2014 news: 11/24/14

Monday 24 November 2014

Opinion: Big 'Hunger Games' lesson

All hail The Capitol! In anticipation of the November 2014 release of "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1" the franchise has released posters of "district heroes" representing their areas. Here Lily Elsington, the 6-year-old ambassador from the Mining District, District 12, is shown.

Clad in tire rubber, Malcolm Kastel represents District 6, which is the Transportation District.

Fibre Bissette hailes from District 3, the Technology District.

Naida Dolan clutches the catch of the day in honor of the Fishing District, District 4.

District 10's Felix Stam wears fur and cradles a goat in tribute to being from the Livestock District.

Teen Triti Lancaster's outfit incorporates wheat since she represents District 9, the Grain District.

District 7 is the Lumber District and Elias Haan, 26, has kept the ax handed down to him by his great-grandfather as a reminder of the hardships he and his great District have overcome.

Van Jones: The fictional world of "Hunger Games" is like an extreme version of America

Jones: Themes of crushing inequality, unaccountable governance resonate with us

He says movie is a more sweeping critique of inequality than Elizabeth Warren's speech

Jones: It is a Hollywood version of how the 1% makes society harder for the 99%

Editor's note: Van Jones is president and founder of Rebuild the Dream, an online platform focusing on policy, economics and media. He was President Barack Obama's green jobs adviser in 2009. He is also founder of Green for All, a national organization working to build a green economy. Follow him on Twitter @VanJones68. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer.

(CNN) -- The latest installment of the epic "Hunger Games" series hit theaters this Friday, and it promises to be the year's biggest blockbuster yet.

You can chalk up a lot of these films' popularity to the star power of leading actress Jennifer Lawrence. Certainly, the great action scenes and special effects do not hurt, either. But the real reason "Hunger Games" has captured public imagination is that its fictional world of Panem is, in so many ways, an extreme version of our own America.

For those who have not seen the movies or read the books, the "Hunger Games" tells the story of a young woman -- Lawrence's Katniss Everdeen -- and her defiance of her society's wealthy, exploitative ruling elite. These elite, the dastardly "Capitol," reinforce their power by making the children of oppressed regions battle to the death in what are called "Hunger Games."

It is a far-fetched fairy tale. But if you get caught up in the details of the story, you might miss themes -- crushing inequality, unaccountable governance, violence against children -- that resonate with the daily lives of millions of Americans.

These books and films are not popular because we want to escape to Katniss Everdeen's world. They are a phenomenon because we suspect her world is our own.

In the world of the "Hunger Games," the Capitol lives a life of extravagant wealth and consumption. Meanwhile, out in the "districts," millions of people work dangerous jobs with low pay. As the Capitol wallows in excess, the districts can barely afford to feed their children.

'J-Law' at Hunger Games premiere

Ready for "Hunger Games" the stage show?

To put it another way, the year's biggest box-office blockbuster is a more sweeping indictment of inequality than an Elizabeth Warren speech.

It is a tale of how the worst of the 1% pull up the ladders of opportunity behind them, and hoard wealth to such a degree that all of society is poorer for it. It is Occupy's "We are the 99%," on Hollywood's big screen.

When Americans look around and see the top 25 hedge fund managers raking in $21 billion while their own paychecks get smaller and smaller, the imaginary world of Panem does not seem so far away. Is it any wonder that some striking workers at Walmart and McDonald's have adopted the Hunger Games symbol of resistance, the three-finger salute? Or that people have begun sharing their own stories of economic distress with the #MyHungerGames hashtag on Twitter?

The parallels do not stop there. Everdeen's District 12 is a coal-mining district, feeding the rapacious energy demands of the Capitol but receiving little in return but fouled lungs and poisoned skies.

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In the 2014 elections, polluters spent more than $100 million to buy themselves a compliant Congress. This week, members of both parties have returned the favor by voting in favor the Keystone XL pipeline, which would put tar in our rivers and carcinogens in our drinking water.

Americans get 35 permanent jobs and fewer than 4,000 temporary jobs at a huge risk to public health. Energy companies would profit by shipping tar sands through America to consumers abroad. The Capitol would be proud.

Also, consider the Hunger Games' District 11. After one of that district's children dies in the "Hunger Games," the mostly black region is the first to rise up in protest against the contest. The Capitol responds not by asking whether this cruel system makes any sense, or whether they simply erred along the way. Instead, they turn District 11 into a militarized police state.

Nonviolent protestors gather. Riot police stand by threateningly. Residents raise their hands in the air in a potent symbol of freedom. The police cracks down brutally.

It should look like science fiction. Instead, compare these images. It looks just like Ferguson.

And of course, we cannot overlook the very idea of "Hunger" games, at a time when one in every six Americans struggles to get enough to eat.

The "Hunger Games" is not just some liberal diatribe. It is also the story of an out-of-control state, distant and untouchable, exploiting the labor and lives of millions of citizens. Even as progressive populists see it as a cautionary tale of hoarding and excess, conservatives view the "Hunger Games" as a narrative of big government run amok.

The likes of AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka toss three-finger salutes, while the Odds in Our Favor campaign combats inequality. But at the same time, conservative activists invoke the "Hunger Games" to deride an unaccountable and tax-obsessed federal government.

We live in a time when we can all agree that our large institutions are failing us and even threatening our children. We seem so divided only because we cannot agree on which institutions are most to blame.

That is the true secret to the popularity of the "Hunger Games." We can all see our stories in its sweeping plot line of oppression and rebellion. We know that the "Hunger Games" is just a fantasy. But when its world feels so frighteningly real, we cannot help rooting for Katniss Everdeen to win.

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Opinion: Obama finally busting out?

Julian Zelizer: Since midterms, President Obama has moved to fulfill some long-held goals

He struck a climate deal with China and ordered changes in immigration rules

Zelizer: Are we seeing a new Obama? Will he act on income inequality and jobs?

Editor's note: Julian Zelizer is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University and a New America fellow. He is the author of "Jimmy Carter" and the forthcoming book, "The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress and the Battle for the Great Society." The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

(CNN) -- Is there a new President Obama?

Since the devastating defeat of his party in the midterm elections, Obama has seemed to be more determined than ever to move forward with his unfulfilled goals.

Within a week, the President announced that the United States and China had agreed to a historic climate change treaty. He made it relatively clear that if the Senate passed the bill authorizing him to make a decision on the Keystone pipeline, he would veto it. He won't have to make the decision, for now, since the Senate voted it down. Then, the President announced he would use his executive power to provide protection to 4-5 million undocumented immigrants.

All this offered hope to Democrats who had become disillusioned with Obama for seeming too eager to seek compromise with a Republican Party they feel is hell-bent on obstruction. For too long, many of Obama's supporters believe, he has pushed aside the big issues and adhered to a pragmatic centrism that has damaged his presidency and White House, as well as his party.

Now, President Obama has one last chance to get it right. This would not be the first time a president remade himself as the clock ran down on his time in Washington. In his final year, Ronald Reagan transformed himself from being the most hawkish of the Cold War Republicans into the person who brokered a major arms agreement with the Soviet Union.

Can President Obama transform his presidency at this stage? The opportunity is before him. On immigration, the executive order will go a long way to meeting some of the pent-up demand from activists who have been advocating that Washington do something about the uncertainty that so many immigrants and their families have been facing for years.

Obama sounds exactly like Bush on Immigration

An immigrant's reaction to Obama's plan

Frenemies: Pres. Obama & Speaker Boehner

While the order will surely incite anti-immigration hard-liners, this will simultaneously energize the immigration rights community and mark a clear commitment from this president toward their plight. It could become the first step toward a more rational, efficient and humane policy toward the millions living without full rights within our borders.

Climate change is an issue that President Obama has always cared about very much, but something that he has not felt he had the political strength to make progress on. But now, even without congressional support, he is using the power that he does have to try to move this front and center. The treaty with China would mark a huge breakthrough in the effort to diminish use of fossil fuels.

If he makes a firm decision that he will not authorize the Keystone pipeline, that, too, would be an action that means a great deal to environmental activists who have been fighting the project for years.

Even with a Republican Congress that just says no, President Obama can use the power of the bully pulpit in the coming years to push back against the conservative rhetoric that has emerged against the science of climate change.

Of course, all this is just a start. It will take much more to provide evidence that Obama is serious about remaking his presidency. Too often the President has talked a big game but then backed down in the face of political pressure.

In the coming year, he will have to fight for the middle class, taking seriously the kinds of arguments that have been put forth by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts. He can focus on increasing support for public universities and pushing for higher infrastructure funding. He will have to take a stronger stand to protect the right of workers to organize.

As Warren has argued, "Unions have been critical to building a strong middle class in America." He needs to deal with issues like campaign and lobbying reform, which are the only ways to weaken the disproportionate influence of wealthier Americans on political decision making.

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Though the administration has continually boasted about the economic recovery, he has to do more to respond to the underlying economic anxiety in the electorate as too many Americans struggle with low wage and insecure jobs.

Next summer, the President will also have the opportunity to make good on some of his promises from 2008, when he attacked President Bush's approach to counterterrorism. Until now most of the homeland security program has remained intact and the President has not done much to restore the balance between security and civil liberties.

The lame duck Congress failed to pass a big reform. Next summer when Section 215 of the Patriot Act expires, there will be another chance for change. There have been members of both parties calling on Obama to institute reforms that will curtail the levels of surveillance that are permissible.

Most important would be to end the bulk collection of phone records and allow for more transparency in what the government forces telecommunications providers to give them. President Obama should come down of the side of reform if he wants to show he is serious. To re-energize his supporters, he would need to continue to accelerate the transfer of prisoners from Guantanamo to make progress on the unfulfilled promise of his campaign to shut down this facility.

Will we have a new President Obama, someone willing to use all his political power to achieve progress on so many of the promises that have been left behind? Right now a definitive verdict is out. But the President has shown some signs that he is now responding to critics who argue that he must be true to the values of his party and more willing to take a strong, even if controversial stand, for the policies that he once promised would define his presidency.

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Buffalo gets ready for flooding

The Buffalo area braces for flooding and brutal winds that could knock down power lines

Be ready to evacuate, Gov. Andrew Cuomo tells people at risk for flooding

"It's not water," Cuomo says. "It's a toxic brew. It has sewage in it; it has runoff in it."

Strangers are coming to help clear some of the mammoth snowfall

Editor's note: Are you there? Share images, if you can safely

(CNN) -- What's worse than 7 feet of snow piled up in front of your house? How about the flooding that comes once those 7 feet of snow melt?

That's exactly what some Buffalonians will grapple with when temperatures Monday warm up to around 60 degrees.

Swift-water rescue teams and helicopters are already on standby in western New York in case anyone gets caught in a deluge.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said residents shouldn't wait until the last minute to evacuate if they think their homes will get inundated. He advised such homeowners to clear their basements of valuables.

Inside Buffalo's Incident Command Center

Views from an epic snowstorm

Drone captures stunning view of snowfall

What is lake effect snow?

The governor said dealing with flooding is worse than the snow.

"It's not water," Cuomo said. "It's a toxic brew. It has sewage in it; it has runoff in it."

State officials have beefed up stockpiles of generators and pumps and prepared almost 180,000 sandbags.

After last week's nationwide bout with frigid weather, Buffalo temperatures could reach as 60 on Monday, according to the National Weather Service. Freezing temperatures are not expected again until Tuesday night.

"At least 3 feet of snow has melted so far," Dawn Buck of Depew, New York, told CNN's iReport on Sunday afternoon.

But Erie County spokesman Benjamin Swanekamp said so far, the snow has been melting at a "relatively even pace."

"The pace of the melting and the lack of additional rain has kept it manageable," Swanekamp said late Sunday night.

About 700,000 people are under a flood warning until Wednesday, CNN meteorologist Pedram Javaheri said.

Officials have been moving pumps into neighborhoods and sandbags near creeks. So far, the county hasn't received reports of major flooding.

But Cuomo has asked residents to clean out storm drains in front of their houses "so the water has some place to go."

Collapsing roofs

Workers clear snow from the field at Ralph Wilson Stadium on Sunday, November 23 in Orchard Park, New York. Snowed out at the stadium, the Bills are in Detroit to play their "home" NFL football game against the New York Jets on Monday night. Western New York continues to dig out from a lake-effect storm that dumped about a year's worth of snow in three days, trapping residents in their homes and stranding motorists on roadways.

Workers remove snow from the roof of a business on November 23 in West Seneca, New York.

People clear snow from a house on Saturday, November 22 in Orchard Park, New York.

Heavy snow caused the roof of Schmidt's Collision and Glass to collapse in Hamburg, New York, on November 22.

Heavy equipment moves snow at the Central Terminal that was removed from south Buffalo neighborhoods on Friday, November 21, after heavy lake-effect snowstorms.

Dump trucks wait to unload snow that was removed from south Buffalo, New York, neighborhoods on November 21.

A man walks in his Buffalo neighborhood on Thursday, November 20.

Firefighters from Cheektowaga and Depew, New York, assist an elderly patient from from Garden Gate Health Care Facility to the Appletree Mall November 20. About 180 patients from the facility were moved after officials questioned the safety of the roof under the weight of the snowfall.

A police barrier prevents vehicles from entering Route 400 in West Seneca, New York, on November 20.

Andrew Zelak cleans snow from his roof in Alden, New York, on November 20.

Snow covers a street in Buffalo on Wednesday, November 19.

Neighbors band together to make a supply run for groceries and gas in Lancaster, New York, on November 19.

Heavy snow covers Buffalo on Tuesday, November 18.

A plane negotiates its way through the snow at Buffalo Niagara International Airport on November 18. All 50 states registered temperatures below freezing Tuesday morning.

Alisha Henry scrapes snow off her car before heading home from work November 18 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

A band of storm clouds moves across Lake Erie and into Buffalo on November 18.

Commuters brave freezing temperatures in Philadelphia on November 18.

Caelan Slate calls to say he is going to be a little late to work after losing control of his truck and landing in a ditch off the Pennyrile Parkway in Henderson County, Kentucky, on Monday, November 17.

Pedestrians make their way through downtown Cincinnati during the season's first snowfall on November 17.

Wintry weather across U.S.

Photos: Wintry weather across U.S.

There's also the threat of more building collapses as all the rain saturates the snow on the tops of buildings, making the load even heavier.

Several dozen roofs have already collapsed from just the weight of the snow, Erie County officials said.

While most of the fallen buildings were unoccupied, Swanekamp said, a roof collapse at a dairy barn roof killed 25 cattle

Cuomo said structural engineers will examine schools and other government buildings that might be in danger of roof collapses. He said most state government offices will reopen Monday.

Nasty winds too

The National Weather Service in Buffalo issued a high wind warning from Monday afternoon until early Tuesday morning.

High wind warnings are issued when sustained winds of at least 40 miles per hour are expected for at least an hour, with gusts of at least 58 mph at any time.

The winds could topple trees and power lines, officials said. And with ongoing snow melt, the saturated ground will make it easier for some trees to come down.

'City of Good Neighbors'

Anthony Marchioli of Buffalo was so bored that he rented a small snow tractor to clear driveways on his street, CNN affiliate WKBW reported.

On the way back from the rental company, he saw his pregnant wife standing in the street outside their house.

Her water had broken. So Marchioli put her on the tractor and pushed through whiteout snow to Mercy Hospital, WKBW said.

Eleven hours later, the couple's third daughter was born. Her name: Loxley Storm Marchioli.

And despite the intimidating heaps of snow, strangers came to help any way they could.

Erica Bartoe of Hamburg, New York, told CNN's iReport from Hamburg, New York that people had come to her town from other areas to help shovel snow and drop off donations.

"Buffalo is called the City of Good Neighbors for a reason," she said. "There were people everywhere helping out."

CNN's Dave Alsup contributed to this report.