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For Immediate Release
January, 08 2020, 11:00pm EDT
Contact:
Alec Connon, (206) 258-9176
Elana Sulakshana, (703) 589-0040
Activists to Shut Down Chase Branches Across Seattle With Song
Demonstration in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en Nation’s struggle for sovereignty.
Seattle, WA
350 Seattle is organizing a protest on Friday, January 10 at Chase branches across Seattle and the Consulate General of Canada, in solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en Nation. This week marks a critical juncture in the Wet'suwet'en struggle against Coastal GasLink, the multibillion-dollar fossil fuel corporation trying to ram a massive fracked gas pipeline through unceded Wet'suwet'en territory without consent.
On New Year's Eve, the British Columbia Supreme Court granted an injunction against members of the Wet'suwet'en nation who have been stewarding and protecting their traditional territories, located 18 hours north of Seattle in northern British Columbia. Following the court ruling, Wet'suwet'en Hereditary Chiefs, representing the five clans of the Wet'suwet'en Nation, served an eviction notice to Coastal GasLink and ordered the fossil fuel corporation off of their lands immediately.
"Coastal GasLink has violated the Wet'suwet'en law of trespass, and has bulldozed through our territories, destroyed our archaeological sites, and occupied our land with industrial man-camps," wrote members of the Wet'suwet'en in a press release.
The Wet'suwet'en struggle has been in the spotlight this past month, following an explosive Guardian investigation revealing that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were making preparations to to shoot Wet'suwet'en land defenders that stood in the way of Coastal GasLink one year ago.
In response to the imminent threat of yet another militarized raid, the Wet'suwent'en Nation have called for people across the globe to stand with them and organize actions in their communities this week. Heeding the call, 350 Seattle will be disrupting business at several branches of one Coastal GasLink's largest funders: JPMorgan Chase, as well as at the Consulate General of Canada on Friday.
WHAT:Let Justice Echo at Chase: Wet'suwet'en Solidarity Action
WHEN: Friday, Jan 10th, 10am - 1pm
WHERE: The action will begin at the Statue of Lenin in Fremont at 10am
MEDIA AVAILABILITY: Protesters will be available for interviews before and after the event.
PHOTOS: Contact Alec (alec@350seattle.org) for high-resolution photos after the event.
This protest is occurring on the same day as a coalition of over nearly two dozen national organizations--including the Sierra Club, 350.org, Rainforest Action Network, The YEARS Project, and Union of Concerned Scientists--is launching a major new campaign, Stop the Money Pipeline, targeting the financial sector's funding of climate chaos.
350 is building a future that's just, prosperous, equitable and safe from the effects of the climate crisis. We're an international movement of ordinary people working to end the age of fossil fuels and build a world of community-led renewable energy for all.
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Israel Agrees to Cease-Fire With Lebanon's Hezbollah—But What About Gaza?
"It has long been clear that a cease-fire in Gaza is crucial to sustain any lasting cessation of hostilities across the region," said one group.
Nov 26, 2024
Peace advocates on Tuesday cautiously celebrated Israel agreeing to a cease-fire with the Lebanese political and paramilitary group Hezbollah while also stressing the need for an immediate end to the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip.
Despite concerns about whether the truce will actually happen, the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), a U.S.-based Quaker group, welcomed the plans for it and called on "all parties to ensure this agreement is swiftly enacted."
"The time for peace is now—not just in Lebanon, but in Gaza and across the region," FCNL declared on social media. "We urge U.S. officials to ensure this agreement brings an immediate end to the Israeli government's devastating and indiscriminate bombing and attacks against Lebanese civilians, which have been fueled by U.S. weapons."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced that the National Security Cabinet approved the cease-fire in Lebanon with a 10-1 vote—only far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir voted no. The office added that "Israel appreciates the U.S. contribution to the process, and reserves the right to act against any threat to its security."
Netanyahu said in a speech to Israelis that "the length of the cease-fire depends on what happens in Lebanon. With the United States' full understanding, we maintain full freedom of military action. If Hezbollah violates the agreement and tries to arm itself, we will attack. If it tries to rebuild terrorist infrastructure near the border, we will attack. If it launches a rocket, if it digs a tunnel, if it brings in a truck carrying rockets, we will attack."
Speaking from the White House Rose Garden, outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden said that he worked with French President Emmanuel Macron to negotiate the cease-fire, which is set to begin at 4:00 am local time on Wednesday. The United States has spent at least tens of billions on Israeli military operations and related U.S. operations in the region since the Gaza-based Palestinian group Hamas led the October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.
"As Biden spoke tonight, Israel was raining U.S. bombs down on Lebanon and Gaza," notedDrop Site journalist Jeremy Scahill.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Tuesday thanked France and the United States for negotiating the truce, which he said is "a fundamental step towards establishing calm and stability in Lebanon" and "helps to establish regional stability." He also reiterated his government's intention to "strengthen the army's presence in the south."
Cross-border battles between Israeli forces and Hezbollah over the past nearly 14 months have displaced tens of thousands of people in Israel and over 1 million in Lebanon. The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said Tuesday that Israel's assault—which has intensified since September—has killed at least 3,823 people and injured another 15,859.
In Gaza, the death toll is at least 44,249, with 104,746 wounded, according to local officials. Israeli forces have also decimated civilian infrastructure and displaced most of the enclave's 2.3 million residents, who are struggling to access necessities, due to limits on aid. Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court last week issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu, former Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and a Hamas leader.
"It has long been clear that a cease-fire in Gaza is crucial to sustain any lasting cessation of hostilities across the region," said FCNL. "More violence and suffering in Gaza will not make Israel, the U.S., or anyone safer or more secure. It must end now. We reiterate our calls for our government to use all U.S. leverage to bring about a full regional cease-fire to end the horrific suffering of Palestinians, protect all civilians, return all hostages home, de-escalate regional tensions, and begin the long road toward healing."
"That must include prohibiting more offensive weapons shipments and U.S. military involvement, which would send a message of impunity to the Israeli [government] in the face of repeated and grave violations of U.S. and international law in Gaza, Lebanon, the West Bank, and beyond," the group added—just days after a bipartisan majority of the U.S. Senate rejected a trio of resolutions from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) that would have halted some arms sales to Israel.
Nancy Okail, president and CEO of the U.S.-based Center for International Policy, responded similarly to the Tuesday development, saying in a statement that "we welcome news of a cease-fire agreement in Lebanon and hope that it can be implemented and sustained to prevent further harm to civilians who have been under threat of attack or suffered other great loss during the fighting."
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Led by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), 14 members of the Democratic caucus applauded Biden for issuing a directive earlier this year that led health regulators to recommend marijuana be classified as a Schedule III substance under the Controlled Substances Act. For decades it has been classified as a Schedule I drug, considered to have no medical use and high potential for abuse.
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The DEA persists in carrying out major raids and seizures of marijuana plants and businesses, wrote the lawmakers—including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.). They pointed to raids carried out this year in New Mexico in which state police destroyed tens of thousands of pounds of "state-legal" marijuana plants.
"The Biden administration has the opportunity to further reduce the harms of marijuana's criminalization before the end of this administration."
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Biden has been applauded for issuing pardons and commutations for people convicted of marijuana-related offenses, but the lawmakers noted that at least 3,000 people remain in federal prisons for such convictions.
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President-elect Donald Trump's nominations for top government positions indicate potential mixed stances on marijuana policy in the incoming administration. His attorney general nominee, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, opposed an amendment to legalize medical marijuana in the state, and Food and Drug Administration commissioner nominee Marty Makary has called marijuana a "gateway drug."
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whom Trump has nominated to lead the Health and Human Services Department, has expressed support for medical marijuana legalization.
The lawmakers on Monday urged Biden not to leave major decision-making on cannabis policy up to Trump.
"Rescheduling marijuana and the prior round of pardons must not be the end of this administration's historic work to use its executive authority to undo the damage of federal marijuana policy," they wrote. "As we continue to work toward legislation to end the federal criminalization of marijuana and to regulate it responsibly and equitably, we urge prompt administrative action to tackle the harms of criminalization—particularly for the benefit of communities most harmed by the War on Drugs."
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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday sharply criticized U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's threat to impose a 25% tariff on all imported goods from Canada and Mexico, calling the proposal a potentially disastrous distraction from meaningful solutions to drug trafficking and mass migration.
"Migration and drug consumption in the United States cannot be addressed through threats or tariffs," Sheinbaum, a member of Mexico's leftist Morena party, wrote in a letter to Trump. "What is needed is cooperation and mutual understanding to tackle these significant challenges."
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"Tragically, it is in our country that lives are lost to the violence resulting from meeting the drug demand in yours."
Sheinbaum's letter to Trump was made public hours after the U.S. president-elect took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to fearmonger about a supposedly "unstoppable" migrant "caravan coming from Mexico."
Trump pledged to "sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States" and said such tariffs would remain in place until Mexico and Canada—the nation's largest trading partners—halt the flow of migrants and drugs, particularly fentanyl, into the U.S.
"Both Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and power to easily solve this long simmering problem," Trump wrote. "We hereby demand that they use this power, and until such time that they do, it is time for them to pay a very big price!"
In her response, Sheinbaum wrote that Trump "may not be aware" that Mexico "has developed a comprehensive policy to assist migrants from different parts of the world who cross our territory en route to the southern border of the United States." Sheinbaum noted that the policy helped produce a major decline in migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border over the past year.
"For these reasons, migrant caravans no longer arrive at the border," the Mexican president wrote. "Even so, it is clear that we must work together to create a new labor mobility model that is necessary for your country, as well as address the root causes that compel families to leave their homes out of necessity."
"If even a small percentage of what the United States allocates to war were instead dedicated to building peace and fostering development, it would address the underlying causes of human mobility," she added.
Sheinbaum went on to write that Mexico has "consistently expressed its willingness" to help stop fentanyl and weapons from entering the United States through its southern border.
"You must also be aware of the illegal trafficking of firearms into my country from the United States," she wrote. "Seventy percent of the illegal weapons seized from criminals in Mexico come from your country. We do not produce these weapons, nor do we consume synthetic drugs. Tragically, it is in our country that lives are lost to the violence resulting from meeting the drug demand in yours."
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered a far more vague response to Trump's tariff threat, telling reporters that he had a "good conversation" with the U.S. president-elect following his Truth Social post.
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