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Secret Tape Could Oust Clippers Owner Donald Sterling, But Has NBA Long Ignored His Public Racism?
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AARON MATÉ: The National Basketball Association is set to announce its response today to the racist comments of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling. A tape that emerged on Friday has Sterling lambasting a woman identified as his girlfriend. On the recording, Sterling is upset she posted a picture on Instagram with NBA legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson. Sterling tells her not to publicize her association with African Americans.
DONALD STERLING: Why should you be walking publicly with black people? Why? Is there a benefit to you?
V. STIVIANO: Is it a benefit to me? Does it matter if they’re white or blue or yellow?
DONALD STERLING: I guess that you don’t know that. Maybe you’re stupid. Maybe you don’t know what people think of you. It does matter, yeah! It matters. How about the—how about your whole life, every day, you could do whatever you want? You could sleep with them. You could bring them in. You could do whatever you want. The little I ask you is not to promote it on that, and not to bring them to my games.
AARON MATÉ: Sterling’s comments have set off one of the NBA’s biggest controversies in decades. NBA stars, past and present, have called for his removal, including Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. Magic Johnson, the NBA legend whose picture drew Sterling’s ire, spoke out to ESPN.
MAGIC JOHNSON: You can’t understand how hurt I was. And also, I was hurt for all African Americans and all minorities. Once Commissioner Silver—I was going to say Stern—Silver, you know, does all his due diligence, get all the information, gather the information, we’ve got to—he’s got to come down hard. He shouldn’t own a team anymore. And he should stand up and say, "I don’t want to own a team anymore."
AARON MATÉ: On Monday, over a dozen companies announced they were canceling or suspending their sponsorships with the Clippers. These include Virgin America, Kia, State Farm, Red Bull, Sprint, Burger King and Samsung.
The Clippers’ next game is tonight at home in Los Angeles. On Sunday, the team staged a silent protest by wearing their bench jerseys inside out, stacking their warm-up jackets at center court, and wearing black socks. The Miami Heat followed suit Monday night with a similar move. The Clippers’ players are reportedly considering taking further action tonight, but their response could be shaped by the NBA’s pending announcement. League Commissioner Adam Silver has called a news conference for Tuesday afternoon to announce the league’s response. That could range anywhere from a large fine to a suspension, to forcing Sterling to sell the team.
AMY GOODMAN: While Sterling’s comments have shocked the sports world, they come as no surprise to those who have followed his record. In 2009, he paid more than $2.7 million to settle federal allegations of driving out people of color from apartment buildings that he owns. He was reported to have said, quote, "black tenants smell and attract vermin." A former Clippers general manager also sued Sterling for racial bias, but lost in court. All this has raised the question of why it’s taken a secret tape to draw attention to practices that have been out in the open for years.
ne of those voices who has been criticizing Donald Sterling for quite a while now is our next guest, Dave Zirin, a sports columnist for The Nation magazine, host of Edge of Sports Radio on SiriusXM. He’s the author of several books, including Bad Sports: How Owners Are Ruining the Games We Love. The book includes an essay on L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling. Zirin has posted it at TheNation.com under the title "Slumlord Billionaire."
Dave Zirin, talk about the latest.
DAVE ZIRIN: Oh, absolutely. I mean, the latest is the tipping point. And the latest is the sort of comments that should only surprise people in the NBA if they’ve been living in Dick Cheney’s bunker for the last 10 years. The warning signs of Donald Sterling’s racism and egregious behavior and his misogyny go back more than a decade. And they have coddled him for decades. You know, Amy, there’s an expression when we talk about rape culture, for example, that the definition of it is not just the crime, but it’s people who see what’s happening but choose to do nothing. There is a racism culture in the ownership ranks of the NBA. In other words, not every owner is as outward a racist as Donald Sterling, but for decades they have chosen to enable him and look the other way.
AARON MATÉ: Dave, on the recording, Sterling suggests the NBA’s owners are more central to the league than its players. He also uses paternalistic language to describe the players on his team.
DONALD STERLING: If you feel—don’t come to my games. Don’t bring black people, and don’t come.
V. STIVIANO: Do you know that you have a whole team that’s black that plays for you?
DONALD STERLING: You just—do I know? I support them and give them food and clothes and cars and houses! Who gives it to them? Does someone else give it to them? Do I know that I have? Who makes the game? Do I make the game, or do they make the game? These are 30 owners that created the league.
AARON MATÉ: That’s Donald Sterling. Dave Zirin, as I understand it, fans aren’t coming to the games to watch Donald Sterling sit in the stands, but he seems to have a really jaded view of what his role is. What does it say about the NBA that this guy has been allowed to own this team for so long?
DAVE ZIRIN: Aaron, that would be an outrageous statement for any owner, but that is a particularly outrageous statement for Donald Sterling. Donald Sterling is someone who bought the Clippers for $13 million—$3 million down, $10 million on layaway. And he has seen that investment, despite having losing seasons for, I believe, 28 of his 30 seasons as an NBA owner—despite that, he has seen his investment rise from that initial $3 million to a team that he could sell for $800 million to a billion dollars. And that is not because of Donald Sterling’s genius or greatness. That’s been because the league as a whole benefited from the sweat, blood and tears of people like Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and the aforementioned Magic Johnson. The idea that this is Donald Sterling’s brilliance is ridiculous. And I’ll even take it a step further. We’re living in an era where the public pays for stadiums. We show up to watch players. Owners are superfluous in the 21st century sports environment. And if Donald Sterling doesn’t realize that, I think he’s getting a crash course in that this week.
AMY GOODMAN: What about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the piece he wrote for Time, "Welcome to the Finger-Wagging Olympics"? I just want to read the beginning. "Moral outrage is exhausting," he says. "And dangerous. The whole country has gotten a severe case of carpal tunnel syndrome from the newest popular sport of Extreme Finger Wagging. Not to mention the neck strain from Olympic tryouts for Morally Superior Head Shaking. All over the latest in a long line of rich white celebrities to come out of the racist closet. (Was it only a couple days ago [that] Cliven Bundy said blacks would be better off picking cotton as slaves? And only last June Paula Deen admitted using the 'N' word?)"
He goes on to say, "Yes, I’m angry, too, but not just about the sins of Donald Sterling. I’ve got a list. But let’s start with Sterling. I used to work for him, back in 2000 when I coached for the Clippers for three months. He was congenial, even inviting me to his daughter’s wedding. Nothing happened or was said to indicate he suffered from IPMS (Irritable Plantation Master Syndrome). Since then, a lot has been revealed about Sterling’s business practices."
And he goes on to talk about, you know, the Department of Justice suing him and etc. Also the Clippers’ executive and one of the greatest NBA players in history sued for employment discrimination based on age and race. So, if he’s forced by Adam Silver, the head of the NBA today, to sell the team, he makes a fortune. What about what you think should happen, Dave? And what about the position of the players and what they’re doing to protest?
DAVE ZIRIN: Yeah, I mean, first of all, I think Kareem makes a very good point in that we’re so quick to attack people who say racist things, yet we don’t look at the manifestations of institutionalized racism. I think that’s the great contribution of Michelle Alexander’s book, The New Jim Crow, is that it looks at the prison system, as she puts it, in the "post-racial" society, the way racism manifests itself. And so, we can wag our fingers at Donald Sterling and not look at the institutionalized racism that still exists.
Look, there’s what—Adam Silver, the commissioner of the NBA, there is what he will do, what he could do, and what he should do. What he will do is, I think, suspend Donald Sterling indefinitely, pending further investigation into their ability to wrest control of the team from him. What he could do is immediately say, "We are compelling Donald Sterling to sell this team, and we are going to conduct an investigation into why this man has been coddled for so many decades." And by the way, that’s a demand of the players’ union, that there be an investigation into why he’s been coddled for so many years. What he should do is turn the Los Angeles Clippers into a public utility for the city of Los Angeles, or into a fan-owned team like the Green Bay Packers, frankly, as a form of reparations for all the harm that Donald Sterling has done not only to the fans of the Clippers team, but also to the literally thousands of people who have had to live in his housing projects in Los Angeles who have been harmed by his financial existence.
AARON MATÉ: Dave, do you agree with the criticisms that the players should have done more? And what can they do if the NBA’s response is insufficient?
DAVE ZIRIN: Well, it’s interesting. I actually—there have been so much talk on Twitter and on social media about, "Oh, the players should have done more," "The players should have done something more drastic," "They should have boycotted," "What would John Carlos, the 1968 Olympian, what would he have done if he was in this situation?" And all these people were saying this, so I figured, well, I’m going to pick up the phone and call John Carlos and find out. So I called Dr. Carlos, and first I asked him, "Has anyone in the big media called you to ask what you think? Because they’re all referencing you." And he said, "Nope, I’m just sitting here. No one’s asked." And I said, "Well, I’m going to ask you, Dr. Carlos. What would—what do you think about what they did?"
And John Carlos, he thought that their symbolic statement of taking off their warm-ups, putting them at center court, was a powerful one, because you had to get 12 people acting in collective fashion. And he said, "Look, you’re going to have a lot of people of different political beliefs, ideas, some maybe more radical than others. If you can get all 12 to act in concert, then that’s a good thing." He also said that the next step should be players walking into Donald Sterling’s office and demanding to be traded at the end of the season. And he said fans should not show up to the game. And he said that Donald Sterling should have this team taken away from him.
AMY GOODMAN: And other teams, players on other teams, like Miami Heat, in solidarity?
DAVE ZIRIN: Yeah, that was a powerful statement. They took off their uniforms, as well, the warm-up jackets, and did their layups not showing the NBA symbol, not showing the seal. And I think it’s a powerful moment of solidarity, because, look, I mean, we’re living in a time where political statements by athletes on the court are pretty rare. I mean, the last time it happened in the NBA was when that same Miami Heat team posed with their hoods on when Trayvon Martin was killed and George Zimmerman was still not arrested. And so, these kinds of statements are important because what they do is they push the discussion forward. And that’s all you really have to ask of athletes. The only thing you don’t want them to do when faced with something like this is to do nothing. And when you look at some of the amazing comments on social media by athletes, like David West of the Pacers, who spoke about, you know, this shows that we don’t live in any kind of post-racial America, I mean, that’s an important discussion for us to have, and I think it shows the way that athletes can leverage their hyper-exalted, brought-to-you-by-Nike platform, to leverage it.
AMY GOODMAN: Earlier this month—switching gears slightly—critical flaws emerged in the handling of a rape case involving the star Florida State University football player Jameis Winston. In December, the local prosecutor said he lacked evidence to charge Winston. About a week later, Winston won the Heisman Trophy. Now The New York Times reports, quote, "there was virtually no investigation at all, either by the police or university." Police closed the case without interviewing Winston, obtaining his DNA or following obvious leads to identify witnesses, including one who videotaped the alleged assault. The university also failed to take action, allowing Winston to keep playing football. The mishandling appears to extend to other cases at FSU. And the report comes as students across the country demand their schools take action to hold students who commit sexual assault accountable. Dave Zirin, talk about this case.
DAVE ZIRIN: No, absolutely. I mean, first of all, as Jessica Luther has written, as we talk about this, we have to realize that rape on college campuses is not just a football problem, but it’s something that affects an estimated 20 percent of college women, and it’s a broader problem in terms of how universities handle these kinds of cases.
But in this particular case in Florida State, I mean, one of the things that it shows is that when you have a small college town like Tallahassee, you see the way the football program is an instrument not only of social cohesion, but also economic cohesion. Every Florida State game brings a million dollars into the community. The police officer who was investigating this woman’s claim that Jameis Winston sexually assaulted her, I mean, he’s a member of the security team for the Florida State nonprofit boosters club, which donates literally hundreds of millions of dollars into the Florida State athletic department. So, it’s like one of those old company towns, like in Matewan, except the industry isn’t coal, the industry is football. And that means that people get protected.
And what’s so awful about it is that because college sports, particularly the revenue-producing sports football and basketball—because they’re so exploitative and because they’re so dependent on African-American labor, one of the things that you see is these players are treated as both a combination of chattel and heroes, with women often used as a form of currency to lure players into different campuses with the promise that they will be able to live without sanctions. So they’re not paid an honest wage. They’re not treated like actually grown people who are bringing money and funds into the university. I mean, they’re treated in a way that I think you can only describe as abusive, which I think is the starting point for a lot of these sexual assault cases.
AARON MATÉ: And, Dave, very quickly, because we just have 30 seconds, but you were in Illinois last week covering this vote by Northwestern University football players on whether to form a union. Can you explain what happened in winning this right to vote and what happens next?
DAVE ZIRIN: Yeah, I mean, we’re not going to see results from this for months, but this is—it directly connects to the discussion about Florida State, because this is about football players actually asserting their humanity and demanding to be treated like human beings, to have a seat at the table and to be able to say, "We want a say in our healthcare. We want a say in our travel schedule. We want a say in what we bring to this campus, and not to be treated like, frankly, extensions of pieces of equipment."
AMY GOODMAN: Well, Dave Zirin, I want to thank you for being with us, sports columnist for The Nation magazine, host of Edge of Sports Radio on SiriusXM. Zirin is the author of many books, including Bad Sports: How Owners Are Ruining the Games We Love, with an essay in it on L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling. His forthcoming book about Brazil and the upcoming World Cup and 2016 Olympics is called Brazil’s Dance with the Devil.
This is Democracy Now! When we come back, what happened in Vermont around GMOs? It’s setting a precedent for the entire country. Stay with us.
As Unrest Grows, Is Ukraine Paying the Price of U.S.-Russian Ties Stuck in Cold War Era?
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AARON MATÉ: The U.S. and European Union have imposed new sanctions on Russia amidst heightened tensions in eastern Ukraine. The U.S. sanctions target seven Russian government officials and 17 companies linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle. State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters the U.S. still has a, quote, "tool box of steps" it can take against Russia.
JEN PSAKI: Obviously, this morning we’ve been making clear—the United States has been making clear that it would impose additional costs if Russia—on Russia, if it failed to live up to its Geneva commitments and failed to take concrete steps to de-escalate the situation in Ukraine. Consequently, today, this morning, the United States is imposing targeted sanctions on a number of Russian individuals and entities, and restricting licenses for certain U.S. exports to Russia. Can Russia still de-escalate and take steps? Absolutely they can. Do we still have a tool box of steps we can take? Absolutely, we do. And we’re working in close consult—in close lockstep with the Europeans on this, as well.
AARON MATÉ: One day after the U.S., the European Union followed suit today with new sanctions on 15 more people suspected of having a direct link to the Ukrainian unrest. These moves come as the crisis in eastern Ukraine faces continued chaos. On Monday, pro-Russian separatists seized a new town and continued to detain seven European monitors.
Meanwhile, the mayor of Ukraine’s second-largest city is in critical condition after an attempt on his life. Kharkiv Mayor Hennadiy Kernes was shot in the back on the outskirts of the city, just 20 miles from the border with Russia. It’s unclear who was behind the attack. This is a surgeon who treated Kernes, followed by Kharkiv’s deputy mayor.
DR. VALERIY BOYKO: [translated] He is stable at the moment, but his condition is still severe, even closer to very severe, as it usually is with these types of injuries. When it comes to these types of injuries, the bleeding is usually rather strong. We’re talking about up to one-and-a-half liters of blood in total.
DEPUTY MAYOR MIKHAILO DOBKIN: [translated] If somebody thinks that this is the way to dramatically improve the situation, he is wrong. Any aggression will only increase confrontation.
AMY GOODMAN: The armed separatists in eastern Ukraine are seeking independence or annexation with Russia. Ukraine’s government and Western powers have accused Russia of orchestrating the unrest as a pretext for an invasion. All this comes as the Pentagon says Russia’s defense chief assured U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in a telephone call Monday that Russia would not invade Ukraine. Meanwhile, the country continues to prepare for its May 25th presidential election.
For more, we’re joined by three guests. We go to Kiev via Democracy Now! video stream to speak with Christopher Miller, editor at the Kyiv Post, who has been based in Ukraine for four years.
From Princeton University, Jack Matlock served as U.S. ambassador to Moscow from 1987 to 1991. He was the last ambassador to the Soviet Union, the last U.S. ambassador. He’s the author of several books, including Superpower Illusions: How Myths and False Ideologies Led America Astray—and How to Return to Reality, Autopsy on an Empire: The American Ambassador’s Account of the Collapse of the Soviet Union and Reagan and Gorbachev: How the Cold War Ended.
Here in New York, Nina Khrushcheva is with us, professor of international affairs at New School. She’s author of the forthcoming book, The Lost Khrushchev: Journey into the Gulag of the Russian Mind; it’s out in a few weeks.
Let’s go, though, directly to Kiev to speak with Christopher Miller. Can you explain what is happening right now in Kiev?
CHRISTOPHER MILLER: Sure. So, the unrest is continuing. Things have been relatively calm today, all things considered. Yesterday we did see the takeover of another city administration building and, of course, the apparent assassination attempt of a mayor in the second-largest city of Ukraine. People believe that the attempt on his life was meant to further destabilize the situation. Obviously there are lots of different rumors flying around as to who might be behind it. Today, the government is taking steps it believes could help the situation. They are considering holding a referendum, in line with the elections on May 25th. It hasn’t been decided yet, but we’re hearing that talks are underway. Meanwhile, the separatist groups in eastern Ukraine, in these flashpoint cities of Kharkiv and Lugansk, Donetsk and Slavyansk, are considering holding unilateral referendums in their city on May 11th, in line with May holidays and Victory Day, which is a very big celebration here in the former Soviet Union.
AARON MATÉ: And, Chris Miller, how serious is the situation in eastern Ukraine compared to what happened in Crimea? In Crimea, Russia has now at least admitted that it was their forces that were sent in. There seems to be, though, much more uncertainty around who these separatists are in eastern Ukraine. What is happening right now, and how does this compare to what we saw in Crimea?
CHRISTOPHER MILLER: Well, it’s similar to Crimea, in the sense that it is this kind of slow-moving takeover of pro-Russian forces. But the differences are Crimea was controlled by pro—or, I’m sorry, by Russian soldiers, as we know now, and they were very well disciplined and orderly. There was really a lack of violence. We saw some skirmishes, and there was at least one or two deaths, but, overall, you know, it was done with a sense of professionalism, really, whereas what we’re seeing in the east now is the seizure of buildings, the takeover of entire cities, by men that are not so well trained, who might not have a military background, some that do, that are, you know, militia forces who have taken over police stations, are now armed with with automatic weapons, RPGs. We have seen some evidence that Russians are involved, not necessarily Russians who are members of Russia’s military, but Russian citizens who are a part of militia groups over there and have come into Ukraine to help lead this separatist movement.
AMY GOODMAN: Why was the mayor of Kiev—rather, the mayor of Kharkiv, why was he targeted?
CHRISTOPHER MILLER: Well, he is what people here deemed to be a political chameleon. He has flip-flopped a number of times in the last few months. He was a supporter of the former President Viktor Yanukovych, who was ousted on February 22nd, I believe. He fled the country overnight that night and was thrown out of office. He has since popped up in Moscow. He was also a member of the president’s political party, the Party of Regions, which is the ruling party, and now the opposition party, here. He has—well, during what was the Euromaidan revolution in December, January and February, he was a staunch critic of the revolution and spoke out against it. But once the president was ousted from office, he came out in favor of a united Ukraine. At the same time, he did speak for some of the separatist movements that had popped up, at least until the separatists lost control of the city administration building in his city. Once they were removed by police forces, he flopped again and said that he did support a united Ukraine and not necessarily separatism, but a federated state. So he’s angered people on both sides, really, making him a target by numerous groups. It’s unknown now, you know, who’s behind it. You know, I—
AMY GOODMAN: Who shot him.
CHRISTOPHER MILLER: Yeah, yeah, who shot him. You know, they believe it’s a lone sniper. A close friend and presidential candidate, Mikhailo Dobkin, actually came out today and said that he believes it was forces from Euromaidan that worked to assassinate him. But at this point, it’s not clear exactly who was behind the shooting.
AMY GOODMAN: Nina Khrushcheva, the sanctions that have been posed on Russian individuals, 17 companies, seven Russian individuals, on the oil company, the head of the oil company, but not the head of the gas company—talk about the significance of the U.S. and the European approach to dealing with Russia now.
NINA KHRUSHCHEVA: Well, the U.S. approach is much more forceful. I mean, we can say that the U.S.—I mean, there are various schools of thoughts—the U.S. didn’t go far enough because it targeted individuals, but, for example, the Rosneft company wasn’t itself targeted; Igor Sechin, the head of it, was. So there is a question how far the U.S. should have gone, and did they go far enough? On the other hand, the U.S. says that they still have a toolbox to push Russia with, and maybe that’s why they decided that, you know, for now it’s forceful enough, but not completely forceful.
The EU sanctions are not as forceful, and they’ve been the story all along, because we do know 25 to 30 percent of Russian energy goes to Europe. And there are a lot of other businesses in England. There is a lot of businesses in Germany. Trade is very, very important. Russia is a very important European partner. So they didn’t go far enough. And I found it very interesting that they actually targeted people who were directly involved in racking up those protests, the people who are—people in Donetsk, people who are security forces in Donetsk, which in some ways even more symbolic than we would like, because I think it is important to target those people. I don’t imagine that they are really shaking in their boots that they cannot go to Germany, for example, or cannot ski in the Alps. So, it is an important gesture. I don’t know how far enough it is going. I think the important person that—very important on both sides is Dmitry Kozak, the prime minister—deputy prime minister, who is allegedly responsible for the Crimean takeover, although there are other schools of thoughts, the first—in the first round of sanctions. Surkov is another person who was responsible, and he was already sanctioned. So, these are very important gestures.
I do, actually—I’m a huge fan of sanctions. I think that they go much, much further than that, because it does seem that when this—there is evidence that Russian businesses are going to suffer from the sanctions, the Russian rhetoric somewhat tones down, although, of course, now we hear that it’s we’re back to 1949, we’re back to the United States—I mean, Europe is doing American bidding and whatnot. But sanctions, I think—I think trade forces probably are the most—the most forceful measure to deal with Putin.
AARON MATÉ: It was only a few weeks ago that we had this agreement in Geneva between the U.S., EU, Russia, Ukraine. All sides were supposed to drop support for the armed groups. Has anybody tried to follow through on what they agreed to in Geneva?
NINA KHRUSHCHEVA: It doesn’t seem that on both sides, because there’s still the right sector that is still very forceful, or at least so it is presented by the Russian. They do seem to occupy buildings. I actually read the recent report that in Lviv there are even coffee shops open, a bar, with the right sector and sort of some fascist rhetoric involved. And the thing about the Russians, they use this as such a great tool of propaganda.
I actually would like to add to why I think East Ukraine is different from the Crimea story, because in Crimea there really was a lot of support. With Russian guns or not, there was a lot of support for becoming Russian. In eastern Ukraine, I think the Russians are so meddling and so forceful precisely because there are probably 20—and maybe 30, but I wouldn’t even go that far—of the population that may want to become part of Russia. So they have to—they have to push hard. And then, of course, in East Donetsk, they can continue to—Russians continue to be involved and push very hard, precisely because they, first of all, need the referendum for the 11th to make sure that there are many more people than there really they are—many poor people supposedly support the secession—and also to meddle before the elections on the 25th of May.
AMY GOODMAN: Jack Matlock, you’re the last U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union, now at Princeton University. How can—
JACK MATLOCK: Not quite.
AMY GOODMAN: To the Soviet Union?
JACK MATLOCK: I’m sorry? No, Robert Strauss was the last ambassador to the Soviet Union.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, nearing the end there. How do you think the U.S. could most—
JACK MATLOCK: Yes, very close to the end.
AMY GOODMAN: How could the U.S. most effectively deal with President Putin?
JACK MATLOCK: I think that we—if we’re going to be effective, we need to take as much as we can out of the public arena and deal privately with these issues. When it has become sort of a contest between our presidents—you know, who can do what to the other—it becomes, I think, very emotional, and it tends to push things, I think, in the wrong direction. So I would hope that having done some of the sanctions that we promised, when we promised them, we have to do them. We should try, to the maximum, to go private. And in particular, I think where we can be most helpful is convincing the authorities in Kiev to come to any reasonable terms that the Russians are asking. Publicly, at least, they’re asking for a federal constitution, they’re asking for equal treatment of the Russian and Ukrainian languages, and they’re asking for a pledge of neutrality. I think all of those three demands, on the surface, are reasonable. And it seems to me that working quietly with the Ukrainians in Kiev and the Europeans is going to be more helpful than the sanctions.
AARON MATÉ: And, Ambassador, what could the Obama administration do differently than this administration and previous administrations have done in the past towards Russia?
JACK MATLOCK: I didn’t understand the question.
AARON MATÉ: What could the U.S. do differently in its approach to Russia than it has done in the past? You’ve been critical of how the U.S. has treated Putin.
JACK MATLOCK: Oh, well, the most fundamental issue here was the threat of NATO membership eventually for Ukraine. This is something that no Russian government, no matter how democratic, is going to accept. And they will use any methods at their disposal to make sure it doesn’t happen. And that’s what we see happening now. And if this issue had never been raised, I think it would have been much easier to work out the economic issues, which are the most important ones.
But also something to remember is, throughout the 22-plus years of Ukraine’s independence, the Ukrainians have not been able to create an effective government of the entire country. They have not been able to create a sense of nationality. It is, in many respects, a failed state. And all of the parties from outside, beginning with Russia, but also including the Europeans and the United States, I think, have followed policies that have not been helpful.
AMY GOODMAN: Let’s go back right now to Chris Miller in Kiev. What is the sense of what will be happening there now and the sense of the sanctions? The European Union clearly doesn’t want to go after the gas because they’re so—they are so reliant on it, so the U.S. is targeting oil. Is there a sense that a civil war could break out?
CHRISTOPHER MILLER: There’s not so much a sense of civil war, but rather a partisan war. There are partisan forces and militia groups that are preparing themselves for such a thing. They’re training out in places outside of Kiev. They’re training in eastern Ukraine.
You know, and what I wanted to say—actually, it was said earlier—in terms of what’s different between Crimea and the east—I think this goes with your question—is, there isn’t much support for what is happening in eastern Ukraine out in eastern Ukraine. It’s a very small minority that is, you know, seizing these buildings, holding the cities captive. You know, I think more than 75 percent of the population in the region is not in support of what is taking place there. You know, there is a significant percentage of the population that is for some independence from the central government in Kiev, but not necessarily separating from Ukraine altogether and joining Russia, or becoming altogether independent.
But this is certainly a situation that is escalating. It’s a very fluid situation. And, you know, our sources in the security services and Defense Ministry are telling us that it could get worse over the course of the May holidays in the next couple of weeks.
AMY GOODMAN: And, Ambassador Jack Matlock, President Obama’s response in the Philippines to the Fox question about his foreign policy being in disarray, and he responds by talking about why the U.S. should not be involved in a war again. You have been a critic of the U.S. getting involved militarily in Ukraine. What did you think of President Obama’s response?
JACK MATLOCK: I thought his response was excellent. And I think his general effort to keep us out of conflict and remove us from those are—I applaud. What I have criticized regarding dealing with Ukraine has been a pattern of activity, starting with the way NATO was expanded without an apparent stop at some point, and also the attempt in Kiev to get involved in local politics. I think that was unwise, and I think that has given a sort of an East-West competitive cast to what is an internal, basically, Ukrainian matter. So that, I’ve criticized. I very much applaud President Obama’s attempt to very much limit our use of force in international affairs. I think that is the way to go. And I think he expressed it very, very well in his Manila remarks.
AMY GOODMAN: As we wrap up, Nina Khrushcheva, you’re the great-granddaughter, adopted granddaughter of the late Soviet premier, Nikita Khrushchev. How does this period in Russian history compare to what has taken place in the past?
NINA KHRUSHCHEVA: Well, I mean, it has been compared with the Cuban missile crisis numerous times. And to a degree, it is a fair comparison, I think, because it was—we’re very close to a brink of absolute disaster. And I do think that President Putin, President Obama, the new Kiev government, they really need to—and I completely agree with Ambassador Matlock, whose—I have to proudly say, I was research assistant at one point at Princeton—that it has really—I mean, all cards are on the table. Now it has to be done quietly because, as I’ve been writing and I just wrote yesterday in a Reuters piece, is that the more we talk about—the more America scolds Putin, the more it becomes an ideological battle. And once you start an ideological battle, it’s actually very difficult to get away from the real crisis, from the boots on the ground, from affecting people who live day-to-day life and become involved in this kind of ideology while they really need to be going on about their life business.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to thank you all for being with us. Nina Khrushcheva is a professor of international affairs at New School here in New York. Her forthcoming book, coming out very soon, The Lost Khrushchev: Journey into the Gulag of the Russian Mind. We want to thank Ambassador Jack Matlock, who is a former U.S. ambassador to Moscow, and Christopher Miller, who is with the Kyiv Post, speaking to us from Kiev.
This is Democracy Now! When we come back, the scandal that is rocking the sports world. Stay with us.
"As Consumers, We are Guinea Pigs": Vermont Set to Become First State to Require GMO Food Labeling
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AARON MATÉ: We end today’s show in Vermont, which is poised to become the first state to require the labeling of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. A pro-GMO-labeling bill passed both chambers—passed by both chambers is now on the way to the Governor Peter Shumlin’s desk, where he is expected to sign the bill as early as this week. The new law would take effect in July of 2016. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is among those who supports the effort to label GMO foods.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: The truth of the matter is, is that labeling of GMOs is also not a radical concept. It exists throughout the European Union. In fact, it exists throughout dozens and dozens of countries throughout the world. So anyone who tells you, "Well, we can’t do this, this is just too complicated," they’re not telling you the truth.
AMY GOODMAN: Twenty-nine other states have proposed bills requiring GMO labeling this year, and two have already passed bills requiring labeling, like Connecticut, but those measures only take effect when neighboring states also approve the requirements.
For more, we go to Vermont via Democracy Now! video stream to Vermont State Senator David Zuckerman of the Progressive Party. He’s an organic farmer himself, who introduced the GMO labeling bills more than a decade ago when he was in the Vermont House. He co-owns Full Moon Farm.
David Zuckerman, welcome to Democracy Now! What happened? Explain what this bill actually means.
SEN. DAVID ZUCKERMAN: Well, what this bill means is, in 2016, when the average customer goes into a store, they can look at a package, and on that package somewhere there will be an indicator that the food was partially or completely made with genetic engineering.
AMY GOODMAN: And how did it happen? Talk about the origins of this legislation and why you think this is so important.
SEN. DAVID ZUCKERMAN: Well, really, in Vermont, we’ve been having discussions around genetic engineering in our food for well over a decade. And I’ve been in politics doing that as a spokesperson, really, for thousands of people across the state. And the momentum has just been building and building. We had a seed labeling and registration law that we passed about a decade ago. We had a bill that was going to require the manufacturers of these seeds to be responsible for them economically and environmentally. That passed but got vetoed by our governor about six years ago—a different governor, I should add. And then, in the last couple years, a real movement has been building for product labeling, as you know, both across the country and here in Vermont.
AARON MATÉ: Now, when similar measures came up in Washington and California, we saw food companies and Monsanto spend tens of millions of dollars to defeat those bills. So what kind of opposition did you face here? And do you expect legal challenges after it’s enacted into law?
SEN. DAVID ZUCKERMAN: Well, I think many people would be surprised that there was not the airwave bombardment like there was in California and Washington. And in part, I think that’s because the average Vermonter was so much more aware, that I think those companies felt it was an uphill battle here. They already had a population of people that were much more knowledgeable and wouldn’t succumb to some of the propaganda that were in those kinds of ads, like your food’s going to be 10 percent more, or "this feeds the world," when really there’s plenty of food in the world; it’s other issues as to why people are hungry. On the other hand, I do think that it’s likely that the Grocery Manufacturers Association or some organization that represents a lot of the food manufacturers will probably sue us. And a lot of our work here in Vermont was working to draft a bill that would withstand such a lawsuit.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to turn to Margaret Laggis, the executive director of United Dairy Farmers of Vermont, also a lobbyist for the trade group Biotechnology Industry Organization, whose members include seed manufacturer Monsanto. She told the Burlington Free Press that pro-labeling activists use scare tactics such as telling people they were being used as guinea pigs for GMO products. Laggis went on to tell the Burlington Free Press, quote, "Once you scare people about their food, it’s such a personally intimidating thing for people. It’s really unfortunate that people have been scared when there’s no science to support it." That was—this is Margaret Laggis speaking to the Council for Biotechnology Information in 2010.
MARGARET LAGGIS: Most people who are eating food today don’t have any kind of scientific background, and so they have no basis to understand what food biotechnology is. They don’t understand the benefits to the environment, the benefits for the farmer. And so there’s just a huge education problem. And really, if we’re going to be supersuccessful in the coming years to getting people to be very comfortable with this technology, we’re going to have to do a lot more education and outreach.
AMY GOODMAN: So, that is Margaret Laggis. State Senator David Zuckerman, respond.
SEN. DAVID ZUCKERMAN: Sure.
AMY GOODMAN: Why you’re so concerned about GMOs?
SEN. DAVID ZUCKERMAN: Well, for a long time, there actually weren’t long-term epidemiological studies on the impacts for humans, and it only just started having reasonable studies, because the seed companies controlled their seed and controlled their product for scientific research. Out of the European Union and some other areas, there are beginnings to—signs of scientific questions around how it impacts our digestive system and potentially even crosses placental barriers into fetuses. So there’s a lot of scientific questions. And so, yes, I do think, as consumers, we are guinea pigs, because we really don’t understand the ramifications of this.
I would also add, as an organic farmer, one of the things that these seed companies have used in their product is a naturally occurring bacteria that they’ve taken the gene from to make those crops resistant to certain pests. Unfortunately, with overuse of those genetic technologies, some of those pests are actually starting to show resistance. There was recently an article in The Wall Street Journal around the corn borer. And over time, what that means is that those naturally occurring tools that folks like myself and other organic farmers use in a very judicious way, by overusing them in the biotech industry, they’re going to make those tools obsolete, which means either more chemical use on conventional farms or certain products not even becoming available as organically produced because eventually those pests would not be—we couldn’t thwart those pests. So there’s some real issues there.
She also mentioned that environmentally this is a good tool. In Tennessee alone, it was reported in a national conventional agricultural magazine, they’re going to have to spend 120 million more dollars this year on added chemicals to their fields because glyphosate is no longer working like it once did. There are so many weeds that are resistant to it because of the overuse of Roundup Ready products, that in fact now stronger and more volumes of chemicals are starting to be used. So those trends are really turning around on the biotech industry, and I don’t think their information is accurate.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, we want to thank you very much, Vermont State Senator David Zuckerman of the Progressive Party, also an organic farmer. We will follow this legislation when Governor Peter Shumlin signs it, which he’s expected to do very soon, against—around the labeling of GMO products.
That does it for our show. Tonight, Democracy Now! co-host Juan González will be speaking at a screening of his film, Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America. It’s taking place in the Capitol at 5:30 in the visitors’ center. You can go to our website at democracynow.org for details. I’ll also be speaking at Dartmouth College on Friday, May 2nd, at 5:00 p.m.—there’s a change of time—at Cook Auditorium, and you can check democracynow.org.
Headlines:
White House Issues New Guidelines on Sexual Assault
The White House is releasing a new set of guidelines to address the epidemic of sexual assaults on college campuses. A new task force report urges colleges to conduct anonymous surveys and adopt proven strategies for combating assault. The announcement follows a rash of high-profile cases where schools across the country, from Brown University to Florida State University, have been accused of mishandling sexual assault. One in five college women will be sexually assaulted during her college career.
Senate Drops Mandate for Public Disclosure of Drone Deaths
The U.S. Senate has stripped a provision from a key intelligence bill that would have required President Obama to publicly disclose the number of people killed by drone strikes. The move reportedly came at the behest of Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who suggested it could undermine operations. The provision would have required Obama to report the number of civilians and "combatants" killed or injured in drone strikes, but panel chair Sen. Dianne Feinstein agreed to drop it. Clapper says the Obama administration is exploring its own ways to disclose data on the strikes.
Iraq: Attacks Kill 57 Ahead of Parliamentary Election
Attacks in Iraq killed 57 people on Monday as soldiers and police went to the polls two days before nationwide elections. This week’s parliamentary poll is Iraq’s first since the withdrawal of U.S. troops. In the deadliest attack, a suicide bomber killed 30 people and injured scores of others at a political gathering in a mostly Kurdish town northeast of Baghdad.
Central African Republic: MSF Suspends Medical Aid in Town After Attack
In Central African Republic, the group Doctors Without Borders has suspended activities in the northern town of Boguila following an attack on its compound by Muslim Seleka rebels. Sylvain Groulx, head of MSF’s mission in the country, described the casualties.
Sylvain Groulx: "These unarmed civilians were heads of villages, heads of areas within Boguilatown, and they had been invited by MSF for what we have are these periodical meetings with these village heads. And unfortunately, at the end, tragically, 16 of those people lost their lives, of which three of our national staff colleagues from Médecins Sans Frontières were also unfortunately killed."
In the capital Bangui, international peacekeepers have evacuated 1,300 Muslims who had been surrounded by Christian vigilantes, known as "anti-balaka." Fighting between the two sides has killed thousands since a coup last year.
Death Toll from Tornadoes in U.S. Rises to 28
The death toll from a series of tornadoes in the Midwest and South has risen to least 28. The storms killed at least 11 people in Mississippi, Tennessee and Alabama, a day after at least 17 were killed, almost all of them in Arkansas. Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe described the wreckage.
Gov. Mike Beebe: "The devastation, in terms of the power of it, may be as big as I’ve ever seen. We’ve seen steel girders, huge steel I-beam-type girders, twisted and torn completely out of the cement footing and lifted completely out of the ground. You can look at the trees and see how they’ve been stripped of leaves to see the force and the power of this one. Then there are houses and businesses that are just destroyed. Lots of them."
Entire State of California in Drought; Governor Notes Climate Change Link
The entire state of California is in drought for the first time in 15 years. More than 75 percent of the state is in extreme drought. California Gov. Jerry Brown has urged residents to curb their usage by, for example, refusing glasses of water in restaurants. Brown suspended some environmental protections to reduce the impact of the drought, which he also tied to long-term climate change, saying, "We are playing Russian roulette with our environment."
Assad Seeks Re-election in Syria; 14 Killed in Damascus
In Syria, a mortar attack in central Damascus killed at least 14 people today. The attack comes a day after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad formally submitted his nomination to run for re-election, despite a raging conflict that has killed more than 150,000 people and displaced millions. Assad is expected to secure another seven-year term in the June poll, which the opposition and its allies have denounced as a farce.
Pro-Democracy "April 6 Movement" Banned in Egypt
An Egyptian court has banned the April 6 movement, a pro-democracy group that played a key role in the popular uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak in 2011. Speaking Monday, April 6 member Mohamed Yousef said the group would defy the ban on its activities.
Mohamed Yousef: "This is a decision only on paper that will not stop the activities of 6th of April. To the contrary, tomorrow we will be in the streets to tell them that this banned group is only banned in your imagination and in your dreams. This ruling will not stop the members of the movement from demonstrating, will not stop them saying what they believe, will not stop us standing up to any despot however powerful he might be and however many institutions he can control to push his ideas through."
The ban came the same day an Egyptian judge sentenced 683 people to death, including the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Badie.
Obama Defends Foreign Policy During Philippines Visit
President Obama has wrapped up his tour of Asia with a stop in the Philippines. Speaking in Manila, Obama issued a defense of his overall foreign policy, saying his critics had failed to learn from what he called the "disastrous decision" to invade Iraq.
President Obama: "Typically, criticism of our foreign policy has been directed at the failure to use military force. And the question I think I would have is, why is it that everybody is so eager to use military force after we’ve just gone through a decade of war at enormous costs to our troops and to our budget?"
In the Philippines, Obama was met by hundreds of protesters angered by a 10-year pact to revive the U.S. military presence in the Philippines. The deal arrives more than 20 years after popular protests forced the U.S. to leave its bases. On Monday, protesters destroyed the barrier outside the presidential palace and burned effigies of Obama and Philippine President Benigno Aquino.
EU, U.S. Announce New Sanctions on Russia
The Obama administration has unveiled new sanctions on Russia over its response to the crisis in Ukraine. The measures target 17 banks and other firms controlled by four billionaires with close ties to President Vladimir Putin, as well as seven prominent figures, two of whom are Putin advisers. The European Union followed suit with sanctions on 15 new individuals.
Kerry Apologizes for Israeli "Apartheid" Remarks
Secretary of State John Kerry has apologized for saying Israel could become "an apartheid state" if it does not reach a two-state solution with Palestinians. Kerry made the remarks Friday at a closed-door meeting, a recording of which was obtained by The Daily Beast. Kerry’s remarks sparked condemnation both from supporters of Israel and from Palestinians, who say Israel already is an apartheid state. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas called for Kerry to resign over the comments.
Sen. Ted Cruz: "Mr. President, sadly, it is my belief that Secretary Kerry has proven himself unsuitable for the position he holds, and therefore, before any further harm is done to our national security interests and to our critical alliance with the nation of Israel, that John Kerry should offer President Obama his resignation and the president should accept it."
In a statement Monday, Kerry said "apartheid" is "a word best left out of the debate here at home."
Ethiopia: 9 Bloggers, Journalists Arrested Ahead of Kerry’s Arrival
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visits Ethiopia today, where the government is under fire for arresting six bloggers and three journalists. The nine were reportedly rounded up on Friday and Saturday and charged with attempting to incite violence. Human Rights Watch has called on Kerry to press for their release, saying they are being held in a facility known for abuses, including torture.
Reid Condemns GOP "Sugar Daddies" for Stalled Legislation
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid took aim at Republican donors Monday. Speaking on the opening day of the legislative session, Reid blamed billionaires like the Koch brothers for the failure by House Republicans to pass key legislation, like an extension of unemployment benefits.
Sen. Harry Reid: "While struggling American families plead to Congress for help in providing work or getting paid fair, livable wages, House Republicans prefer to talk about anything but what is relevant. Why? Because their billionaire 'sugar daddies' aren’t interested in helping middle-class Americans get a fair shot. Charles and David Koch aren’t concerned with the long-term unemployed families, and so the Republicans they sponsor in the House of Representatives are content to do nothing for the long-term unemployed."
Hundreds March Against Inequality; Report Shows Shift to Low-Wage Jobs
As Congress returned from recess, about 1,500 people descended on the Capitol to protest the widening gap between rich and poor. Under the banner “Battle for the Capitol,” the marchers condemned corporate tax cuts and called for a rise in the minimum wage. A new study confirms most of the job growth since the economic recession has been in low-wage jobs. The National Employment Law Project reports today that there are nearly two million fewer jobs in mid- and higher-wage industries and nearly two million more jobs in lower-wage industries than before the recession.
Republican NY Rep. Michael Grimm Charged with Fraud
New York Republican Rep. Michael Grimm has surrendered to federal authorities after being indicted for fraud. Grimm is accused of concealing more than $1 million in taxes and wages at his restaurant in New York City. The charges are part of a wider probe into Grimm’s campaign finances. In January, Grimm was caught on camera threatening to throw a New York 1 reporter off a balcony for questioning him about the investigation.
Explosion Hits Boat Intended to Break Israeli Blockade of Gaza
In Gaza City, a boat that activists intended to use to challenge the Israeli blockade has been hit by an explosion. Known as Gaza’s Ark, the boat had been refurbished with the goal of exporting Palestinian goods. But according to a press release, the boat’s night guard received a call warning of an attack. Minutes later, the boat exploded. In a statement, the group said they would continue efforts against the blockade. "You can sink a boat, but you can’t sink a movement," they said.
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