A Continent That Is Cooling: Africa; TV Premiere, “The People Speak: Democracy Is Not A Spectator Sport”

December 10th, 2009 - by: danny

• Copenhagen: Where Africa Took On Obama by Naomi Klein

As details of a woefully weak climate deal emerges, Africa’s love affair with Obama is cooling fast.

The highlight of my first day at COP15 was a conversation with the extraordinary Nigerian poet and activist Nnimmo Bassey, chair of Friends of the Earth International. We talked about the fact that some of the toughest activists here still pull their punches when it comes to Obama, even as his climate team works tirelessly to do away with the Kyoto Protocol, replacing it with much weaker piecemeal targets.

If George W. Bush had pulled some of the things Obama has done here, he would have been burned in effigy on the steps of the convention center. With Obama, however, even the most timid actions are greeted as historic breakthroughs, or at least a good start. READ MORE

• New Report Calculates Climate Change Toll on Africa

“African countries are among those that have done the least to contribute to climate change and that will be the most affected,” commented Eliot Whittington, senior climate justice adviser at Christian Aid.” READ MORE

• Kofi Annan: Saving Ourselves From…Ourselves

Copenhagen offers the prospect of a robust political deal, endorsed by the world’s leaders and witnessed by the world’s people, that sets out clear targets and a timeline for translating it into law. To be a truly historic achievement, such a deal must do two things. READ MORE

We will need the political will to lead the change and the charge to cease our deadly addiction to oil and begin to heal our home, planet Earth. It has been said: “One day the people will begin to lead and the leaders will have no choice but to follow.” This is our time to lead. After 8 agonizing years of “free speech zones” and repetitively being told that dissent is unpatriotic, there is a program this Sunday to refresh our memories.

• The People Speak: Premiering Sunday, December 13, 2009

Democracy is not a spectator sport. Using dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries and speeches of everyday Americans, THE PEOPLE SPEAK gives voice to those who spoke up for social change throughout U.S. history, forging a nation from the bottom up with their insistence on equality and justice.

Narrated by Howard Zinn and based on his best-selling books, A People’s History of the United States and Voices of a People’s History of the United States, THE PEOPLE SPEAK illustrates the relevance of these passionate historical moments to our society today and reminds us never to take liberty for granted.

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