Transcripts For LINKTV Democracy Now 20141231 : comparemela.

1. 2 billion catholics worldwide to take common action in a rare papal letter on Climate Change and human ecology. The move is expected to have a major impact, coming after pope francis shocked by using his annual christmas remarks to issue a scraping desk scathing critique of the vatican itself. His new biography is the great reformer or co. Connect with the concerns and feelings of ordinary people. But he also is a great helper because he understands what is reform. We will speak with the biographer, Austen Ivereigh about the popes views on Climate Change, capitalism cuba, war and peace. Then we will hear author and activist Bill Mckibben was announced he is stepping down from the daily leadership of 350. Org, which he cofounded in 2007 and where he is been the leading voice against Climate Change. We will play an excerpt from his recent acceptance speech for the right livelihood award known as the alternative nobel. Global warming is a test for all of us, the test in our time honored. It is a test in a sense of whether the big rain was a good adaptation after all. Clearly, that rain think it is in a good deal of trouble, but maybe, just maybe, it is a tax to begin of hard to get us out of some of the trouble. All that and more, coming up. Welcome to democracy now democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. In canada, nine people are dead including two children following what police say is the worst mass murder to hit albertas capital city of edmonton. It marked the the victims were found in two separate homes, and the suspect was later found dead in a restaurant. Edmonton police chief rod knecht spoke after the killings. These are not linked to be random acts and theres no risk to the broader public. These events do not appear to begin related. The rather tragic incidents of domestic violence. Indonesian officials have confirmed bodies and debris found in the java sea off the coast of borneo are from a passenger plane carrying 162 people, which went missing en route to singapore. Several bodies have been recovered and at least two have arrived back in the indonesian city of surabaya, where the airasia flight departed from on sunday. In central yemen, a suicide bomber has killed at least 33 people at a gathering of shiite houthi rebels. The governor of ibb province which is controlled by the houthis, was reportedly among those injured in the attack. The president of the west african nation of gambia has returned home after his an apparent coup plot while he was out of the country. President yahya jammeh says he remains in control of gambia after a fierce gun battle which reportedly threw the capital banjul into chaos and killed a former Army Commander who allegedly led the plot. President jammeh who rose to power in a military coup in 1994 has faced two previous coup plots. He has faced International Criticism for his homophobic views and repression of political opponents. The failed coup has sparked fears of a crackdown. Russia has seen one of its largest antigovernment demonstrations in years after a leading opponent of president Vladimir Putin was dealt a convicted of fraud. Alexei navalny, a prominent blogger and lawyer, was given a suspended three and a half year sentence but his younger brother was sentenced to prison. As many as 250 others were arrested. Earlier today, 18 protesters including members of the feminist punk group pussy riot were detained after spending the night near moscows red square. In washington, state Department Spokesperson jeff rathke condemned the sentencing of the navalny brothers. We are troubled by the guilty verdict handed down in the latest action. The decision is a disturbing development, in our view, and it appears to be designed to further punish and deter political activism. This appears to be another example of the russian government growing crackdown on independent voices. By rain forces have fired tear gas on protesters who gathered outside the home of a detained opposition leader. Sheikh ali salman, head of the main shiite Group Opposed to bahrains sunni monarchy, was arrested on sunday after leading a rally. The United Nations and European Union have criticized salmans arrest, with the un human rights chief calling for his immediate release. The Obama Administration says it is looking into the charges against salman and has called for him to be treated equally under the law. Bahrain is a close u. S. Ally which houses the navys fleet. The United Nations Security Council has rejected a resolution demanding an end to the Israeli Occupation of palestinian territories within three years, following u. S. And israeli pressure against it. The draft resolution also called for a peaceful solution between israel and a sovereign palestinian state within 12 months. Of the 15 members of the un Security Council, only the United States and australia voted against the measure the but the measure needed nine votes to pass and only received eight after nigeria decided at the last minute to abstain from voting. The guardian reports both u. S. Secretary of state john kerry and israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called nigerias president , goodluck jonathan, to ask him to oppose the measure. The United States was expected to veto the measure if it passed. The vote came amidst widening support for palestinian statehood, with an increasing number of European Countries taking steps to recognize palestine. U. S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power explained why the u. S. Objected. Todays staged confrontation in the un Security Council will not bring the parties closer to achieving a two state solution. We voted against this resolution not because were indifferent to the daily hardships or the security threats endured by palestinians and israelis, but because we know those hardships will not cease and those threats will not subside until the parties reach a conference of settlement achieved through negotiation. The Obama Administration has released five more prisoners from guantanamo bay. The prisoners include two men from tunisia and three from yemen who have been held for a dozen years without charge. They have all been sent to kazakhstan for resettlement. Their release brings the total number of prisoners at guantanamo to 127. Somali officials have confirmed a u. S. Airstrike killed the intelligence chief of the militant group alshabab. The pentagon had announced the strike but did not identify the , target. Somali Officials Say the leader, abdishakur tahlil, was killed along with two other senior alshabab members. An earlier u. S. Strike in september killed the leader of alshabab, sparking a deadly revenge attack on an African Union base in mogadishu last week. Here in new york, the Staten Island District Attorney who failed to produce an indictment of a new York City Police officer for the chokehold killing of unarmed African American eric garner has said he is seriously considering a run for the seat vacated by congressmember michael grimm. Just hours after grimm announced he is stepping down after pleading guilty to tax charges District Attorney daniel donovan, a republican, said his phone had been ringing off the hook with people urging him to run. Donovan was soundly criticized for failing to secure an indictment of officer daniel pantaleo, the Police Officer who was caught on video wrestling eric garner down in a banned chokehold. Garner died after repeatedly saying, i cant breathe. New York City Police officers have reportedly launched a virtual work stoppage in protest of mayor bill de blasios comments on racial profiling and police brutality. According to the new york post, traffic tickets and summonses for minor offenses have dropped 94 over the same period last year after the murder of two Police Officers earlier this month. Parking violations dropped 92 and drug arrests dropped 84 . In response to the post numbers, the New York Times issued its second editorial in two days criticizing the nypds protests of de blasio. The times wrote what new yorkers expect of the Police Department is simple 1. Dont violate the constitution. 2. Dont kill unarmed people. To that we can add do your jobs. Mayor de blasio met with Police Union Leaders on tuesday in a bid to ease ties. Following the meeting, the head of the Largest Police union, patrick lynch, who has previously accused de blasio of having blood on his hands, said the meeting had failed to produce a resolution. There were a number of discussions, especially about the safety issues that our members face. There was no resolve, and are thought here today is that actions speak than words and time will tell. While police have focused on the issue of officer safety, a new report finds the current fatality rate for police on the job is. 014 . The number of officers killed by firearms rose 56 this year over 2013, but remain far below historic highs and have steadily dropped over time. In hayden, idaho, a twoyearold boy has accidentally shot and killed his mother with a gun he found in her purse. The boy and his mother were shopping at walmart with family members when the accident took place. The woman, who was 29 and has not been named, reportedly had a permit to carry the concealed gun. The Obama Administration has found Harvard Law School violated the federal statute title ix by mishandling cases of sexual assault. The department of education announced Harvard Law School had agreed to reform its policies and procedures following a fouryear investigation, which marked one of the departments longestrunning investigations over sexual violence. In one case highlighted by the government, harvard took over a year to make a final decision after a student issued a complaint, ultimately barring the alleged victim from participating in an appeal and then dismissing the case. Meanwhile, Harvard College remains under federal investigation for its response to sexual assault, as do scores of other colleges and universities across the country. The worldrenowned scientist dr. Theo colborn, one of the leading experts on the health and environmental impacts of chemicals used to extract oil and gas, has died at the age of 87. In 2003, at the age of 76, colborn founded the Endocrine Disruption Exchange to disseminate Scientific Evidence related to endocrine disruptors, chemicals that interfere with development. In 2010, theo colborn appeared on democracy now and spoke about her research on endocrine disruptors and the chemicals used to extract natural gas through fracking. These are the chemicals that can get into the pregnant woman and enter the womb while her baby is developing and alter how those children are born. This is our big concern today, because we are facing major pandemics of endocrine driven disorders. Simple things like adhd, autism, diabetes obesity, early testicular cancer, in dimitrios us. These are all endocrinedriven disorders that we are very concerned about. And these products are being injected underground for centuries, maybe before they surface, and also coming back up. Dr. Theo colborn died on december 14 at home in paonia, colorado. And rabbi Leonard Beerman, a leading voice for social justice, peace and the rights of palestinians for over six decades, has died at the age of 93. In 1947, just before the founding of israel, beerman lived in jerusalem and joined the haganah, the jewish militia, an experience which helped transform him into a lifelong pacifist. He soon moved to los angeles where he worked as a rabbi and embarked on decades of activism, from opposing the vietnam war in in the 1960s to criticizing israels recent assault on gaza. In 2007, he presented the nation institutes Ron Ridenhour award to president jimmy carter. In his introduction, he spoke about striving for change. In this endeavor, there is no guarantee of victory, but there is a choice. One either collaborates with the enemy with whatever is, with whatever is miserable or inhumane, with whatever is unjust, with whatever demeans the life of any human being even those we call our enemies or one joins the resistance and insist upon being among those who strive to diminish the store of insult and agony of the world. Rabbi Leonard Beerman died last wednesday in los angeles from congestive heart failure. He was 93 years old. And those are some of the headlines, this is democracy now, democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. For our last report of 2014. Pope francis is set to make history by issuing the firstever comprehensive vatican teachings on Climate Change. In an effort to urge catholics worldwide to take climate action, the pope will issue a rare papal letter or encyclical on Climate Change and human ecology following a visit in march to tacloban, the philippine city devastated in 2012 by typhoon haiyan. The document will then be sent to the worlds 5,000 catholic bishops and 400,000 priests who will distribute it to their parishioners. Given the sheer number of people who identify as catholics worldwide, the popes clarion call to tackle Climate Change could reach far more people than even the largest environmental groups. Globally, there are 1. 2 billion catholics, of which around 75 million live in the United States. The pope also plans to address the United Nations General Assembly and convene a summit of the worlds main religions in hopes of bolstering next years crucial u. N. Climate meeting in paris. Last year, during his first Christmas Mass as head of the Catholic Church, pope francis called for protection of the environment from human greed. Lord of heaven and earth, look upon our planet. Frequently exploited by human greed and rapacity. Help them protect all the victims of natural disasters especially the beloved people of the philippines gravely affected by the recent typhoon. This year, pope francis shocked cardinals, bishops and priests by using his annual christmas remarks to deliver a scathing critique of the vatican itself the central governing body of the Catholic Church. He said the vatican is plagued with spiritual alzheimers, existential schizophrenia, social exhibitionism and a lust for power all of which have resulted in an orchestra that plays out of tune. Pope francis also lambasted the gossip, pettiness, and rivalry he said were infecting the church. This is part of what he said. There is also the sickness of the stony mind and spirit, of those who have a stone heart and hartnett, of those who lose her inner serenity and audacity and end up hiding behind papers, becoming machines for practices and not men of god. It is dangerous to lose the human sensitivity and we need to cry with those who cry and to rejoice with those who rejoice. Pope francis has also captured global attention for his criticism of capitalism, his softer tone on key social issues including abortion and homosexuality, and his calls to refocus the church towards the needs of the poor. In his personal life, the pope has chosen to live simply at the vatican, residing in a guest house, instead of the apostolic palace, forgoing a chauffeured mercedes in favor a plain black sedan. He has also made headlines for his everyday acts of extraordinary compassion he invited a teenager with down syndrome, alberto di tullio, for a ride in the popemobile. He embraced and kissed vinicio riva, a man severely scarred by a genetic disease. And he washed a dozen prisoners feet at a jail for juveniles in rome. The pope also responded to a letter from a rape survivor by personally calling to console her, saying you are not alone. Most recently, the pope has emerged as a star diplomat a key player in the thawing of relations between the cuba and the United States. Cuban president raul castro thanked him for his support. This decision by president obama deserves respect and recognition from our people. I would like to thank and recognize the support of the vatican and especially that of pope francis in helping improve the relations between cuba and the United States. Earlier this month, the pope offered to assist the United States with another diplomatic hurdle its efforts to close guantanamo prison. The vatican has reportedly offered to help find adequate humanitarian solutions through its international contacts. Meanwhile, the pope has rejected change in two other areas