April, 09 2013, 03:57pm EDT
Delegation of Lakota Elders Waiting to be Received by the UN Secretary General
New York
A delegation of Lakota elders has travelled to the United Nations in New York City to deliver an official complaint of ongoing genocide against the United States government.
The delegation is currently being rebuffed by The Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and high officials within the United Nations. The delegation and a group of supporters are currently waiting at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza directly across from the UN.
"When the UN was created, their mission was to stop the genocide of nations," said a solemn Lakota grandmother, Charmaine Whiteface. "Why won't they help us?" The delegation will be in New York City for the next day and a half, asking the Secretary General's office to officially receive the genocide complaint.
"The UN always says that it sanctions people when genocide is committed. So when genocide is committed in America, why can't the UN sanction America for genocide?" said Canupa Gluha Mani, Lakota Warrior Head Member.
Currently only 6000-8000 Lakota language speakers remain as a consequence of ongoing genocidal policies and practices. Experts give the Lakota people 20 to 30 years before they will cease to exist as a distinct and sovereign political, cultural and social nation.
Lakota delegation is currently on a twelve plus city tour to raise awareness and build international support to end the genocide of their people.
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Sanders Rips 'Fiction' That There's Nothing US Can Do to End Gaza Carnage
"Of course we have the leverage," said Sen. Bernie Sanders. "We are funding the war."
Mar 07, 2024
Flanked by photos of hungry children and destroyed buildings, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders said in a speech Wednesday that the Biden administration must stop merely asking the Israeli government to halt its indiscriminate bombing of Gaza and begin using real leverage to bring about an end to the war and ensure the free flow of aid to the territory's starving population.
"The U.S. government should make it clear that failure to open up access immediately and feed starving people will result in the Netanyahu government not getting another penny of U.S. taxpayer military aid," said Sanders (I-Vt.), who noted that "right now we have the incredible situation where a U.S. ally is using U.S. weapons and equipment to block the delivery of U.S. humanitarian aid."
"And if that's not crazy," the senator added, "I don't know what is."
More than a dozen children in Gaza have
reportedly died of malnutrition and dehydration in recent weeks as U.S.-backed Israeli forces continue to obstruct the delivery of humanitarian aid—including by firing on aid convoys and crowds of desperate people gathering in the hopes of bringing sacks of flour back to their families.
In the absence of sufficient food and clean water, many people in Gaza have resorted to eating leaves, grass, and animal feed and drinking contaminated water. Gaza's food production infrastructure has been decimated by Israeli bombing.
"If humanitarian organizations do not intervene urgently," one Gaza doctor said last week, "you will find people and children dying in the streets."
A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department admitted earlier this week that Israeli officials have blocked critical humanitarian aid, including flour, from entering Gaza. But the administration has refused to use its leverage to force the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to change course, relying instead on private meetings with Israeli officials and mild public criticism.
On Wednesday,
The Washington Post reported that the Biden White House has approved more than 100 separate arms sales to Israel over the past five months, even as it has publicly expressed concerns about the staggering civilian death toll in Gaza. Citing unnamed U.S. officials, Axiosreported Thursday that "the Biden administration has no plans to restrict military assistance to Israel at this time."
Sanders said during his floor speech Wednesday that it is "absurd to criticize Netanyahu's war in one breath and provide him another $10 billion to continue that war in the next."
"But perhaps the most remarkable thing about this disaster is the fiction we tell ourselves here in Congress that there is nothing, just nothing, that we can do," the senator continued. "Isn't this awful, my goodness. Look how all of those buildings have been destroyed—70% of the housing units, terrible. Children going hungry, terrible. Children coming down with disease, terrible. Terrible. Nothing we can do."
"Really? Everybody knows what is happening," said Sanders. "We see it every day in the news and we see the pictures, the emaciated children, of people bombed while they sleep. And yet Congress pretends as if we are powerless to stop it. If we had the courage to stand up to some very powerful special interests, yes, we could stop it. We could stop the destruction and we can make sure that these kids do not starve to death."
Sanders argued that ending the war and addressing the humanitarian emergency would require the Biden administration and Congress to "use the incredible leverage we have over the Israeli government to secure a fundamental change in their disastrous policies."
"Of course we have the leverage," Sanders said. "We are funding the war."
Other members of the Senate Democratic caucus have joined Sanders in recent days in criticizing the Israeli government's restriction of badly needed humanitarian aid and demanding that the Biden administration cut off weapons shipments to Israel if it refuses to end its suffocating blockade.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said in a floor speech earlier this week that he asked the State Department why it is not applying a U.S. law that prohibits military exports to a country that is blocking the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
"I haven't gotten an answer to the question I posed about three weeks ago," said Van Hollen. "There is no good answer."
It’s obvious PM Netanyahu & extremists in his govt like Ben-Gvir & Smotrich have restricted humanitarian aid to Gaza. They’ve said so. That’s why I recently took to the Senate Floor to call on the Biden Admin to use US law already on the books to get more aid to starving people⬇️ pic.twitter.com/8aT6jqBDH1
— Senator Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) March 5, 2024
Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) said Wednesday that "we must face the contradiction of what we are doing."
"We are airdropping food to famine-stricken Gaza today and supplying bombs for Israel to drop on devastated Gaza tomorrow," said Welch. "We call for humanitarian relief, but how can that call be meaningful when aid workers are killed in their effort to deliver it and Palestinians are killed in their effort to retrieve it?"
It's time for us to acknowledge what the entire world knows: It's impossible to deliver humanitarian aid in a very active war zone.
That's why I've called for a ceasefire and voted against supplying more bombs for Israel to drop in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/0CAoIA3ZEL
— Senator Peter Welch (@SenPeterWelch) March 6, 2024
In a social media post late Wednesday, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) wrote that she hopes President Joe Biden will listen "to his close friends in the Senate even if he won't listen to his voters."
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To Regain Support, Groups Say Biden Must Embrace 'Finish the Job' Youth Agenda
"In 2024, you cannot win higher office without the youth vote, and you cannot win the youth vote without the Youth Agenda."
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On the heels of Super Tuesday and ahead of the annual State of the Union address, a quartet of U.S. advocacy groups on Wednesday unveiled the "Finish the Job" Youth Agenda, inspired by the reelection campaign of Democratic President Joe Biden—who is expected to again face former Republican President Donald Trump.
"In 2020, young people sent Biden to the White House. In 2024, how many young people turn out for Biden will determine if we stave off a second Trump presidency," said Sunrise Movement political director Michele Weindling in a statement. "Right now, young people are shouting for what we need from Biden to mobilize our generation this November."
"President Biden must do everything in his power to fight the climate crisis, to end gun violence, to not cater to the right at the cost of immigrants' lives, and he must call for an immediate and permanent cease-fire in Gaza," she asserted.
In addition to the climate-focused Sunrise Movement, the coalition is made up of Gen-Z for Change, which works on a variety of issues; March for Our Lives, a gun violence prevention group; and United We Dream Action, a national immigrant network.
Their "bold, progressive" agenda features demands on climate change, criminal justice reform, democracy, economic justice, education, gender and LGBTQ+ equality, gun violence prevention, housing, immigration, and reproductive justice.
"Our Finish the Job Youth Agenda is a clear reiteration of the issues that matter most to young constituents and a roadmap for President Biden and his administration to follow if they want to earn our support," said Michelle Ming, political director of United We Dream Action. "With the Youth Agenda, we're giving Biden our winning playbook."
Members of the organizations announced the agenda at a press conference on Capitol Hill, where they were joined by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Democratic Reps. Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.), Greg Casar (Texas), Ro Khanna (Calif.), and Summer Lee (Pa.).
"Young people across the country are boldly demanding a cease-fire, affordable housing, Medicare for All, and for our leaders to tackle the climate crisis. It's time we listen to them," declared Khanna, thanking the groups for their "vision and advocacy."
Shoutout to the young people and organizations, like @genzforchange, @sunrisemvmt, @UWDaction, @AMarch4OurLives, and so many more that are doing the work to make change in our communities. We're with you! pic.twitter.com/NBs2iyye53
— Congressman Jamaal Bowman (@RepBowman) March 6, 2024
The coalition also sent a letter to Biden, explaining that "we have reached out to you before to urge you to listen to our generation, and today we are asking you once again to work with us to fight for better."
"We are a generation that grew up through crisis, but we have big dreams," they wrote. "We dream of a country where we all have access to healthcare no matter what, where we don't have to hide under our desks during school shooter drills, where families aren't broken apart at the border, where we're not crushed by student loan debt, where we have clean air, clean water, and a livable future, and where our leaders can expansively hold safety for all of us and vigorously fight for a lasting cease-fire and against Islamophobia and antisemitism, rather than write blank checks for genocide."
The letter continues:
Going into 2024, you must run on a bold and progressive agenda that invests in our generation and recognizes the need for immediate action to combat the issues of our time. We need you to prove to our generation that you are fighting for us every step of the way.
We want to acknowledge the leadership your presidency has provided—from the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act to the announcement of the American Climate Corps, to the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and the establishment of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, your administration's attempt to cancel student loan debt, and your solidarity with United Auto Workers on strike and the halting of Liquified Natural Gas projects—we appreciate these efforts.
At the same time, we hope you can understand this is not enough. We need far more.
After stressing the important role that younger voters have played in recent elections—a trend expected to continue—the coalition concluded that "if you commit to prioritizing these actions, young people will turn out and make 'finishing the job' a reality."
Coalition leaders echoed that point. Gen-Z for Change executive director Elise Joshi pointed out that her group "launched a tool last week that enabled people across the country to send over 4 million emails to members of Congress urging for a cease-fire."
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March for Our Lives executive director Natalie Fall similarly said that "however you square it, young people are inheriting a broken and imperfect world. But as young people step into their political power, we are not accepting things as they are. Young people have organized and stood up for ourselves and our future. It's time for our leaders to do the same for us."
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"Contrary to disinformation spread by industry groups, these deals are not about efficiency, international competitiveness, or lowering costs; they are designed to pump more profits out of Americans' pockets—plain and simple," the letter led by Khanna (D-Calif.) and Schumer (D-N.Y.) states. "Fossil fuel companies have overwhelmingly identified investor pressure as the reason to keep prices high so they can continue to benefit from record profits. Americans are paying the price for Big Oil's greed and are still struggling to keep up with gas prices higher than pre-pandemic levels."
The lawmakers urged the FTC to "consider all harms that past and future mergers present to American consumers" and "oppose any acquisitions it determines to be in violation of antitrust law."
The FTC is currently investigating last year's megamergers involving Chevron and Hess, ExxonMobil and Pioneer, and Occidental Petroleum and CrownRock.
"Oil and gas is undergoing a historic consolidation wave comparable to what occurred in the late 1990s and early 2000s giving rise to the modern supermajors," Andrew Dittmar, a senior vice president at the analytics firm Enverus, said earlier this year. "After a decade of lowered investment in exploration and with the major U.S. shale plays largely defined, M&A has become the preferred tool to replace declining reserves and secure longevity in these companies' profitable upstream businesses."
The lawmakers' letter warns that "if a small group of dominant firms is allowed to control this industry, American consumers and industry competition will only suffer."
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The letter is backed by advocacy groups including Food & Water Watch, Public Citizen, Friends of the Earth, Center for Biological Diversity, Indigenous Environmental Network, Greenpeace USA, Zero Hour, and Sierra Club.
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