Thank you for listening to Pictures Media Radio. Welcome to Policy and Rights,
the show about the government, policy and human rights. Welcome back to Policy
and Right here in Depictions Media Radio, I'm your host, Michael Cloggs.
According to the BBC, they have a new laser weapon they could be used
against drones in the UK on the front line. The project is called Dragonfire.
According to Grant Chaps of the Defense Ministry for the UK, the weapon
could have huge ramifications for conflict in Europe. Dragonfire weapon is expected to be
rolled out in twenty twenty seven, and mister Chaps said he wanted to speed
up the production to make it as soon as possible. It follows a successful
trial carried out against an aerial target for the first time in January. The
laser was originally expected to be operational by twenty thirty two, but new reforms
intended to speed up the government production of the weapons means it would now be
ready in five years earlier. Despite the Defense Secretary told reporters while on the
visit to pourting Down Military Research Center near Salisbury that he wanted to speed up
the production even further. There are some people that are saying that he is
being overly optimistic and that the production of the weapons should be looked at a
little bit closer. So it saying a very futuristic weapon and sounds more like
sci fi than real life, but it is real life, okay. And
further UH news, as you know, Iran did attack Israel, and of
course there is the expected response to to such attack, and there is there
is a bit of a response. This is gonna sound a little jumbled,
but just bear with me. Information from Israel UH were a war cabinet are
that they will be there will be in response to Iran's attack, but it
will be carefully calibrated. Local media or reporting this summer saying that Israel will
respond clearly and decisively, but wisely and not from the gut, which according
to this report is interesting even though we don't know precisely what Israel has decided,
but they have started to single and shape a narrative before it happens.
The question for Israel will be how severe they wish to respond. The response
to be the first choice is does Israel attack iron itself or does it attack
one of Iran's supportive allies were malicious in the reason, so it REUS is
carefully weighing out its options, but it will be clear there will be a
a military response to the attacks. Okay, and well, nothing would be
complete without some sort of a Donald Trump story. So here we go,
and Donald Trump is a course on trial for paying someone to hush up about
or hide evidence for in a court case to make things kind of go his
way, which isn't really all that surprising considering who he is. Sorry for
the bias history is made in Manhattan on Monday as the first criminal trial on
a former or current US president as defendant. The day started with Donald Trump
shutting shutting from his flat in the Trump Tower to the downtown courthouse, where
he denied allegations he is facing. Scores of armed police were on hand as
lawyers for each side were debated what evidence could be admitted, including a spects
of the infamous Access Hollywood tape, and began to whittle down to a pull
of New Yorkers who might be yours if I remember correctly. Donald Trump and
his lawyers have argued that he can't get a fair trial in New York itself
and that the trial should be moved to a more neutral place. So there
it is. From Donald Trump. Okay, So ongoing problem in the US
and it is becoming more of a problem in Canada. Is is handguns and
how to keep the handguns out of the hands of criminals and to keep criminal
actions down. Well, in Canada, you don't have mass shootings in malls
and things like that, but you do have is on the occasion of people
taking pop shots, either at the RCNP or just trying to snipe at people.
In the US, as you know that there was recently a conviction in
the state of Michigan where the parents of a school shooter were also sentenced to
up to fifteen years in prison for their involvement in what happened to the shooting,
having the if nothing else, they had the guns on hand. This
next satement that you're going to hear is come about Harris as she is having
a panel discussion about how to protect the children from gun violence, how to
ensure that our kids can go to school, how to ensure that our kids
can walk the streets without the threat of gun violence. I know within the
neighborhood in which we are actually broadcasting this from and recording this podcast, that
there have been several shootings, all gang related and any death that at the
at the hands of a gun is a death that could have probably been prevented.
So how do we prevent them? And we're going to hear some of
that in this next panel headed by Kamala Harris, So why don't we listen
to that, and then we'll get back to ending violence in Sudan and what
it means for the Sudanese people to end the ongoing war civil war that's been
happening there and brings some rest to what is going on in that part of
Africa. So let's listen to Kamara Kamala Harris. First, good afternoon everyone.
My name is Rian Shafik and I'm a senior in the nursing program here
at Southwest Career and Technical Academy on the campus. I'm involved in many clubs,
most notably being that I'm the vice president of JOSA. I also competed
and with the People, a civics based program which sparked my interest in learning
more about the government. A few months ago, I received a terrifying call
from my older sister who attends you know v In a very shaky and quiet
voice, she told me that she and the entire college campus were going into
a lockdown. There was an active shooter on the campus. My heart dropped
as I thought to myself, how could this be happening. My sister,
who was just a senior at our school a year ago, was hiding for
her life in the recreation center of the locker room. Thankfully, my sister
ended up safe, but this situation really opened my eyes up to the issue
of school safety. You hear about these situations all the time on the news,
but you never know when it can happen to you. Issues like these
are what Vice President Harris cares about and is here today to discuss. From
her earliest days in public service, Vice President Harris has been an avid advocate
for change. She understands that the safety of our schools is not just a
political issue, it's a moral responsibility, because every child deserves to learn in
an environment free from fear. Vice President Harris has worked tirelessly to close dangerous
loopholes in our gun laws, advocating for universal background checks and the ban of
assault weapons. She knows that these measures are not about restricting freedoms, but
about safeguarding lives, and her impact goes beyond just advocating for legislation. She
understands the importance of engaging with communities traveling to schools like ours. She has
rallied students, parents, and educators alike to join the fight for safer schools.
She is fighting for a future where families like mine do not have to
fear when their children eagerly go to further their education. Now allow me to
introduce our moderators. She serves as the first ever executive director a Mom's Demand
Action, where she is responsible for leading and growing the largest grassroots network in
the gun violence prevention space. She has been with the organization since twenty nineteen,
leading its movement and as a lifelong organizer. She is passionate about movement
building, uplifting and centering often marginalized voices, and empowering the next generation of
leaders. Please welcome to the stage. Angela Farrell Zabala, now our next
moderator, is a seventeen year old actress. She has starred in The Babysitters
Club and Marvel's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, earning a spot on
Forbes thirty Under thirty at just fifteen years old. Most recently, she has
won season thirty two of Dancing with the Stars. Please give a warm welcome
to Soci Gomez. And now and now it is my honor to introduce the
first woman to be elected Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris.
Good afternoon, everyone, Good afternoon. Hello everybody. Were you ready to
go? Yes? All right, let's get this started. So I first
want to thank Attorney General Ford who is here with us, and Representative Titus
for joining us today. And thank you so much, Madame Vice President.
So good to see you again. Thank you, good to see you again.
It's great to be back. Yes, So I want to talk about
the fact that you travel around this country connecting with communities and young leaders,
and in fact, just this past fall, you did the Fight for Our
Freedom's College Tour, where I hear you engage with over fifteen thousand students on
college campuses across the country on the most urgent issues before us, in particular
the fight for our most fundamental freedoms. One freedom that you're focused on is
the freedom to be safe from gun violence. And tragically, we know all
too well how important this issue is because our communities have faced firsthand right here
in Nevada. You've been a leader on so many issues throughout your career,
including this one. So it's no surprise that you were named to oversee the
first ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. That deserves collapse. So
my question is what can we do to end this senseless violence that is harming
our communities and what is the administration doing to lead this issue? Thank you
and Angela, I want to thank you for your leadership, Mom's demand action,
the work that you are there's students demand action, just the whole group.
For years you all just show up and remind people of the real impact
of gun violence in America on parents, on students, on children, And
thank you for your leadership. Sochie is so good to see you again,
and thank you for being here and being a part of this and using your
voice in such a courageous way. And it is wonderful to be back in
Nevada and here in Las Vegas. So thank you all for being here.
So you know, I just actually met before I came on stage with three
students who survived the December shooting at UNLV and they're so courageous, These young
leaders and their stories sadly are the stories of so many young people in our
country. And the stories that I heard continuously during the college tour, and
their stories reflect a very tragic fact, which is that in America today,
the number one cause of death of our children, the number one cause of
death of the children of America, is gun violence, not car accidents,
not some form of cancer. Gun violence. Today in America, one in
five people has a family member that was killed by gun violence. And you
know, it doesn't have to be this way. It doesn't have to be
this way. During the college tour, and it was universities, it was
colleges, it was state colleges, it was trade schools, college aged young
leaders, and I would ask in every room that I went, I would
ask, please raise your hand, and I'd look at the students, the
young people, please raise your hand if at any time between kindergarten and twelfth
grade you had to endure an active shooter drill. In fact, I'll ask
the students right now, anybody who's here, if at any point between kindergarten
and twelfth grade, did you have to endure an active shooter drill. I'd
like the older adults and the press to look at what we're saying. The
number of hands that go up when I would talk with young people. I
talked with one particular younger student and on the subject of active shooter drills,
and that students said to me, yeah, I am, that's why I
don't like going to fifth period. And I said, why, sweetheart,
why don't you like going to fifth period? Well, because in that classroom,
there's no closet to hide in the idea that our children and our young
people are sitting in a room where they are supposed to be enjoying the wonders
of the world and exploring with enthusiasm all that there is to learn, and
that any part of their mind is also concerned that someone might bust into the
classroom. So this issue is tragic on every level. I was just recently
in Parkland, Florida, and I met with the parents and family members of
the victims of that horrendous mass shooting. I also, they've they've preserved the
school, the building where it happened. It's going to be destroyed soon,
but they've they've preserved it in a way that it has stopped it a moment
in time. And so I walked through the hallways and into the classrooms where
that shooting took place, which was maintained. Is it basically a crime scene?
And will I want to spare anybody here the image of what I saw,
but I'm not going to because I think people have to understand the significance
of this. It was a moment frozen in time. So there was blood
in the hallways, there were sheets of homework that were spewn around the classrooms,
chairs and desks that were upturned, there were backpacks. It happened Valentines
and so Valentines wishes. This is what we're talking about, and it doesn't
have to be this way on this issue. We have within our grasp,
within our means, things that we can do that can mitigate against, that
can reduce the likelihood of these things happening. I don't need to tell Nevada
this one October, the tragedy of that. But thankfully the leaders of Nevada
starting, I would say, with so many of our young leaders, moms
demand action, and others pushed for things like safe storage laws, saying we
can put in place some smart rules to reduce the likelihood of gun violence.
And let me just be clear, part of what I think has bogged this
situation down and has not allowed for the kind of smart policy that we know
can happen is because people, some are pushed in a false choice which suggests
you're either in favor of the Second Amendment or you want to take everyone's guns
away. I'm in favor of the Second Amendment, and I believe we need
assault weapon bands, we need background checks, universal background checks, we need
red flag laws. But you know, and then we'd one of the things
that I announced last week that we're we've been very proud to do President Joe
Biden and me and our administration is to close the gun show loophole. So
I was talking with my team about it and I said, you know,
I've been working on this thing for a long time. They said, what
are you talking about. Well, they found the press press clippings, cause
back in two thousand and seven, I know half this room was not born.
Then back in two thousand and seven, when I was the elected Dea
of San Francisco, I was out at the place called the Cow Palace in
San Francisco protesting the gun show loopholes. And we, so many of us,
have been in this movement for a long time to close that loophole,
which essentially is this gun dealers registered gun dealers are required to do background checks,
that's right. But if a gun dealer is selling guns at a let's
call it a flea market or a gun show, they bypass the requirement to
do background checks. And of course, where do you think the bad guys
are going to go to get their guns? The place where nobody's going to
check into their background, right, And so we have finally closed that loophole.
And I say that to say also that those of us who run this
movement, we do see progress, and therefore we cannot give up. It's
not right. We absolutely see progress. Before I ask the next question,
I just want to honor survivors that are amongst us and those that have been
taken from us too soon. You are the heart and soul of this movement
and why we get up and put one foot in front of the other and
do this work every single day. So thank you so much, so,
Madame Vice President. One important solution for gun violence prevention that doesn't get enough
credit or attention, which you spoke about, is secure firearms store So Nevada
has passed a few secure storage measures into law over the past several years,
which shows how communities and advocates and state and local leaders can prevent a tragedy
that can strike wing guns are not properly stored, whether it's a child that
finds a firearm and hurts themselves or someone else or someone that may take this
firearm or steal it to commit a crime. So why is secure storage so
important for gun safety and gun violence prevention, especially when we are thinking about
the young leaders here today. Secure storage is exactly what it suggests. It's
about the responsibility that any gun owner should feel and have to secure that gun
so that children, young people, those who don't have the authority to use
the gun don't have access to it. It's just that basic. Put it
in a lock box, because especially if a young person is just curious or
you know, wants to, you know, play with a gun, let's
not make it too easy to get right. And that's what secure storage is
about. You know, the numbers that I have seen suggest that as many
as seventy five percent of school shootings resulted from a gun that was not secured.
Tragically, as many as eighty percent of youth suicide the gun that was
not secured. So I again plawed the leaders of Nevada for saying, hey,
you know, just I'm not saying I'm gonna take your gun. Just
you got a gun, lock it up right. And also secure storage includes
keeping ammunitions separate from the gun, because we also want to just make sure
that there would have to be some level of thought and reflection that goes into
anyone pulling a gun out and thinking about using it. Yes, thank you
so much, Vice President, Madam Vice President, Gun violence and so many
other things in our lives cause trauma and impact our mental health. This is
especially true for young people like me and I'm sure a lot of the students
in this room. You know, our generation has grown up with active shooter
drills and so much more. And I know this firsthand, sadly, sadly,
and I know that you care about this and have brought attention to the
issue. So I guess I want to want to know what is the administration
doing to help address this and better help and support our mental health. Thank
you so much. Yeah, we are talking about trauma and a profound amount
of trauma that exists in our communities as a result of gun violence, whether
it be the trauma that is associated with a child having to go to school
and indre active shooter drills and always having on their mind at some point being
nervous or concerned that their life might be endangered just by going to school.
There's the trauma associated with parents who many will say a silent prayer when they
drop their kids off at school that that child will come home at the end
of the day safe. There is the trauma associated with everyday gun violence in
America, which far too many communities are experiencing. And a lot of that
trauma goes undiagnosed and untreated. And as I was, I do talk with
many survivors of gun violence. You know, trauma is it's it's it's it's
a big wound that is invisible to the eye but can be very present.
And we gotta help people find productive ways of healing. And so mental health
is about recognizing that the body doesn't just start from the neck down. When
we talk about health care, it's also the health care we need from the
neck up, and that's mental health care. And so the work that we've
been doing as an administration is to deal with this on a number of levels.
And one is that in our Bipartisan Safe Communities Act that we got past
the first meaningful gun safety legislation in thirty years that President Biden and are proud
that we could get passed with bipartisan support, which there is the plause.
And so part of what we did there is we put a billion dollars into
getting resources to public and schools, to public schools to hire mental health counselors
in public schools. But to the point of even just talking with the young
leaders that I just spoke with from UNLV, we still have so much more
work to do to make sure that mental health services are available to meet the
demand. One of the things I love about gen Z, and I love
many things about gen Z, your generation is willing to talk about mental health
and the need for support. You know, older generations still kind of have
a stigma about it. Younger generations are so much smarter on this subject,
which is they want to talk about it. But when they talk about it,
we those of us, we are in a position to do something about
it. Got to make sure the resources are there for them. And so
there's still a lot more work to be done. But it makes a difference
because it is about healing. It's about creating safe spaces where people can talk
about their fears and not feel that they're being judged, and that's very important.
Everyone I believe has a right to feel and be safe, and there
are many ways we will get there, and one of them is to make
sure people have the support they need to deal with the emotional impact of this.
Yeah, that's yeah, Yes, Madam Vice President, you are and
inspiration you know personally, I'm sure, like a lot of us here in
this room, I look up to you. You know, this room is
full of passionate young leaders and you have called on us to take charge.
So I guess I we like to know what advice would you like to leave
us with today? Oh? I got plenty of advice. How much here?
Well, let me start a challenge that I would issue, and I
did it. I started it during the college tour. But for all the
young leaders here who are thinking about your life and your role of leadership as
you go on in life, I'm going to challenge you to consider a profession
in the mental health the mental health professions of which there are many, But
do think about that because one of the most effective ways that we are offer
mental health is to do it based on peer support, which is people who
have gone through something are usually best equipped to help people who are going through
that thing, and so I would challenge you that. Okay, so let's
see it. Let me start with this, never allow yourself to be limited.
There's limited ability to imagine who can do what? Do you understand what
I'm saying. I see everybody not over there? You know what I'm saying.
Don't ever a few life secrets. If you wait for the perfect time
to do something, you'll never do it. Nobody like you has ever done
that before. If you wait for all of your friends to say, hey,
that's a great idea, start, don't you listen to that? Don't
you ever listen to that. I like to say I eat no for breakfast.
I don't hear no until maybe it's spoken the tenth time. I'm gonna
use that now, Oh I eat no for breakfast. Remember your power right
now. You know. There's something that's been happening in our country over the
last several years that I think is so unfortunate and verified down, which is
that some would suggest that the measure of your strength is based on who you
beat down instead of understanding the true measure of an individual's strength, I believe
is based on who you lift up. It's right, truly. And if
you ever question your strength as an individual, see what happens when you help
someone, just one person, with anything, and what that does for them.
That's your strength, and it's a superpower. It's a superpower to have
some level of concern and consideration for the well being of other people and then
take it upon yourself to do something about that. More advice. Okay,
yes, don't you ever let anybody tell you who you are. You tell
them who you are. Right, piece of advice my mother gave me.
You may be the first to do many things. Make sure you're not the
last. If you're taking notes, y'all, I hope you're taking notes.
So I think I'm gonna end that I can roll it. But you know,
dream with ambition, I say to each one of you. Dream with
ambition. Ambition is a good thing. It's good to believe that you can
do something and then go for it. Go for it and know that you
will have a community of people. Sometimes you don't see them, but you
got to know it that will applaud you as you go out there and go
for it. You know, and remember that there may be many times where
you might be the only one in a room, be it a boardroom,
a meeting room, who looks like you or who has had your life experience.
But I want all the young people to look around this auditorium to know
that we will all be in that room with you. So never feel alone
in a way that allows the circumstance to make you feel small. Know that
you have a community of people who applaud your ambition and want you to go
out there and go for it. Okay, always remember that, cause our
country will be the better for all that you guys do. So there we
go. That's it, then, nice. I appreciate you, Madame Vice
President, Thank you so much for your leadership, and thank you for imparting
such wisdom on these young students. I watch you all the time and follow
you, and I see your passion for young leaders. You understand how important
it is to pour into them because that is the strength of this country.
That's right, so, and the future of our country starting right now.
I'm with you. Thank you so much. I appreciate it, Thank you,
so chi, thank you everybody for being here. Okay, violence,
it's bubbling up more and more in our world. We see, of course,
the massive invasion that is years in progress between Russia and Ukraine that we
are seeing. We've seen from October till recently, mass destruction in Gaza and
hostage taking. No sides between Israel and Hamasa are actually innocent. Both governments
are guilty of what they're accusing the other. Of my opinion, how do
we end the violence? We're gonna hear statements from doctor Tedros and the Secretary
General of the UN, Antonio Guerres as they're talking about ending the civil war
in Sudan and what it actually will mean for the people, how it could
turn the country around, and in these people want just the average person just
wants to be able to live a happy and abundant life. The politics is
one thing, but in a lot of cases, the average everyday person isn't
really part of that politics. If we look at our own country, that
we live in a republic, that we hire representatives to make decisions for it,
we don't get the vote on everyday policy. Thus the reason why we
have protests, we have marches. So what happens when the protests or march
turns completely violent and then erupts into civil war, And that's partly what we're
looking at in Sudan and trying to end that violence is part of what doctor
Tedros and mister Grey's are talking about. So why don't we listen to their
statements and we'll be back with final thoughts. Jean, you have heard today
about the catastrophic displacement, distraction, and hunger in Sudan, and the scale
of this catastrophe far outstrips the international communities attention, the attention it deserves,
and it makes me so sad. And it's personal for me because I have
been all my life close to Sudan, but not only that, because I'm
from that restive region. The sum of all of this is a profound health
crisis, a crisis that could reverberate for generations. At least fifteen thousand people
have been killed in the fighting and almost thirty thousand injured and more are dying
from diss and malnutrition. Almost fifteen million people need health assistance. Acute and
chronic malnutrition are rampant. The health system is under attack officially, who has
verified sixty two attacks on healthcare? But this is just the tip of the
ice because there is underreporting. Today, seventy percent of health facilities are not
working in hard to reach areas. In many areas, pregnant women and newborn
babies expressive no care, no vaccinations for children, no medication for patients with
cancer, addets or care enough. Lack of scarcity, access and resources make
our mission increasingly challenging. So for today we need three things to save lives.
First, we need access across borders and humanitarian corridors. Access, especially
through the addres crossing with child is vital. Second, we need attacks on
health facilities to stop. And third we need funding. The health sector,
of course has less than twelve percent of the funds, but we urge you
to fully finance the UN and its agencies. And finally, the best solution
is peace. Please, I think the focus should be that to end the
war. And as excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, I think France, Germany
and European Union for organizing this vital conference when he has passed since the outbreak
of Conflicce in Sudan, which unleash the catalog of horrors, a nightmare of
bloodshed that has killed over fourteen thousand people and injured thirty three thousand more,
A nightmare of sexual violence against women and girls, a nightmare of destruction,
that has reduced homes, hospitals, schools, another vital infrastructure to rubble.
A nightmare of hunger and displacement with over eight million people fleeing their homes,
and the nightmare for Sudan's neighbors who are increasingly feeling the spillover effects of this
deadly conflict. Today, alf of Sudan's people need emergency assistance. We cannot
let these nightmare slide from view. When I was at Commission for Refugees,
I witnessed the inspiring generosity of the Sudanese people who opened their doors and their
hearts to those fleeing conflict and persecution from neighboring countries. Today we must summon
that same spirit of giving to alleviate further suffering in Sudan and urgently scale up
eight the two point seven billion the US dollars a humanitarian response plan for Sudan
is only about six percent funded. At the same time, the one point
four billion Regional Refugee Response Plan for the Sudan crisis is only about seven percent
funded. I appeal to the generosity of donors to step up their contributions and
support these life saving efforts. We also call on all parties to protect civilians
and ensure full humanitarian access. We arge effective and coordinated international mediation efforts to
stop the fighting, and we call for civilian groups, including those representing women
and young people, to help lead an inclusive political process to get Sudan's democratic
transition back on track. I pledge the full support of the United Nations.
My personal enjoy, mister Ramtan La Mamre is totally engaged in these efforts.
We will work shoulder to shoulder with all of you to end this nightmare.
It's time to board the Sudanese people. It's time to silence the guns.
It's time for beasting Sudan. Okay, final thoughts. We need to teach
the children this one simple thing and it will help with the violence. If
we teach our children that every life should be respected, every person is filled
with love and goodness, and we don't need to fear each other. That
we just need to learn to work with each other. That is okay to
have a difference of opinion, It is okay to be have different abilities,
it is okay to look different from each other. If we teach our children
that, then maybe we can put down the guns. Maybe we can end
some of the violence and be able to end some of the wars that are
burning in our world right now. Thank you for listening to Policy and Rights
are and Depictions Media Radio. I've been your host. Please follow so that
you can hear more of our updates, more of how we're trying to change
ourselves so that we can change the world. The show has been produced by
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