- Human rights activists are putting pressure on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to cancel a $12 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia equipping vehicles with machine guns and anti-tank cannons. Trudeau explained that his government is only honoring the arms deal which was negotiated by his predecessor former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper. (“Uncertainty Shrouds Canadian Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia,” Al-Jazeera, Dec. 11, 2017; “Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Is Pushing His Country To The Brink. Will It Hold Together?,” Huffington Post, Dec. 9, 2017)
- At the One Planet Summit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, the World Bank pledged to stop making loans supporting oil and gas exploration in developing nations beginning in 2019. The new policy is part of a broader World Bank commitment to implement the Paris Climate accord. The global financial institution will also report on greenhouse gas emissions produced by energy projects it finances. (“World Bank to End Financial Support for Oil and Gas Extraction,” The Guardian, Dec. 17, 2017; “Huge Private Sector Investment Puts Paris Climate Target in Reach, Says Report,” The Guardian, Nov. 17, 2017;“Big Shift campaign reacts to World Bank commitment to end upstream oil and gas finance,” Oil Change International, Dec. 12, 2017)
- Across California 30 percent of tenants pay half their income in rent and utilities, triple the costs during the boon times of the 1960s. Over the last decade, construction of affordable housing in California has trailed far behind job and population growth. As a result the United Way of Greater Los Angeles expects a dramatic rise in the region’s homeless population. (“For Tenants on the Edge, Paying the Rent Often Takes More Than Half Their Income,” Los Angeles Times, Dec. 3, 2017; “An Affordable Housing Movement Is Rising from the Wreckage of the Foreclosure Crisis,” In These Times, Nov. 17, 2017)
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