The Bottom Line

By Al JazeeraNews

The Bottom Line episodes

June 18, 2020 'There's no trust': George Floyd, the police and racism in the US | The Bottom Line
As the Attorney General of Minnesota, Keith Ellison is the chief prosecutor of the four policemen charged in the murder of George Floyd on the streets of Minneapolis on May 25.
More than 30 years ago, Ellison was a student activist in Minnesota, where he organised the community to stand up to police brutality.
Years later he became the first Muslim member of Congress, and the first Black American to be elected to a statewide position in Minnesota.
"It's true that I come from a background where civil rights have been a priority my whole life, but all I've really wanted is to have fairness," he said. “Not more, not less.”
While he has not taken a public stand on the calls to "defund" the police, he said that one major problem between US society and the police is that "there's no trust any more".
He dismissed President Donald Trump's executive order on policing, signed this week, as "too little too late" and urged legislators to listen to the people demanding serious police reform and accountability.
"When you have an excessive force problem, you have a community cooperation problem."
Ellison argued that the struggle to rid the police of racism and militarism will be difficult, because in the end, the police are a reflection of wider society. "And if our citizenry holds those kinds of biases that widespread, then, of course, our police departments do," he said.
Watch Ellison’s full interview with The Bottom Line host Steve Clemons.
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25 min
June 17, 2020 America's Pandemic Workers | Fault Lines
As COVID-19 surged in the United States and only those deemed “essential workers” were asked to go to work, the pandemic made clear that the workers most critical to American life are disproportionately people of color, and among the country’s lowest paid.
Through video diaries and interviews shared over the course of several months, four of these workers shared their experiences of the pandemic in a country that offers little in the way of a safety net for its most vulnerable workers.
Two gig economy workers struggle to protect themselves from the virus and earn enough to sustain their families. An Amazon worker organizes in his workplace to demand more from the company, and a first responder fights to save lives amid wrenching death tolls.
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26 min
June 11, 2020 Has the United States turned a corner on racism? | The Bottom Line
In 1968, African American civil rights leader Reverend Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated.
"Fifty-two years later, all over the streets of America, Blacks and whites and others are saying 'Black lives matter'," his son, Martin Luther King III tells The Bottom Line's Steve Clemons.
"We're still saying to the nation 'Treat us with dignity and respect and like the human beings that we are'."
Although King believes there is a long way to go, he is also optimistic that "we may have turned a corner" in American race relations after the killing of George Floyd by police in May.
"We've had individuals marching in cities and towns for a few years now, but this one incident galvanised all 50 states ... and all over the world, there have been demonstrations," he says. "It's almost like a light went off in the heads of people to say: 'This is wrong. This is unjust. This is immoral. This is not who we are'."
King says that one of the most difficult times for him recently was explaining the Floyd murder to his daughter, Yolanda Renee King, who turned 12 on the same day Floyd died, on May 25.
"She wanted to just throw something," he says. "She was crying, and was just going through all kinds of things."
King says his father dreamed of "making America what it ought to be," and that for many Americans, President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan 'Make America Great Again' does not resonate.
"I don’t know the period in history where America was great. I think we have exhibited times and moments of greatness ... but 'great again' harkens back to an era that I can’t relate to."
He also weighs in on the argument to defund the police, the systemic racism of the US criminal justice system and what to expect from a president who has "no shame".
In a heartfelt and personal interview for this week's The Bottom Line, Martin Luther King III talks to Steve Clemons about what has changed - and what has not - over the decades in race relations in the United States.
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27 min
June 10, 2020 Conspiracy to Massacre: Anti-Semitism In America | Fault Lines
Fault Lines examines rising levels of violence and threats against Jewish Americans and the anti-Semitic conspiracy theories that often animate these attacks.
Anti-Semitic hate crimes reached a five-year high in 2016. The next year, anti-Semitic incidents saw an unprecedented surge, and white supremacists marched through Charlottesville, Virginia chanting "Jews will not replace us."
In 2018, the US witnessed the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in its history when a white supremacist opened fire at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue. Then, in 2019, according to the Anti-Defamation League, anti-Semitic incidents reached an all-time high, eclipsing every previous year on record.
Anti-Semitism plays a unique role in the dangerous worldview of white supremacists. It is often coded into terms like "white genocide" and "replacement," which stem from the conspiracy theory that Jews are trying to change the demographics of the US.
Fault Lines decodes anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and speaks with Jewish families and community leaders struggling to move forward from tragedy against the backdrop of accelerating attacks.
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26 min
June 03, 2020 Afghanistan: Civilian Loss in the US Air War | Fault Lines
As the United States has increased its use of airstrikes in the war in Afghanistan, it’s come with a heavy price as civilian casualties from airstrikes have reached record numbers.
In “Afghanistan: Civilian Loss in the US Air War,” Fault Lines reports on what justice looks like for civilians who lost loved ones to airstrikes.
The US military has a poor record of investigating civilian casualty allegations from airstrikes, leaving few options for civilians looking for justice when they lose family members and leading to a lack of accountability for these deaths.
As the US prepares for the possibility of leaving Afghanistan after nearly 20 years, Fault Lines asks how civilian loss is investigated and remembered.
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27 min
May 27, 2020 Houston's Cancer Cluster | Fault Lines
In Houston, Texas, residents of two historically African-American neighbourhoods with high rates of certain cancers are seeking answers after toxic waste from a nearby railroad yard contaminated their environment. Some suspect the pollution is the cause of a cancer cluster discovered in their area in 2019.
The groundwater beneath more than 100 properties is contaminated with creosote, a chemical mixture classified as a probable carcinogen that was used for nearly 75 years at the railroad yard. But railroad giant Union Pacific, which owns the yard, says local residents could not have been exposed to the contaminant, and claims the creosote has nothing to do with the cancers. The Texas public health agency hasn’t yet decided if they will investigate what could be causing the illnesses.
How do communities living alongside polluting industries and toxic waste look for answers and accountability when they get sick? Fault Lines investigates the cancer cluster in east Houston and follows a community’s search for justice.
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More: https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/faultlines/
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26 min
May 13, 2020 America's Divided Democrats | Fault Lines
The United States Democratic Party appeared deeply divided during the 2020 presidential primary election. Two candidates emerged as the front-runners and put forward very different visions for the country's future.
Bernie Sanders energised large crowds, pushing for a Green New Deal to address the climate crisis, Medicare for All and tuition-free public college.
Joe Biden led the centrist lane with support from the Democratic establishment. Moderates believed Biden had the best chance to put together a coalition of supporters who could defeat President Donald Trump in the general election.
Before the coronavirus pandemic drew campaigning to a halt, Fault Lines followed both candidates and their fervent supporters in the two places that may have mattered most: South Carolina and Michigan.
In this episode, we hit the campaign trail to ask how progressive and moderate camps in the Democratic Party could shape its future.
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26 min
May 04, 2020 Most businesses resume operations in Thailand
Thailand has begun lifting restrictions after a steady decline in the number of coronavirus infections.
But many people still need help putting food on the table and some businesses are expected to struggle.
The government will evaluate the situation every two weeks - either determining to further ease the restrictions - or if there is a spike in confirmed cases, they will reimpose some of the restrictions.
Al Jazeera's Scott Heidler reports from Bangkok.
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#AlJazeeraEnglish #Thailand #Lockdown
3 min
May 04, 2020 Highly-qualified medics unable to work in Canada
As Canada’s hospitals and medical personnel deal with the COVID-19 outbreak, calls are mounting to allow more internationally-trained doctors to practice and support front-line healthcare workers. But tight regulations are leaving many shut out of their chosen profession.
Al Jazeera's Daniel Lak reports.
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#AlJazeeraEnglish #Canada #Medics
3 min
May 04, 2020 First factory in Afghanistan to make face masks
A factory in Afghanistan is making personal protective equipment (PPE) for the first time.
The plan is to make five million affordable masks that cost a fraction of the imported ones.
Not only will this provide affordable protective equipment to people, but it is also providing job opportunities to Afghans hit hard by the pandemic.
Al Jazeera's Sara Khairat reports.
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#AlJazeeraEnglish #Afghanistan #PPE
3 min