December, 13 2016, 07:45am EDT
Dec 15: New Yorkers to Mobilize at NYC Pension Meeting Urging Full Fossil Fuel Divestment
NEW YORK, NY
Just three days after an annual report revealed the global fossil fuel divestment movement has doubled in size, with 688 commitments across 76 countries representing $5 trillion in assets, a broad spectrum of New Yorkers backed by a global movement will mobilize around the New York City pension funds quarterly board meeting. This is the third year in a row the report was released in New York, yet New York City and New York State remain heavily invested in dirty fossil fuel companies, such as ExxonMobil, to the tune of billions.
What: New Yorkers mobilize around NYC quarterly pension meeting urging full fossil fuel divestment, reinvestment in people and planet. #DivestNY
Who: A broad spectrum of New Yorkers including union members, teachers and retirees. Organizations represented include 350 Brooklyn, 350 NYC, 350.org, Divest-Invest, GreenFaith, New York Communities for Change, New York Progressive Action Network.
When: Thursday, December 15, 2016 at 8:00 AM EST
Where: New York City Comptroller's office at 1 Centre Street, 10th Floor, Room 1005, NY, NY
Why: New Yorkers > Fossil fuels. At the end of the hottest year in history, with climate change an immediate existential risk for New York, it's more critical than ever for our institutions to take the necessary bold action on climate. In the face of a regressive and anti-climate Trump administration, our institutions -- especially at the local and state level -- must step into their leadership and divest the City's $170 billion pension funds from the fossil fuel industry that is knowingly perpetuating the climate crisis, and reinvest in a sustainable economy that works for all New Yorkers.
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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Wyden Says Spying Bill Would Force Americans to Become an 'Agent for Big Brother'
"If you have access to any communications, the government can force you to help it spy," said Sen. Ron Wyden.
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Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden took to the floor of the U.S. Senate on Tuesday to speak out against a chilling mass surveillance bill that lawmakers are working to rush through the upper chamber and send to President Joe Biden's desk by the end of the week.
The measure in question would reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) for two years and massively expand the federal government's warrantless surveillance power by requiring a wide range of businesses and individuals to cooperate with spying efforts.
"If you have access to any communications, the government can force you to help it spy," said Wyden (Ore.), referring to an amendment that was tacked on to the legislation by the U.S. House last week with bipartisan support. "That means anyone with access to a server, a wire, a cable box, a Wi-Fi router, a phone, or a computer. So think for a moment about the millions of Americans who work in buildings and offices in which communications are stored or pass through."
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Wyden's remarks came after the Senate narrowly approved a motion Tuesday to proceed to the FISA reauthorization bill ahead of Section 702's expiration at the end of the week. The Oregon senator, an outspoken privacy advocate, was among the seven members of the Democratic caucus who voted against the procedural motion.
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Titled Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act (RISAA), the legislation passed the Republican-controlled House last week after lawmakers voted down an amendment that would have added a search warrant requirement to Section 702.
The authority allows U.S. agencies to spy on non-citizens located outside of the country, but it has been abused extensively by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and National Security Agency to collect the communications of American lawmakers, activists, journalists, and others without a warrant.
Privacy advocates warn RISAA would dramatically expand the scope of Section 702 by broadening the kinds of individuals and businesses required to participate in government spying. A key provision of the bill would mandate cooperation from "electronic communications service providers" such as Google, Verizon, and AT&T as well as "any other service provider who has access to equipment that is being or may be used" to transmit or store electronic communications.
That would mean U.S. intelligence agencies could, without a warrant, compel gyms, grocery stores, barber shops, and other businesses to hand over communications data.
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The wife of jailed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange sharply criticized "assurances" the U.S. government made as the U.K. High Court considers allowing the 52-year-old Australian's extradition to the United States, where he faces 175 years in prison.
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Responding on social media, his wife, Stella Assange—who is an attorney—blasted the U.S. assurances as "weasel words."
"The United States has issued a nonassurance in relation to the First Amendment, and a standard assurance in relation to the death penalty," she said. "It makes no undertaking to withdraw the prosecution's previous assertion that Julian has no First Amendment rights because he is not a U.S citizen."
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