Democracy Now! July 3, 2012

July 03, 2012 from Democracy Now! via Creative Commons License BY-NC-ND

The past two weeks have witnessed the worst forest fires in Colorado history, a deadly Mid-Atlantic storm, and a record-shattering heatwave on the East Coast. Democracy Now! discusses how these extreme events fit into the model of changing weather patterns long predicted by climate change scientists. And delegates from 190 countries have gathered at the United Nations to begin talks on the first-ever global agreement regulating the arms trade. Plus headlines, and more.

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In This Video

Arms Trade Treaty

The Arms Trade Treaty is a multilateral treaty that regulates the international trade in conventional weapons. International weapons commerce has been estimated to reach US$70 billion a year. The treaty was negotiated at a global conference under the auspices of the United Nat... Explore this topic

Arms industry

The arms industry is a global business which manufactures weapons and military technology and equipment. It consists of commercial industry involved in research, development, production, and service of military material, equipment and facilities. Arms producing companies, also... Explore this topic

United Nations

The United Nations is the world's largest, foremost, and most prominent international organization. The stated aims of the United Nations include promoting and facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human r... Explore this topic

Navi Pillay

Navanethem "Navi" Pillay is the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. A South African of Indian Tamil origin, she was the first non-white woman on the High Court of South Africa, and she has also served as a judge of the International Criminal Court and President ... Explore this topic

Arms trafficking

Arms trafficking, also known as gunrunning, is the illegal trafficking or smuggling of contraband weapons or ammunition. What constitutes legal trade in firearms varies widely, depending on local and national laws. The 1997 Report of the UN Panel of Governmental Experts on Sma... Explore this topic

UN Security Council

The United Nations Security Council is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the e... Explore this topic

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom and Britain, is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The country includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of... Explore this topic

Ammunition

Ammunition is artillery and gunpowder, or broadly anything that can be used in combat including bombs, missiles, warheads, landmines, naval mines, and anti-personnel mines. The word comes from the French la munition which is all material used for war. The collective term for a... Explore this topic

Suzanne Nossel

Suzanne Nossel became Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs in 2009. She is former Chief Operating Officer of Human Rights Watch. Earlier, she has been Vice President of Strategy and Operations for the Wall Street Journal, from 2005 to 2007... Explore this topic

Russia

Russia or, also officially known as the Russian Federation, is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares land borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania an... Explore this topic

Also See

Climate change

Extreme weather

Wildfire

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