Becometrump who may soon the only world leader who does not believe in Climate Change. We will get the latest on the u. N. Climate summit and look at an issue that has barely received coverage here the Moroccan Occupation of the Western Sahara which many consider to be africas last colony. That areimate talks this month, is an excellent king and theor the Community Around him to whitewash the decline, the oppression, authoritarianism, and also make people forget about the occupation that has been ongoing for more than four decades in Western Sahara. Amy we will speak to a britishalgerian activist who was blocked from entering Western Sahara during the u. N. Climate summit and we will go to , the streets of marrake to speak with Syrian Refugeesho have fled here to escape war. I want to ask him why and they want to close the borders first. Syrias have suffered very much. Why should they close the border in our faces . They should help us because we have gone through a lot of suffering and lost everything. Amy all that and more, coming up. Welcome to democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. We are broadcasting from marrakesh, morocco, from the u. N. Climate summit. Back in the United States, donald trump has chosen alabama Jeff Sessions. Inwas elected the the senate 1990 six. As an alabama senator, he has consistently supported antiimmigration legislation. In 2010, he was a leading proponent of the effort to repeal the 14th amendment, which grant citizenship to everyone born in the United States. Jeff sessions is also been a vocal opponent of the Voting Rights act. In 1986, president Ronald Reagan nominated sessions for a federal judgeship, but he was denied confirmation because of his history of racist comments, including reportedly saying he thought the ku klux klan was ok, until i found out they smoked pot. He is also called the naacp and the aclu unamerican and communistinspired. In while, officials from Donald TrumpsTransition Team have told multiple news outlets that trump has offered lt. General Michael Flynn the position of National Security adviser. Flynn is wellknown for his antimuslim worldview, having called islam a cancer and saying fear of muslims is rational. General flynn is also on the board of advisers for act for america, an antimuslim organization thats been designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. This position of National Security adviser does not require senate confirmation. Flynn served as the director of the Defense Intelligence agency under president obama. During which time some of his subordinates invented the term flyn facts. He was a key adviser for donald trump during the 2016 campaign, during which he refused to condemn trumps proposed use of torture. Human rights watch said his pick shows a deeply disturbing disregard for human rights principles and the laws of war. Another Controversial Military figure, former cia director and retired u. S. Army general david petraeus, is reportedly in the running for secretary of state. In 2015, petraeus was sentenced to two years probation and a 100,000 fine after pleading guilty to leaking highly classified information to his biographer and lover paula broadwell. This comes after trump spent months calling for Hillary Clinton to be jailed for her use of a private email server when she served as secretary of state, despite being cleared of wrongdoing by multiple fbi investigations. Donald trump also met with president nixons secretary of state Henry Kissinger on thursday at trump tower. Director of National IntelligenceJames Clapper has submitted his resignation, sparking renewed calls for him to face perjury prosecution for lying under oath to the senate in march 2013 when he was questioned by senator ron wyden about the governments secret surveillance program. They collect any type of data at all, millions or hundreds of millions of americans. No, sir. It does not . Not wittingly. There are cases where they could inadvertently, perhaps, collect but not wittingly. Amy clapper later defended himself by claiming he had answered the question in the least untruthful manner. His resignation will be effective on inauguration day, january 20, 2017. The New York Times is reporting Donald Trumps soninlaw Jared Kushner is weighing the possibility of joining trump said administration a move that may violate u. S. Antinepotism laws. Kushner is the husband of trumps daughter ivanka. Hes been a key adviser to Donald Trumps campaign and Transition Team. Most recently, he orchestrated a purge of new Jersey Governor Chris Christie and his allies from the Transition Team. Jareds father, charles kushner, was sent to prison by christie when christie was a new jerseys top prosecutor. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party has elected new york senator Chuck Schumer to be the Senate Minority leader, despite opposition from protesters who say schumers ties to wall street make him unfit to lead the Democratic Partys opposition to donald trump. Earlier this week, protesters held a sitin inside Schumers Office demanding he step aside and instead support vermont senator Bernie Sanders for the position of minority leader. Instead, on wednesday, schumer was elected minority leader and then tapped Bernie Sanders as chair of outreach for the democratic leadership team. A new position. Meanwhile, massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren has become the latest Democratic Party member to endorse minnesota congressman Keith Ellison as the next chair of the Democratic National committee. He is the first muslim member of congress and cochair of the congressional progressive caucus. In san diego, u. S. District judge Gonzalo Curiel will hold a hearing friday to consider a request by Donald Trumps lawyers to delay the classaction lawsuit against trump and his defunct forprofit Trump University until after the inauguration in january. The university has been accused of defrauding students. Trump is slated to testify at the trial, but his lawyers are trying to convince judge curiel to permit him to testify via a videotaped deposition. Theyre also trying to withhold from evidence everything trump has said, including in speeches and in tweets. During the campaign, trump attacked judge curiel, saying his mexican heritage makes him biased against trump. The largest bank in norway, dnb, has sold its assets in the companies behind the 3. 8 billion Dakota Access pipeline and it is considering whether to terminate three separate loans the bank has made to finance the project. The canceled assets were worth 3 million. The loans under consideration finance up to 10 of the pipelines construction. Relatedlus dnb is not to dnb first. This comes as Energy Transfer partners, the Company Behind the Dakota Access pipeline, is almost certain to miss the january 1, 2017, deadline by when it had promised Oil Companies it would have completed construction, opening up the possibility the pipeline may lose its contracts with Oil Companies. In recent court documents, Energy Transfer partners acknowledged that if the army corps of engineers does grant the final permit to drill underneath the missouri river, it would still take the company between three and four months to finish the project. Its still not clear whether the permit will ever be granted. Even if it is, missing the january 1 deadline means Oil Companies will have the right to renegotiate or even cancel their contracts to have oil shipped through the Dakota Access pipeline. These cancellations are likely given that Bakken Oil Production has fallen by 20 since its peak in december 2014 the same year the contracts were first signed. Energy transfer partners has acknowledged in Court Filings loss of shippers to the project could effectively result in project cancellation. In iraq, a suicide car bomb has killed at least 30 people at a wedding thursday. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack south of fallujah. Among the dead was the groom, seif jumaa maajal, who was the son of a local tribal leader who had been a vocal opponent of the Islamic State. In china, workers have staged a series of strikes and protests against walmart, demanding better pay and working conditions. At least 20,000 walmart workers in china have joined messaging groups, such as wechat, in order to coordinate organizing against the company. This comes amid a wave of labor organizing in chinas service sector. Since july, workers have organized more than 120 protests and strikes targeting service companies, including walmart. Palestinians are condemning two pieces of legislation being pushed by israeli lawmakers. The first would ban mosque loudspeakers in efforts to silence the call to prayer, which sounds five times throughout the day. Rightwing israeli lawmakers are claiming the call is noise pollution. The second piece of legislation would retroactively legalize jewishonly settlements on Palestinian Land in the israelioccupied west bank. The measure violates international law. This is Palestinian Leader hanan ashrawi. We consider all settlements and legal whether they are public or private land. Extends the confiscation of territories to palestinian steal occupation can outright theft Palestinian Land weather for public palestinian use or private palestinian property in order to expand settlement project, destroyed the two state solution, and at the same time, impose greater israel on historical palestine. Amy in guatemala, a judge has ruled former u. S. Backed dictator Efrain Rios Montt will face trial on charges of genocide for a massacre in 1982 that killed 273 indigenous people, nearly half of them children. On wednesday, the judge ruled he will be represented by his mont has beens ruled mentally unfit for trial. Rios montt was found guilty of genocide in 2013, but a court annulled his 80year sentence less than two weeks later. Britain says residents of the Chagos Islands in the indian ocean who were forcibly removed for the construction of a u. S. Military base in the early 1970s will not be allowed to return home, despite four decades of organizing by the displaced residents who are demanding the right to return. In addition to serving as u. S. Airbase, one of the islands, diego garcia, has also played a Critical Role in the u. S. Extraordinary rendition program. This week the British ForeignOffice Minister said instead of the right to return home, the chagossians will be offered 40 millions pounds in compensation over the next decade. She also said the u. S. Will be allowed to keep its military base on the island. Back in the United States, the number of reported hate crimes continues to surge in the wake of Donald Trumps election last week. The Southern Poverty Law Center has now documented at least 437 verbal and physical attacks, intimidation and harassment against muslims, immigrants, african americans, women, and people of color. The most commonly reported place where physical or verbal harassment occurred continues to be in k12 schools. A forprofit Family Detention Center in karnes county, texas, has banned Migrant Children held there from having access to crayons while their mothers meet with lawyers. Immigration authorities claim the ban is a response to children coloring on a table in the prisons visiting area which caused damage to the contractor. The facility is operated by the private Prison Company geo group, which saw its stock price jump after donald trump won the president ial election. Human rights advocates are calling for the Obama Administration to cut ties with the private prison industry and end family detention before the close of his term. And writer Colson Whitehead has won the National Book award for the underground railroad, a novel about a young enslaved girl who escapes from a georgia plantation. At the new york city awards ceremony, whitehead said were happy in here. Outside is the blasted hellhole wasteland of trumpland. Be kind to everybody, make art and fight the power. And those are some of the headlines. The Washington Post is reporting donald trump has miken kansas congressman cap the os cia director. He is opposed closing Guantanamo Bay prison. In 2013, he visited the notorious prison and set of the prisoners on Hunger Strike it looked like to me that a lot of them have put on weight. He also is a vocal opponent of the iran nuclear deal. And those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. We are broadcasting from the cop22 here in marrakesh, morocco. In what is seen by some as a direct response to the election of donald trump and his rejection of climate science, nearly 200 nations have agreed on a proclamation here in marrakesh morocco declaring implementation of the Paris Climate Accord to be a urgent duty. This comes just over a week after trump was elected president. He has vowed to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement and has called Climate Change a chinesecreated hoax. Trump will soon become the only world leader who doesnt believe in Climate Change. This is aziz mekouar, moroccos head negotiator at the talks. We call for all parties to strengthen and support efforts to eradicate poverty, ensure food security, deal of Climate Change challenges in agriculture. We call for urgently raising ambition and strengthening Cooperation Amongst ourselves to close the gap between current emissions, project rees, and the pathway needed to meet the longterm goals of the Paris Agreement. We call for an increase in the volume, flow, and access to finance for climate projects alongside improved capacity and technology, including through developing countries. Views of 100r billion mobilization goal. Call for further Climate Action and support well in advance of 2020, taking into account the specific needs and special status of developing countries, the least developed countries, and those particularly honorable to the adverse vulnerable to adverse impact of Climate Change. To the kyoto protocol anchorage the quantification. Amy aziz mekouar, moroccos head negotiator at the talks, speaking after nations here at cop22 signed on to whats known as marrakesh action proclamation. Tina johnson is policy director at the u. S. Climate action network. Opportunity is an is a know one country, no one person can control the outcome. Im a change is real. We need to act. Were going to do everything we can. [indiscernible] amy earlier this week, the Prime Minister of fiji appealed directly to president elect donald trump. I want to make a special appeal to the president elect of the United States donald trump for a personal change of heart in a public change of policy on the issue of Climate Change.