Is the US and China climate deal enough? Also, with holiday shopping season in tow, are too many consumer reviews making online shopping harder? Then, the European Space Agency (ESA) landed a spacecraft on a comet for the first time ever. The unmanned Rosetta Probe released a lander to the comet's icy surface after a decade-long mission. What's next?
US and China announce major climate deal, but is it enough?
The unexpected deal was announced yesterday out of the Asian-Pacific Economic Summit in Beijing, and apparently was negotiated in secret over the course of nine months. For the US, it means reducing emissions by up to 28 percent in 2025. China, for its part, has agreed to reach peak carbon emissions by 2030, the first time the country has agreed to such a limit.
Touted as a historic deal, how unprecedented and important is it really? How would cuts be achieved in the US and in China? Would a GOP-led Congress make the US part of the deal difficult to achieve?
Guest:
Janet Redman, climate policy program director at the Institute for Policy Studies
Joanna Lewis, an associate professor of Science, Technology and International Affairs at Georgetown University whose research focuses on energy, environment and climate change policy in China. She is the author of “Green Innovation in China” (Columbia University Press, 2012)
Too many consumer reviews make online shopping a nightmare
With the holiday shopping season fast approaching, millions of consumers will be hitting the Internet in search of the best deals retailers have to offer. But it’s not as easy as finding the lowest price on whatever it is you’re looking for. Just about everything for sale on the Internet has been reviewed by someone else who bought the product, and this overload of reviews can make it much more difficult to find what you’re looking for.
The advent of the Internet gave consumers more choices than they knew how to handle. Consumer reviews and recommendations are supposed to be a way for shoppers to whittle down their choices and buy the right product for them at the right price. But when you have too many people reviewing too many products online, it can make it impossible to get a clear picture of a product category.
Do you find it difficult to shop for products online with so many people giving different reviews? How do you sift through these reviews and find the ones that are legitimate?
Guest:
Lars Perner, Assistant Professor of Clinical Marketing at the USC Marshall School of Business
Big payouts for men claiming discrimination in campus sex assault investigations
With heightened awareness of sexual assault on college campuses, a new report from Al Jazeera America looks at how some men are fighting back against accusations. Using Title IX - a federal law aimed at preventing gender discrimination at colleges - men are suing schools claiming they were denied due process in campus proceedings.
Correspondent Christof Putzel cites a quantitative study that found from 2006-2010, of monies paid out by colleges in Title IX cases related to sex assault, 72 percent went to accused men rather than alleged victims. Advocate Robert Shibley argues that number illustrates due-process rights have been denied too often to alleged perpetrators. Title IX expert Erin Buzuvis disagrees. "Until recent clarifications to Title IX, victims have not had the same kind of recourse in law to address the ways in which their institution's policy and procedures have let them down. So it is unlikely that they would have been on the receiving end of many judgements or settlements," Professor Buzuvis says.
How does the process of sex assault investigations compare to the process of discrimination claims? How much money is getting paid in these cases and what is the source of the funds? Will recent changes to sex-assault investigations lead to fewer claims of discrimination?
Guests:
Christof Putzel, correspondent for "America Tonight" on Al Jazeera America
Robert Shibley, senior vice president of the Philadelphia-based Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a leading voice for free speech and due process rights at colleges and universities.
Wendy Murphy, a former prosecutor specializing in sex crimes who now represents abused women and children. And a faculty member teaching sexual violence law at New England Law in Boston.
Airing tonight at 6 pm Pacific, part three of Al Jazeera America’s series on campus sex assault looks at high school campuses - their under-reported cases and flawed investigations. "America Tonight" airs in Southern California on Time Warner Channel 445, AT&T U-Verse 1219, DirecTV Channel 347 and Dish 215.
What’s next for Rosetta?
The European Space Agency (ESA) has landed a spacecraft on a comet for the first time ever. The unmanned Rosetta Probe this morning released a lander to the comet's icy surface after a decade-long mission. The team is still testing the status of the lander, but they’re hopeful that this is beginning of a major fact-finding mission. Scientists have likened the trillion or so comets in our solar system to time capsules that are virtually unchanged since the earliest moments of the universe. By studying one up close in detail, they hope to learn more about the origins of comets, stars, planets...and even life on Earth. We’ll talk with one of three U.S. scientists who have instruments on board the Rosetta about what scientists hope to learn from this ongoing mission.
Guests:
Mark Hofstadter, planetary scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena; he designed a device on the Rosetta that will be used to measure the temperature of the comet.
Herbie Hancock's latest cross-over: From musician to author
Very few artists can master a singular musical genre, but even fewer can combine multiple genres and styles in a new, innovative way. Yet since the 1960s, one artist has managed to do just that with jazz, blues, funk, soul, classical, R&B, bebop, and "post-bop," among other genres. Legendary pianist and composer, Herbie Hancock, recollects his impact on music and culture through his new memoir, "Possibilities."
Throughout his career, Hancock has done it all. Solo albums, bands, collaborations; piano, clavinet, synthesizers; musician, composer, poet. For Hancock, the possibilities throughout his life have been seemingly endless. Hancock has even served as UNESCO's Goodwill Ambassador for the promotion of Intercultural Dialogue and taught jazz music as a professor at UCLA.
How has Herbie Hancock influenced music? Do you have a favorite Hancock song or album? Do you enjoy genre-blending styles such as jazz-funk or blues with modern classical music?
Guest:
Herbie Hancock, pianist, keyboardist, bandleader and composer; his latest book is “Possibilities”