{"id":26175,"date":"2011-12-16T13:29:42","date_gmt":"2011-12-16T20:29:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/uprisingradio.org\/home\/?p=26175"},"modified":"2011-12-16T13:36:33","modified_gmt":"2011-12-16T20:36:33","slug":"weekly-digest-121611","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uprisingradio.org\/home\/2011\/12\/16\/weekly-digest-121611\/","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Digest &#8211; 12\/16\/11"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/player.wizzard.tv\/player\/o\/j\/x\/131878025621\/config\/k-2f06894703ea9a10\/uuid\/root.m4v\/height\/300\/width\/475\"><\/script><em>Our <a href=\"http:\/\/uprisingradio.org\/home\/?page_id=23\">weekly edition<\/a> is a nationally syndicated one-hour digest of the best of our daily coverage.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.archive.org\/stream\/WeeklyDigest-121611\"> <img decoding=\"async\" border=0 src=\"graphics\/listen.gif\"\/> Audio Stream<\/a> | <a href=\"http:\/\/uprising.libsyn.com\/rss\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/home\/graphics\/miniXml.gif\" width=\"25\" height=\"10\" border=\"0\"\/>Podcast<\/a> | <a href=\"http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/uprising\/uprising_2011-12-16.mp3\">Mp3 Download<\/a><\/p>\n<p>This week on Uprising:<\/p>\n<p>* Durban Climate Conference Ends in More Inaction<br \/>\n* Obama Administration Slows Down Corporate Crime Prosecutions<br \/>\n* West Coast Occupy Movements Attempt to Shut Down Ports<br \/>\n* Occupy LA Activist Shares Story of His Arrest, Compares to Treatment of Corporate Criminals<\/p>\n<p>*   *   *<\/p>\n<p><strong>Durban Climate Conference Ends in More Inaction<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" align=right width=50% src=\"\/home\/graphics\/durban2.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/>On Monday just a day after climate change talks in Durban, South Africa ended with a whimper, Canada surprised the international community by pulling out of the Kyoto Treaty. Canada\u2019s action drew criticism from home and abroad. The Canadian government cited the expense of offsetting a leap in carbon emissions by purchasing carbon emission permits as one reason to pull-out. It estimates meeting its 2012 Kyoto target would cost 14 billion Canadian dollars, or about $1600 dollars per household. Canada\u2019s environmental minister Peter Kent said the withdrawal from the only legally binding international treaty on carbon emission, was \u201cshameful.\u201d China issued a statement calling the move \u201cpreposterous\u201d and said buying permits, \u201cis far less expensive than the cost of inaction.\u201d Japan and Russia have also pledged to not renew their Kyoto obligations. Negotiations at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change concluded last Sunday in Durban with 194 nations agreeing to craft a new legally binding agreement to reduce pollution. The two week conference was focused on renewing the Kyoto treaty, which is set to expire next year, and on creating a new Green Climate Fund. Developing nations, well into their own industrial revolutions, want the same freedom to modernize and expand as the US and other developed nations. Janet Redman wrote from Durban last week, \u201c[f]or hundreds of millions of poor Indians, the right to develop is the right to survival.\u201d Redman said this means either growing emissions, or, \u201cmassive support from rich countries in the form of money and clean technology.\u201d The US has been blamed for being obstructionist in climate change talks, with the Executive Director of Greenpeace Kumi Naidoo observing US negotiators make \u201cderailing demands and [announce] commitments that barely survive the plane trip home.\u201d Naidoo went on to state the US, \u201chas reached a new low in refuting that scientific consensus demands urgent and rapid pollution reduction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>GUESTS: Janet Redman, Co-director of the Sustainable Energy &#038; Economy Network at the Institute for Policy Studies; Laura Carlsen Director, Mexico City-based Americas Program of the Center for International Policy, Columnist for Foreign Policy in Focus<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Read Laura Carlsen&#8217;s article here: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/view\/2011\/12\/08-1\">http:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/view\/2011\/12\/08-1<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Read Janet Redman&#8217;s blogs from Durban here (scroll to the bottom of the page): <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ips-dc.org\/staff\/janet\">http:\/\/www.ips-dc.org\/staff\/janet<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Obama Administration Slows Down Corporate Crime Prosecutions<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" align=right width=50% src=\"\/home\/graphics\/corzine.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/>In the latest in the on-going scandal over the now-bankrupt futures trading company MF Global, new testimony prepared at a Congressional hearing this week shows that the Federal Reserve gave MF Global so-called &#8220;primary dealer status&#8221; in February of this year, even after it was discovered that there were serious questions about compliance with regulations. The company which was headed by former Senator and former Goldman Sachs CEO John Corzine, lobbied heavily for the status which meant MF Global could &#8220;deal directly with the government to help carry out monetary policy and distribute U.S. debt&#8221; (Reuters). When questioned at a Congressional Hearing earlier in the week about missing billions of dollars of customer money, Corzine said he simply didn&#8217;t know what had happened to the money. Rolling Stone writer Matt Taibbi described what happened this way: &#8220;Corzine essentially reached into the company cash register to pay off his gambling debts. He didn\u2019t have enough money of his own to fight off the wolves, so he took the money he had access to, in a desperate, insane hope that his bets would eventually turn around and he could replace the missing cash later on.&#8221; The MF Global scandal is only the latest in a series of instances of corporate fraud that have now become part and parcel of the American capitalist way, with any fines or disciplinary action upon discovering the fraud becoming simply a cost of doing business. President Obama, when questioned on CBS&#8217;s 60 minutes about corporate fraud, said &#8220;Some of the most damaging behavior on Wall Street \u2014 in some cases some of the least ethical behavior on Wall Street \u2014 wasn\u2019t illegal.&#8221; Meanwhile a Syracuse University study in November revealed the shocking fact that criminal prosecutions against financial institutions for fraud per year, had fallen dramatically under President Obama. Even President George W Bush&#8217;s Administration pursued more than twice as many prosecutions for financial fraud per year than Obama. With the Occupy movement having taken a hold of the national popular imagination, there is a renewed public hunger for economic justice. <\/p>\n<p><em>GUEST: William Black, Associate Professor of Economics and Law at the University of Missouri, Kansas City and the author of &#8220;The Best Way to Rob a Bank Is to Own One.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Visit <a href=\"http:\/\/neweconomicperspectives.blogspot.com\">http:\/\/neweconomicperspectives.blogspot.com<\/a> for more information. <\/p>\n<p>Here is a link to the article Prof. Black referred to during the interview: <a href=\"http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/article\/SB10001424052970204336104577094772749499652.html\">http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/article\/SB10001424052970204336104577094772749499652.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p>From the WSJ article: &#8220;Under the proposal, banks would be released from legal claims tied to servicing delinquent mortgages as well as certain mortgage-origination practices, but government officials still would be able to pursue claims related to the packaging of mortgages into securities.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>West Coast Occupy Movements Attempt to Shut Down Ports<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><ul class=\"inline-playlist playlist\" title=\"\"><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.archive.org\/download\/DailyDigest-121311\/2011_12_13_ports.MP3\">Listen to this segment <\/a><\/li><\/ul><ul class=\"inline-playlist playlist\" title=\"\"><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.archive.org\/download\/DailyDigest-121311\/2011_12_13_uprising.mp3\">Listen to the entire program<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" align=right width=50% src=\"\/home\/graphics\/OccupyPortBlockade.JPG\" alt=\"null\" \/>Protests targeting West Coast ports on Monday stopped work shifts and shipments for hours with major disruptions at the ports of Long Beach and Oakland. Hundreds of people gathered at ports in the early morning hours from San Diego all the way up to Vancouver, Canada. Protesters targeted in particular, terminals owned by a company named SSA Marine because it is co-owned by the Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs, and grain exporter EGT for anti-union activity. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union, thousands of whose workers are employed by SSA Marine, did not sanction the action but respected the Occupiers&#8217; picket lines. While some workers complained to press about a day&#8217;s worth of lost wages, an open letter by four port truckers decrying their working conditions, and in support of the spirit of the port shutdown, has received broad attention. In it, they say &#8220;we believe in the power and potential behind a truly united 99%. We admire the strength and perseverance of the longshoremen. We are fighting like mad to overcome our exploitation, so please, stick by us long after December 12.&#8221; Protestors significantly disrupted business at the Longview, Washington port, where companies sent workers  home citing health and safety concerns.  In Seattle, Washington hundreds of protestors shut down at least one port terminal and police turned out with flash bang percussion grenades to disperse the demonstrators. In Southern California where this program is recorded, the port of Long Beach saw hundreds of Occupy activists gather near Harry Bridges park and block shift changes for several hours. Police then pushed protesters out of the area, and arrested a small number of people. The longest port occupation appears to be Oakland&#8217;s, where protestors disrupted traffic into the port until 4am on Tuesday. <\/p>\n<p>Uprising correspondent Lydia Breen was at the Occupy the Ports action at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles yesterday and filed this special report. <\/p>\n<p>Lydia Breen is with The Trailer Trash Project online at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.trailertrashproject.com\">www.trailertrashproject.com<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Occupy LA Activist Shares Story of His Arrest, Compares to Treatment of Corporate Criminals<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" align=right width=50% src=\"\/home\/graphics\/OLA_raid_arrest.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/>When the Occupy Los Angeles encampment was raided on November 30th, it ended that movement&#8217;s relatively cordial relationship with the police.  In an essay published after the raid Patrick Meighan, an arrested protestor at Occupy LA, made a comparison with his treatment and the treatment of corporate criminals like Citigroup CEO Charles Prince. Meighan, who cooperated with police orders, was violently thrown to the ground and handcuffed in zip-ties, and then made to kneel on concrete for 7 hours before being transported to jail. Meighan spent the night before being released on $5000 bail. He concluded his piece asking why he was jailed when, &#8220;those who steal hundreds of billions, do trillions worth of damage to our economy&#8230; are not only  spared the zipcuffs but showered with rewards?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><em>GUEST: Patrick Meighan is a father, a husband, a Green, a sitcom writer for Family Guy, a Unitarian Universalist, and a Culver Citizen.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Read Patrick Meighan&#8217;s article here: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/view\/2011\/12\/08-3\">http:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/view\/2011\/12\/08-3<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Sonali&#8217;s Subversive Thought for the Day<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cA small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.\u201d \u2014 Mohandas K. Gandhi <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><em>This week on Uprising &#8212;<\/em> <\/p>\n<p>Durban Climate Conference Ends in More Inaction &#8211; Obama Administration Slows Down Corporate Crime Prosecutions &#8211; West Coast Occupy Movements Attempt to Shut Down Ports &#8211; Occupy LA Activist Shares Story of His Arrest, Compares to Treatment of Corporate Criminals<\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"?page_id=4\">Click here<\/a> to get Uprising on your station. <\/b><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/uprising\/uprising_2011-12-16.mp3\">Click here to download the latest show<\/a> or use the player below:<script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/player.wizzard.tv\/player\/o\/j\/x\/131878025621\/config\/k-2f06894703ea9a10\/uuid\/root.m4v\/height\/100\/width\/175\">\n<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-weekly-program-digest"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uprisingradio.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uprisingradio.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uprisingradio.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uprisingradio.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uprisingradio.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26175"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/uprisingradio.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26175\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uprisingradio.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uprisingradio.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uprisingradio.org\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}