Archive - Apr 22, 2010

• At Bolivia climate conference, leaders highlight economic models in calls for action
• Scientists call rise in ocean acidification “unprecedented”
• Senate works through long list of nominees despite Republican blocking
• Belgium moves toward national ban on full-body veil
• Mumia commentary: The End of an Empire

• Nigeria approves execution of hundreds of inmates to relieve prison overcrowding
• Grenades kill 3 near Thai protests
• Nicaraguan political strife triggers protests
• Anti-dam activists in Brazil move to occupy construction site
• Obama touts financial reform to Wall Street audience

Today is the final day of the People’s World Summit on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth, the alternative climate conference called by Bolivian President Evo Morales after the failure at Copenhagen.  FSRN's Jessica Camille Aguirre and Aldo Orellana report from Tiquipaya, Bolivia.

The ocean absorbs a third of C02 emissions worldwide, including what comes from fossil fuel use and deforestation. That leads to a decrease* in the PH of the water and a chemical change known as ocean acidification. Scientists say it could have significant consequences for both marine life and the millions of people whose lives depend on the ocean. A report by the National Research Council has found that acidification is happening at an unprecedented rate and today a Senate subcommittee discussed possible action. FSRN's Karen Miller has more.

Also in the Capitol, the Senate spent most of its time this week on nominations. A back-log of judicial and executive branch nominations are piling up in the Senate as Republicans have blocked many from going forward. FSRN’s Leigh Ann Caldwell reports.

Belgium's Parliament is expected to take up debate on a measure that would ban the full-body Muslim veil, or the burka, throughout the country. If passed, Belgium would become the first European country to put into law a nationwide ban on the full veil. Other countries are considering similar bans. This week French President Nicolas Sarkozy ordered parliament to begin debate on a ban, despite concerns that it could be unconstitutional in France. The Netherlands may also consider a similar measure. Politicians who support the measures cite safety and support for women's rights but critics call the bans a dangerous precedent for infringement on religious freedom.

To discuss the topic, we're joined by Judith Sunderland. She's a senior researcher for Western Europe with Human Rights Watch and she joins us by phone from Milan.

Mumia Abu-Jamal is an award-winning journalist who chronicles the human condition. He has been a resident of Pennsylvania’s death row for twenty-five years. Writing from his solitary confinement cell his essays have reached a worldwide audience. His books "Live From Death Row", "Death Blossoms", "All Things Censored", “Faith of Our Fathers” and the recently released “We Want Freedom” have sold over 150,000 copies and been translated into nine languages. His 1982-murder trial and subsequent conviction have been the subject of great debate.