Fast Track for the TPP – The Big Picture – 4/24/15

The Big Picture RT

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Published on Apr 24, 2015

Guest host Mike Papantonio is in for Thom Hartmann tonight and discusses the battle over the TPP with Democracy For America’s Jim Dean, whether surveillance under the Patriot Act will be extended with Truthdig’s Robert Scheer, whether a GOP governor could become our next president with Salon’s Paul Rosenberg, and whether Freddie Gray was given a “rough ride” with Aaron Watson.

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Rising Tide NYC Holds 3 Days of Actions Against Climate Change + NOAA: Last Month was the Hottest March Ever Recorded

Activists rallied at the office of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Tuesday to call for him to reject a proposed deepwater port which would be used to import natural gas. Patrick Robbins of Sane Energy Project said Cuomo should reject Port Ambrose and support renewable energy.

Patrick Robbins: “We’re here today to tell Governor Cuomo to veto Port Ambrose, a liquified natural gas port that would be built off the coast of Long Island. We have other options. We know that we can build offshore wind in that same area. That is what the people want. That is what they need. We want clean, renewable jobs. We’re asking Governor Cuomo to stand with the people and not the private equity and the big banks that want Port Ambrose to be built.”

The protest marked the second of three days of action on climate change by Rising Tide NYC. On Monday, the group marked the fifth anniversary of the BP oil disaster. The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig on April 20, 2010, killed 11 workers and sparked the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. Kate McNeely and Ana Nogueira said they were standing in solidarity with Gulf Coast residents, who continue to suffer from the spill’s impacts.

Kate McNeely: “Standing in solidarity with Gulf South communities that are asking BP to stop lying, pay what they owe, and that fossil fuels must go.”

Ana Nogueira: “Disasters like the BP oil spill that happened five years ago are not one-off things. It’s going to happen again. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. We can no longer have our communities be sacrifice zones. There are alternatives.”

NOAA: Last Month was the Hottest March Ever Recorded

Last month was the hottest March on record worldwide. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the first quarter of the year was the hottest start to any year on record, beating the previous record set in 2002. Arctic sea ice meanwhile hit its smallest extent for the month since record keeping began 35 years ago. We’ll have more on the environment as we mark Earth Day later in the broadcast.

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U.N. Official: Rich Countries Should Take Refugees to End Sea Deaths

A United Nations official has called for wealthy countries to collectively accept one million Syrian refugees over the next five years in order to curtail the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean. U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants François Crépeau told The Guardian the plan could also extend to Eritreans and other refugees who are fleeing from war. Over 1,750 migrants have died this year in the Mediterranean trying to reach Europe, 30 times higher than the same period last year. Libya says it has detained 600 migrants in the past few days after stopping boats poised to depart for Italy.

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Japan: Radioactive Drone Lands on Roof of Prime Minister’s Office

Authorities in Japan are investigating the appearance of a drone containing possible radioactive material on the roof of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s office. Radioactive cesium was detected in the area after the drone was found carrying a bottle of liquid bearing the symbol for radioactivity. The drone’s discovery came as a Japanese court approved the restart of a nuclear power station as part of Prime Minister Abe’s push to return to nuclear power following the Fukushima meltdown in 2011.

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Hey Mr. President…Transparency Applies To The TPP Too!

The Big Picture RT

Published on Apr 24, 2015

Earlier today – President Obama announced the deaths of two hostages – who were killed in January during a US counterterrorism operation against Al Qaeda in Pakistan. Shouldn’t there be that kind of transparency in all parts of our democracy?

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TPP – A Grab-Bag For the World’s Multinational Corporations

The Big Picture RT

Published on Apr 24, 2015

Congressman Alan Grayson (D-FL, 9th district) joins Thom. As Congress prepares to consider a bill giving him fast track powers – President Obama is now pushing the TPP hard – calling it a bridge to the future. But is it a bridge to the future, or just another grab-bag for the world’s multinational corporations?

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Is this how we want our education system to work?

Brave New Films

Published on Mar 4, 2014

The future is stacked against graduates these days, and here is exactly why.
For more info check out: http://higherednotdebt.org/

Created by http://www.bravenewfilms.org
For sources, click here: http://www.bravenewfilms.org/studentc…

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“The Truth Is the Whole” – 2.5-day symposium before the 85th birthday of Dr. Richard Levins

Friends and admirers of Dr. Richard Levins are organizing a three-day symposium, May 21-23, 2015, to honor his 85th birthday and his career as a scientist for the people. The event will take place at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, as described below. His 85th birthday is actually a week after the symposium, on June 1st.

The THEME of this mid-May 2.5-day event is “The Truth Is the Whole“! If you’re unfamiliar with Hegel or with this theme from Hegel, invest some time in learning more about the depth of this conversation about knowledge, judgment, and reality.

Now, because food, music, and venue are provided for this 2.5-day event, there is a $120 registration fee.

…(read more).

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Lester Brown – Harvard Lecture – 6 May 2015 – 5:30 – 7:00pm

Wednesday, 6 May  
5:30 to 7:00pm
Harvard Science Center – Lecture Hall C

[Event Details]
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Background Information on
the Work of Lester Brown

Harvard Class: Introduction to the Life and Works of Lester Brown

The energy transition is here. As fossil fuel resources shrink, as air pollution worsens, and as concerns about climate instability cast a shadow over the future of coal, oil, and natural gas, a new world energy economy is emerging. The old economy, fueled largely by coal and oil, is being replaced with one powered by solar and wind energy.

Read:  Chapter 1

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2012 – Harvard Honors Lester Bown:

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11 February 2011, Harvard Lecture (HUCE):

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Shakes on a Plain & Secret Agent Can

The Daily Show last night was particularly hilarious. Jon Stewart, of course, gives mention to Earth Day, “our favorite of the planetary birthdays,” and offers an apology to Uranus for forgetting her birthday. He then, moves into the news of Oklahoma confirming the link between the increase in earthquakes with the increase in fracking. “Is

it, as common sense might suggest, the seemingly obvious connection to fracking, or is the Lord using our great state as a shake weight?” Stewart asks. “Who really knows?”

He then has a field day with a bizarre Earth Day recycling promo video from the National Security Agency. And at the end of the show, he interviews the famous astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.

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