Kyoto Protocol extension agreed as parties look to start new talks with US News
Kyoto Protocol extension agreed as parties look to start new talks with US

[JURIST] At the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) [official website] which ended Saturday in Montreal, states party to the Kyoto Protocol [PDF text; JURIST news archive] agreed to extend the life of the Protocol and begin a new dialogue with the US. Members agreed to start talks regarding emission cuts beyond 2012, the expiration date of the current commitment. In agreeing to the vague dialogue regarding long-term cuts in pollution, the United States, which walked away from the Kyoto Protocol in March 2001, made no binding obligations or goals. AFP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Dreyfus convicted of treason

On December 22, 1894, Jewish French army officer Alfred Dreyfus was convicted of treason in a court-martial trial that prompted worldwide allegations of anti-Semitism. Dreyfus was later cleared. Learn more about the case of Alfred Dreyfus and read an English translation of the famous public letter J'Accuse...! by novelist and Dreyfus partisan Emile Zola.

US passed Embargo Act, banning foreign trade

On December 22, 1807, the Embargo Act was passed at the urging of US President Thomas Jefferson. The act barred trade with any foreign nations in an effort to avoid American entry into the Napoleonic Wars of Europe. However, the act proved unenforceable and was replaced with the Non-Intercourse Act, which barred trade with France and Great Britain. Learn more about the Embargo Act of 1807 from Monticello.org