November, 05 2015, 07:30am EDT
350.org on State Department's Rejection of TransCanada's Delay: 'That has to hurt'
Activists will launch four days of sit-ins at the Canadian Prime Minister’s office in Ottawa this Thursday to urge him to freeze new tar sands development
WASHINGTON
350.org communications director Jamie Henn issued the following reaction to the news that the State Department had rejected TransCanada's attempt to pause a review of the controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline:
"That has to hurt. The State Department recognized TransCanada's request for what is: a brazen political attempt to pause a process that long ago should have reached the inevitable conclusion that Keystone XL is a climate disaster and cannot be approved. Now that he's called TransCanada for delay of game, it's time for President Obama to blow the whistle and end this pipeline once and for all.
The tar sands industry is on the ropes. That's why tomorrow morning, 350.org Canada is launching four days of sit-ins at Prime Minister Trudeau's office to demand a freeze on new tar sands development and a just transition to 100% renewable energy. Real climate leadership means keeping fossil fuels in the ground. It's timing politicians in North America start walking the talk on climate."
This Thursday, Climate activists are launching four days of sit-ins at the Canadian Prime Minister's residence to push newly elected Justin Trudeau to freeze the expansion of the tar sands and support a just transition to 100% renewable energy.
Protesters are calling the action the "Climate Welcome," and will attempt to present Trudeau with a "gift" of boxes of millions of signatures from petitions opposing pipeline and tar sands expansion. Dozens are expected to risk arrest each day during a sit-ins in front of the Prime Minister's office.
The Climate Welcome protest, organized by 350.org Canada, is modeled on the 2011 Tar Sands Action sit-ins at the White House that led to the arrests of over 1,200 people and helped elevate the Keystone XL pipeline as the largest environmental fight in a generation.
The sit-ins in Ottawa will continue throughout the weekend, as youth, indigenous leaders, environmentalists, and people from across Canada urge the Prime Minister to support bold climate action ahead of the Paris climate talks this December.
When: November 5-8, 2015; Press conference at Rideau Falls at 9:45 a.m., march begins towards Rideau Hall at 11 a.m., arriving at Rideau Hall and attempting gift presentation at 11:30 a.m.
Where: March begins at Rideau Falls at 11 a.m. each day, arriving at Rideau Hall for sit-in at 11:30 a.m.
Visuals: Large group sit-in at the Prime Minister's residence, youth marching with signs led by First Nations and Indigenous Metis People, large banners, singing and chanting, dozens of reports detailing the scientific, economic and human rights case for freezing tar sands expansion and building a justice-based clean energy economy.
Twitter: @350Canada #ClimateWelcome #AccueilClimat
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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Despite 100% Pentagon Audit Failure Rate, House Passes $883.7 Billion NDAA
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Despite the Pentagon's repeated failures to pass audits and various alarming policies, 81 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives voted with 200 Republicans on Wednesday to advance a $883.7 billion annual defense package.
The Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025, unveiled by congressional negotiators this past Saturday, still needs approval from the Senate, which is expected to vote next week. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Wednesday that he plans to vote no and spoke out against the military-industrial complex.
The push to pass the NDAA comes as this congressional session winds down and after the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) announced last month that it had failed yet another audit—which several lawmakers highlighted after the Wednesday vote.
Reps. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), co-chairs and co-founders of the Defense Spending Reduction Caucus, said in a joint statement, "Time and time again, Congress seems to be able to find the funds necessary to line the pockets of defense contractors while neglecting the problems everyday Americans face here at home."
"Instead of fighting the rising cost of healthcare, gas, or groceries, this Congress prioritized rewarding the wealthy and well-connected military-industrial complex with even more unaccountable funds," they continued. "After a seventh failed audit in a row, it's disappointing that our amendment to hold the Pentagon accountable by penalizing the DOD's budget by 0.5% for each failed audit was stripped out of the final bill. It's time Congress demanded accountability from the Pentagon."
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Several of the 124 House Democrats who voted against the NDAA cited those "culture war" policies, in addition to concerns about how the Pentagon spends massive amounts of money that could go toward improving lives across the country.
"Once again, Congress has passed a massive military authorization bill that prioritizes endless military spending over the critical needs of American families. This year's NDAA designates $900 billion for military spending," said Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), noting the audit failures. "While I recognize the long-overdue 14.5% raise for our lowest-ranking enlisted personnel is important, this bill remains flawed. The bloated military budget continues to take away crucial funding from programs that could help millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet."
Taking aim at the GOP's push to deny gender-affirming care through TRICARE, the congresswoman said that "I cannot support a bill that continues unnecessary military spending while also attacking the rights and healthcare of transgender youth, and for that reason, I voted NO."
As Omar, a leading critic of the U.S.-backed Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, also pointed out: "The NDAA includes a provision that blocks the Pentagon from using data on casualties and deaths from the Gaza Ministry of Health or any sources relying on those statistics. This is an alarming erasure of the suffering of the Palestinian people, ignoring the human toll of ongoing violence."
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