavis recovers from surgery there is speculation as well he's on the edge of a political crisis we're in for it on that and more a later in the program. we've . welcome back you're watching our view live from moscow now one of the world's most reclusive countries north korea has had a rare high profile visit from the u.s. by eric schmidt chairman of the online search giant google the private trip has already prompted speculation about the company's intentions to engage with pyongyang it's also drawn condemnation from washington that's looking to punish eastern north korea following its recent missile tests meanwhile korean authorities are reportedly engaging german exports to help prepare the country or a foreign investment dr wright of your frank from the university of indiana says economic development in north korea is still a distant dream but the big problem is actually most we really miss the receive investors it is the reluctance of western investors to actually go to those career a lot less the environment is not first pure or although the state has been trying a lot to b

in for another term the venezuelan supreme court has postponed the inauguration indefinitely while chavis recovers from cancer surgery and prepare escobar from asia times online so federal functions including foreign agents will be wrangling for powering charges his continued absence. shows this war is not a monolithic saying like would dare to say the communist party in china there at least four or five different factions fighting for power and this is one of the problems if we have an unsteady situation in terms of chavez health because there will be an internal struggle for power inside. him at the same time we're going to have more possibility just a horror of serious in trying the module rule that you know as louvered this process and specially our friends in washington all who see it will see an opening well maybe this is the beginning of the end of just let's get it out so venezuela has been increasing our tracks in those seeking a better living with more and more immigrants flocking to the country catherine of examines now why people are trading life in countries such as the u. wa

nicolas maduro the duras says he met with the leader and discussed important issues of state up with chavisshould have taken his goals on the t. end of january but has not been seen in public since his latest operation in the december prompting outrage from the opposition demanding new elections. catching a train became a matter of life and death for one russian man who fell from his carriage in subzero temperatures in a forest in russia's far east earlier artist hobart and told my colleague sean thomas the story. if we picture the scene we've got forty two year old valarie malkoff a lorry driver in this train clickety clack ing its way through the forests in the a more region in russia's far east at night they decide to go for a cigarette but nothing special so he goes to the vestibule at the end of the carriage smokes his cigarette and then as he stays went to open the door to go back to his carriage except it was the wrong door and he falls out the back of the train so he rapidly realizes that he is not just running to catch up with the train but for his very life we managed to talk to h

stressed he stressed the president's condition remains delicate and it was earlier reported that chavis was suffering complications caused by a respiratory infection under the constitution of the socialist president is due to be sworn in for a third term in january the tanf. dubbed the silent killer health officials in the u.s. are calling for all baby boomers to be checked for hepatitis c. disease that's becoming increasingly prevalent with age group as artie's medina caution of ford's decades after their summer of love many in california fear they'll have to pay for their or even mystic lifestyle. california the sunshine state once the center of the hippie revolution and melting pot of music rock sounds actual freedom we did drugs that we didn't think about there was no thought process because everybody was doing it dean mitchell is a baby boomer born during the pos to world war two years nineteen forty six and nine hundred sixty five his generation now is paying for that lifestyle a life of things drugs and rock'n'roll all fueled by flower power and the summer of love they say few re

on claims of double standards towards whistleblowers and debate over the ability of folks to the chavis to rule venezuela is heating up we're reporting on the clash between the government is trying to submit that his authority despite his recovery from cancer and the opposition's own political ambitions for. more news today. again flared up. these are the images. from the streets of canada. giant corporations rule the day. hello again venezuela's courts ruled out the delay of president a good chance his inauguration is legal the country's legislators have voted to give the commandant to use face in complications still after his fourth cancer surgery enough time to recover before swearing him in the opposition over claims that the moves are unconstitutional is calling for new elections let's talk about all this political wrangling then go live to new york based at host of your world news radio show someone coming chung thanks very much for being with us on the swearing in ceremony then as i just said spin perspire on the country's course back that decision does it come as a surprise to y

and people are up in arms about that not is laura smith debate over the ability of president to go chavis to rule venezuela is heating up in a few minutes for the clash the government which is trying to cement the leaders of forty despite his recovery from cancer and the opposition's own political ambition . social networking in kuwait's landed too many jail a court has given each of them a two year sentence claiming they defamed the amira with the tweets the uprising of the country's about to market second anniversary now with a government accused of resorting to any means necessary to go dissenting voices i spoke to all three journalism should return z. he says kuwait is just another u.s. ship. it's obvious that the united states and nato countries desire to keep their thousands of troops in kuwait and as we've seen of course there been demonstrations in bahrain and of course saudi arabia which are not being covered on any corporate media it's very difficult to cover the brutal suppression of human rights in these nato and u.s. backed dictatorships human rights groups themselves are in

thousands of supporters of an as well and president of china has rallied outside the presidential palace chavis rallied outside the presidential palace for a new six year term traviss inauguration has been postponed indefinitely a controversial supreme court ruling as he recovers from cancer surgery in cuba political analyst erin drives her believes the chavez government could face a threat from abroad in the absence of its charismatic leader. the opposition despite all of their posturing and despite the fact that the private corporate media inside of venezuela and around the world is very much squarely behind them and u.s. imperialism they lack a very real base of support on the ground they have some support but as we saw in the results of the recent elections that opposition is still very much in the minority now in terms of an international destabilization using this opposition this is very much a very real possibility of course we've seen much of the destabilization campaign emanating out of the u.s. embassy out of the institutions that's why we saw u.s. a id and other international organiz

been sworn in for another term the venezuelan supreme court has postponed gratian indefinitely while chavis recovers from cancer surgery in cuba political analyst eric draitser fears forces from abroad could try to take advantage of travis's absence. so the opposition despite all of their posturing and despite the fact that the private corporate media inside of venezuela and around the world is very much squarely behind them and us imperialism they lack a very real base of support on the ground they have some support but as we saw in the results of the recent elections that opposition is still very much in the minority now in terms of an international destabilization using this opposition this is very much a very real possibility of course we've seen much of the destabilization campaign emanating out of the u.s. embassy out of the institutions that's why we saw u.s. a id and other international organizations that are controlled by the state department booted out of that country or at the very least minimized so this is a standard tactic that is very much part of the playbook of twenty first

the vice president told us hugo's chavis is conscious and gaining vital strength. treatment in december. he has not appeared in public since. police in serbia have removed memorials to ethnic albanian fighters. over 200 armed officers helped tear down the monument in the southern town. it has been the focus of attention in recent weeks. demonstrations in egypt have scuffled with police. a second straight day. the bonds broke out after a hearing against police officers removed themselves. accused of being charged with killing protesters during an uprising two years ago. there will not be a new trial. the court was sent burning furniture parent of around 300 people died in alexandria during a revolt. all over in the capital, dozens of villagers are facing trial is over a land dispute with the army. soldiers stormed the island. just outside of cairo. at least one man was killed going to find out what is behind the fight. >> still can believe his son is dead. he was 21 years old and about to get married. mohammad was fishing when the military attack the island. the fam

when chavis was elected, venezuela was at a crisis point.he political apparatus. there was social discontent. over 85% of the population thought the national government had mishandled the will bank the economy and society. java's brought the weight of tremendous the -- hugo chÁvez has transformed the political landscape along with the social movement. i don't think there's any going back in venezuela. the illusion that they can return to a pre hugo chÁvez era are gone. not only has he helped transform venezuela, but his impact on latin america has been significant. it speaks to his impact and latin america. i think it has been significant in terms of the creation of a series of forums. in terms of maduro and cabello, they have to size the company to other to an important extent. maduro comes out of the social movement, a student leader, the union leader. he has been in the national assembly and helped draft the constitution. cabello comes out of the traditionalists. you have had a progressive military dating back to the 1950's and 1970's who

there were boycotts, there were protests, and ben chavis, later to become the executive director of the was sent in to quell some of the violence. one night of rioting, the white home supermarket was fire bombed. these ten people, chavis, eight other black men and one white woman, the wilmington ten, they were framed. they were charged and convicted and sentenced to 282 years combined for this crime. now, a few years later one witness in this case recanted his testimony, said he was coerced, bribed, and then the convictions were overturned but already served eight years in prison. let me take you to just yesterday when north carolina governor bev perdue, pardoned them and gave them a pardon of innocence. here is part of her statement. these convicts were tainted by naked racism and represent an ugly stain on north carolina's criminal justice system that cannot be allowed to stand any longer. that came yesterday. but four of the wilmington ten have already passed away. they didn't live to get that pardon of innocence. >> they didn't know that they had been pardoned, clearly. they died co

in a statement about the wilmington 10, the governor said -- wilmington 10 member benjamin chavis appearedn "democracy now!" the street to talk about what a pardon of innocence would mean. >> the pardon of innocence would mean that the state of north carolina finally realizes the trial, the unjust arrest charges were all racially motivated, politically motivated. it is time, 40 years later, for the state to remove this from the community of wilmington 10 and from the state itself. it has been an albatross around the states that for over 40 years. >> sleeting environmentalist rebecca tarbotton has died at the age of 39. she was his executive director of the rainforest action network and an advocate for human rights. she died in a swimming accident in mexico while on vacation. rainforest action network said in a release -- rebecca tarbotton appeared on "democracy now!" in may to talk about the campaign against bank of america. >> we are involved specifically with bank of america because climate change is the most real and present danger we have to the environment and the people all around th

people have begun to see that less as a model, and we're seeing -- it's interesting, too, sort of the chavis, the as and their lobbyists talk about the benefit of a finish. finish -- model. so i think chavez's stock has sunk in the region, but it's not -- we shouldn't diminish it. his capacity, again, to destroy institutions and not just in his own country, but regionally. the inter-american human rights commission, the oas, you know, the creation of sort of let's say, um, institutionally-challenged regional associates, to put it in politically correct terms. like selac are, is really has served at the very least to sort of confound and confuse sort of what had been very well established practices and ways of resolving not just internal conflicts of issues of human rights, but also intraregional conflicts. and those have been completely, you know, just one example. [speaking spanish] to talk about the so-called expansion of u.s. presence in colombia when there was good evidence of farc camps in ecuador, and allegations of connections between the venezuelan government and the farc. and someho

i trust that our mayors will chavis points out with greater elegans -- eloquence. inside [speaking in spanish] a french poet said the is not a big is supposed to be a mission across the both hands. [applause] >> thank you, alan. as he was speaking because we have been people here who are new to this debate, and many have been part of this debate for the one-time, one of the most striking acoustics i found a describing how the future is not what he used to be his two-day mexico represent our third-largest trading partner, second-largest export market. today we trade as much mexico as we did to japan, germany and united kingdom combined and almost as much as in china. part of the learning we've gone through this project has been to review mexico's, not as a vibrant economic partner as it rose it will be able to help us grow as well. syllable now do is get to the fun part of the program and were going to start with mayor greg stanton, mayor of phoenix, arizona come what may kids to place to go in the coming on march by the way. mayor stanton had experience as a lawyer

michelle rhee and ben chavis should be the two people in charge of the education system in this countryinstead we have unions and the secretary of education doing nothing. all the unions care about is money. we have a teacher now who molested children and this man will get $85,000 a year for 13 years and he's being protected by the union. i am quite sure that none of these union people would want their children being taught by this man, to be in the classroom with him. host: have you thought about public school closures and if the closures and everywhere from west virginia to cities like philadelphia and chicago are something that affects kids and families? caller: no. as far as closing schools, michelle rhee, when she marched into washington, she started closing schools. things were getting better, but they did not want that, so they got rid of her. a person who was doing exactly what you are talking about. what bothers me is i am african- american and we need more than any other race of people on this planet, but educators. but the bottom line is money. it is not going to get any bett

you did not know, and it could be in both that in this case we don't know whether chavis is alive or dead. that greatly affect what we're seeing last week. we have not heard from him in 35 days. imagine president obama not be in touch, not even a picture or proof of life for 35 days. it is an amazing scenario. the clause i inauguration he had last week of the tent is kind of a serial addition to that theory because he did not even bother to call it and you know he would have been there. so you have that on one hand. and the additional attention that there is no place for the opposition to go. they have gone to the supreme court. we have a problem with labels. we think of labels and automatically assume that everything in that label is the way everything it is across the world. sadly, it's called the supreme court, so we think it is equal to ours, what and venezuela they were all appointed by job as, so it is not they have a justice that was appointed by a liberal authority or by a conservative majority. they have a number of justices, and there were all appointed by job as and have b

will nicolas maduro appointed after chavis? he is not charismatic. so far, you don't see evidence of that. he is the guy who has been anointed by chavez. does that carry on for one election, to elections, no elections? that is the issue that people are debating and arguing in trying to calculate. that is why, if one were the opposition, the opposition has to figure out -- how you come up? have you appeal? how'd you get those votes? i think there was an extraordinary campaign across the country in the presidential election, going into barrios and areas where the opposition had been warned not to go at some risk to himself. did better than the opposition has done in a presidential election. made a herculean effort and got 45% of the vote. 45% is not a majority though. that does not win an election. >> thank you for clarifying that. it is a daunting task for anybody wants to be a leader of the country, particularly in these circumstances for the opposition to think in terms of what it would take to do that. we have talked a lot about the opposition. the