In the wake of a devastating typhoon a Filipino representative to the U.N Climate Change conferencepresses for the brokering of a climate deal.---
Top of the Alty World
“‘If not now, then when?’” Filipino Negotiator Pleads for Climate Deal After Typhoon Kills 500”—Democracy Now!
Twice in the past six months, young handcuffed men detained in the back of police cars in the South have somehow managed to shoot themselves in the heads.--Salon
The NFL may be reeling from a recent murder-suicide, but the greater hazard to players is brain injuries from concussions.—San Diego Reader
Mother Jones has a roundup of outgoing Republican Senator Jim Dem Demint’s top moments of insanity.—Mother Jones
Top of Alty Utah
The Mormon Church has launched a website about homosexuality .—Q Salt Lake
KRCL explores Utah and the nation’s fascination with the apocalypse.—RadioActive!
The embattled Central Utah Art Center looks to relocate to Salt Lake City.—Salt Lake City Weekly
Local meteorologists broadcast their personal views on climate change—Salt Lake City Weekly
Rantosphere
Blue in Red Zion blogger Curtis Haring reflects on what to expect from newly elected Democratic state senator Jim Dabakis.
“Interestingly, on the day of the election, Dabakis started to step back his “bomb throwing” rhetoric, appealing to moderates with his working-class roots. During his first speech among the delegates, with a mist in his eye, he explained why he was a Democrat: the dignity of labor, the struggle for equality, and the desire for a better tomorrow, were all motifs in his delivery. Far from the attack dog, Dabakis’s final plea before the delegates cast their vote was one of humility and loyalty.”—Blue In Red Zion
The Long View
Private for-profit school the University of Phoenix actively lobbied against community colleges offering bachelor’s degrees the school saw as competition.
“Don Isaacson, the lobbyist for the Independent Colleges and Universities of Arizona – an association of private for-profit and nonprofit colleges, of which the University of Phoenix is a member – told The American Independent, ‘The University of Phoenix was opposed to community-college baccalaureate programs, as were all of the other ICUA schools, to varying degrees.’ Isaacson also serves as the University of Phoenix’s lobbyist in Arizona. In 2011, on behalf of the ICUA, Isaacson testified against a proposal that would have allowed Eastern Arizona College to offer some bachelor’s degree programs. He told legislators at the time: ‘Why have the privates been involved in this issue since 2005? It’s because it won’t stop at Eastern. … If you pass it, it’s going to spread. And if it spreads, it’s going to kill private higher education in this state.’”—The American Independent