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As U.N. Backs Fossil Fuel Divestment, Bill McKibben on Vanuatu,
Oxf...
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http://democracynow.org
- As the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu is devastated by Cyclone Pam, 350.org
co-founder Bill McKibben links the storm to global warming and responds to the
new decision by the the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to
back the fast-growing divestment campaign to persuade investors to sell off
their fossil fuel assets. This comes as University of Oxford alumni, donors and
students are watching a vote set for today on whether the school will divest its
endowment from the top 200 companies involved in exploring or extracting fossil
fuels. McKibben also discusses news from NASA that California's water supply
could be exhausted by next year. Meanwhile, the environmentalist and former
Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed has been sentenced to 13 years in prison
after he was found guilty of ordering the arrest of a judge while in office. |
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Vanuatu Blames Global Warming as Cyclone Causes Nation's Worst
Clim...
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http://democracynow.org
- About half the population of the South Pacific Island state of Vanuatu has
been left homeless by a devastating Category 5 cyclone that flattened buildings
and washed away roads and bridges. Aid agencies say Cyclone Pam killed at least
eight people, with the death toll expected to rise as rescuers reach more
far-flung areas. Vanuatu has a population of about 250,000 and is made up of
more than 80 islands. Disaster relief officials and relief workers are still
trying to establish contact with remote islands that bore the brunt of winds of
more than 185 miles per hour. We are joined by Alex Mathieson, former Vanuatu
country director for the aid group Oxfam.
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Why Are Pit Bulls Banned? How Media Hysteria Created Stupid Laws
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"This
idea that aggression can be traced back to specific breeds is the folklore of a
criminal subculture. This is not an idea that exists in science."
That's
Janis Bradley, one of the country's premier experts on canine cognition,
dismantling the idea at the heart of laws banning pit bulls, a dog breed that
has become synonymous with violence, mayhem, and attacks on
humans.
Hundreds of counties, cities, and towns single out pit bulls for
special attention and treatment, from outright bans on owning them to empowering
law enforcement to extract dogs from non-compliant homes. But when we look past
media scare stories and focus on how dogs are raised and handled, it turns out
that pit bulls are not uniquely aggressive and dangerous, even as governments
across the country are codifying scientifically illiterate prejudice into law.
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After Swedish Prosecutors Back Down, Is WikiLeaks Founder Julian
As...
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http://democracynow.org
- Today marks the 1,000th day WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has spent in
political asylum inside Ecuador's London embassy. For the first time, Swedish
prosecutors have opened the door to Assange's departure with a request to
question him in London. Assange has never been charged over allegations of
sexual assault, but has been holed up in the embassy since 2012, fearing a
Swedish arrest warrant could lead to his extradition to the United States. We
speak with one of Assange's lawyers, Michael Ratner, who argues the alleged
sexual assault case is not strong enough to go forward.
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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Wealthy eccentric Robert Durst agreed Monday to be returned to Los Angeles to face a murder charge in the execution-style shooting 15 years ago of a mobster's daughter who acted as his spokeswoman.
Magistrate Harry Cantrell said Durst could be taken to California immediately. He also agreed that pain medication would be provided before the trip, after attorney Dick DeGuerin said Durst has had "neurosurgery."The heir to a New York real estate fortune shuffled into a New Orleans courtroom with his hands shackled at his waist, wearing sandals and an orange jumpsuit. He turned to the gallery and smiled, then appeared to fall asleep. Later, he answered "yes" to a judge's questions about waiving extradition.
These consequences came only hours after Sunday's finale of an HBO documentary detailing his life of privilege and links to three deaths: his friend in Los Angeles, Susan Berman; his wife in New York, Kathleen Durst; and Morris Black, an elderly neighbor in Texas.
Durst is heard muttering that he "killed them all, of course," at the end of "The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst."
Authorities were hoping Monday that this and other evidence will finally lead to a conviction.
Durst was arrested without incident by FBI agents on Saturday at a Marriott hotel in New Orleans. That's where he had been laying low to avoid the growing attention from the documentary, his longtime lawyer, Chip Lewis, told The Associated Press.
