January, 13 2020, 11:00pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Lindsay Meiman,Senior U.S. Communications Specialist,lindsay@350.org,us-comms@350.org,+1 347 460 9082,New York, USA
Australian School Strikers Call for Climate Vigils in Solidarity With Australian Bushfires
Vigils will take place at Australian embassies, consulates and public places across the globe on the 17th of January 2020Latest estimates are that: 27 people and 1.25 billion animals may have been killed directly or indirectly from fires that have burnt 8.4 million hectares across Australia Worst drought on record means many bushfires set to burn for months
WASHINGTON
Strikers are calling on people across the globe to join events at embassies, consulates and other locations worldwide on the 17th of January to support those fighting the fires on the frontline and #ListenToThem (those affected). They are also putting pressure on the Australian government to take urgent action to prevent further climate breakdown.
"We are asking people across the globe to stand together and show impacted communities we are in solidarity with them and we will stand with them to create hope to continue the fight for climate justice. " Toby Thorpe, School Strike 4 Climate Australia, Australian Climate Activist.
School Strike 4 Climate Australia is part of the global Fridays for Future movement that over the last year have organised 1000's of strike events worldwide. Over 10 million people taking part in strikes in September 2019.
"We have lost two national parks and now it is spreading onto the one that backs my property. As I drove out onto the road I looked back and saw a wallaby on our front lawn and I couldn't even stop or go back to help it. There was a 70-foot wall of fire across the road that just decimated bushland. Our place was still green. We had grass and cool-climate gardens that just went up in smoke. I can only imagine what it did to the bushland and rainforests behind and around our place." Kelsea Thurgood, resident in Berambing, NSW
"This fire is unprecedented, and we have to acknowledge the role that a changing climate is having here. The forest is drier, days are hotte, fire conditions are increasingly worse, the fire seasons are increasingly long (starting on the first day of spring) and our RFS is not getting the resources it needs to keep up with that. Listen to the experts." said Kelsea
In addition to decimating some of the most iconic species on earth including koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, gliders, potoroos, cockatoos and honeyeaters, the fires have also devastated many important cultural and spiritual places that are part of 60,000 years of First Nations heritage. In addition to decimating some of the most iconic species on earth including koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, gliders, potoroos, cockatoos and honeyeaters.
"It is 2020 and under Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Australia has no national energy or climate change policy that will ensure the safety of mine and all future generations future. This is a catastrophic failure of government to respond to the monumental crisis of climate breakdown. 2020 needs to be a year of climate action, Australia and the planet can no longer afford this complacency. These fires can never be forgotten. We need to work together as communities to adapt and build resilience and we need to keep building powerful movements that challenge the planet wreckers and stop burning and investing in fossil fuels and extraction." said Toby Thorpe
The January 17th strikes will be taking place just before World Economic Forum opens its doors in Davos, Switzerland. Strikers, including Greta Thurnerg are demanding that " At this year's Forum, participants from all companies, banks, institutions and governments immediately halt all investments in fossil fuel exploration and extraction, immediately end all fossil fuel subsidies and immediately and completely divest from fossil fuels." Greta Thurnberg and others, The Guardian.
At the solidarity events, images related to the bushfire crisis in Australia, a video by School Strike 4 Climate Australia and/or a voice memo will be played, in light of a global call for climate justice and to listen to the demands of those impacted.
Additional Quotes:
"SS4C's #ListenToThem: Solidarity Vigil for Bushfire Victims is about bringing everyone together, and strengthening communities, no matter where you come from or what you believe in. It's time to mourn, and a time to inspire hope, through stories, words and songs. We invite everyone to come, regardless of political stance." Sam Galvin School Strike for Climate Australi
Fridays for Future currently lists over 1600 events taking place in 159 countries
For further information please contact Toby Thorpe: tobyjthorpe@yahoo.com.au : WhatsApp: +61 472 639 380
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.
LATEST NEWS
Sanders Explains Why He's Voting Against the New $850 Billion Pentagon Budget
"We do not need to spend almost a trillion dollars on the military, while half a million Americans are homeless and children go hungry," Sen. Bernie Sanders writes in a new op-ed.
Dec 08, 2024
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Sunday announced his opposition to an annual military policy bill that would authorize a Pentagon budget of nearly $850 billion, a sum that the progressive senator from Vermont characterized as outrageous—particularly as so many Americans face economic hardship.
"We do not need to spend almost a trillion dollars on the military, while half a million Americans are homeless and children go hungry," Sanders (I-Vt.) wrote in an op-ed for The Guardian after the House and Senate released legislative text for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025.
Sanders continued:
In this moment in history, it would be wise for us to remember what Dwight D. Eisenhower, a former five-star general, said in his farewell address in 1961: "In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist." What Eisenhower said was true in 1961. It is even more true today.
I will be voting against the military budget.
The senator's op-ed came hours after lawmakers from both chambers of Congress unveiled the sprawling, 1,813-page NDAA for the coming fiscal year. The legislation's topline is just over $895 billion as lawmakers from both parties push annual U.S. military spending inexorably toward $1 trillion, even as the Pentagon fails to pass an audit.
The U.S. currently spends more on its military than the next nine countries combined, and military spending accounts for more than half of the nation's yearly discretionary spending, according to the National Priorities Project.
Sanders wrote Sunday that "very few people who have researched the military-industrial complex doubt that there is massive fraud, waste and cost over-runs in the system." One analysis estimates that over 50% of the Pentagon's annual budget, the subject of aggressive industry lobbying, goes to private contractors.
"Defense contractors routinely overcharge the Pentagon by 40%—and sometimes more than 4,000%," Sanders continued. "For example, in October, RTX (formerly Raytheon) was fined $950 million for inflating bills to the DoD, lying about labor and material costs, and paying bribes to secure foreign business. In June, Lockheed Martin was fined $70 million for overcharging the navy for aircraft parts, the latest in a long line of similar abuses. The F-35, the most expensive weapon system in history, has run up hundreds of billions in cost overruns."
The NDAA could have some trouble getting through the divided Congress—but not because of the proposed size of the Pentagon budget.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said in a statement that the legislation includes language that would "permanently ban transgender medical treatment for minors" and other provisions that are expected to draw Democratic opposition.
Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement Saturday that "anti-equality House Republican leaders are hijacking a defense bill to play politics with the healthcare of children of servicemembers."
"This cruel and hateful bill suddenly strips away access to medical care for families that members of our armed forces are counting on, and it could force servicemembers to choose between staying in the military or providing healthcare for their children," said Robinson. "Politicians have no place inserting themselves into decisions that should be between families and their doctors. We call on members of Congress to do what's right and vote against this damaging legislation."
Keep ReadingShow Less
'A Critical Situation': Gaza Doctor Warns of Catastrophe as Israel Assails Hospital
"We have called on the world to protect both the healthcare system and its workers, yet we have not received any response from anyone globally," said the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital.
Dec 08, 2024
The director of one of the few partially functioning hospitals in northern Gaza said Sunday that Israeli attacks have put the facility's remaining patients—including more than a dozen children—in grave danger and pleaded with the international community to intervene.
"Following the recent attack on Kamal Adwan Hospital, which involved over 100 shells and bombs indiscriminately targeting the facility, the damage has been severe," Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the hospital's director, said in a statement. "As of now, one of the hospital buildings remains without electricity, oxygen, or water. The shelling continues to occur randomly in the vicinity, preventing us from conducting repairs on the oxygen, electricity, and water networks."
Abu Safiya said the overwhelmed and under-resourced hospital is currently treating 112 wounded patients, including six people in intensive care and 14 children.
"This is a critical situation," he said Sunday morning. "The bombardment and gunfire have not ceased; planes are dropping bombs around the clock. We are uncertain of what lies ahead and what the army wants from the hospital."
"We have called on the world to protect both the healthcare system and its workers, yet we have not received any response from anyone globally," Abu Safiya added. "This represents a humanitarian catastrophe unfolding against the healthcare workers and patients. Unfortunately, there seems to be no effort to halt this relentless assault on Kamal Adwan Hospital and the broader health system."
The hospital director's statement came after Israeli attacks near the facility killed scores of people on Friday. Photos taken from the scene showed bodies on the ground amid building ruins.
(Photo: AFP via Getty Images)
A day earlier, an Israeli airstrike on the Kamal Adwan Hospital compound killed a 16-year-old boy in a wheelchair and wounded a dozen others, The Associated Pressreported.
According toDrop Site, the boy "was struck as he entered the X-ray department."
Northern Gaza has been under intense Israeli assault for two months, and the humanitarian situation there and across the Palestinian enclave is worse than ever, according to U.N. agencies and aid organizations.
"The catastrophe in Gaza is nothing short of a complete breakdown of our common humanity," said U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres. "The nightmare must stop. We cannot continue to look away."
Abu Safiya said Sunday that his hospital is facing outages of electricity and water amid Israel's incessant attacks.
"We urgently appeal to the international community for assistance," he said. "The situation is extremely dangerous."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Assad Government Falls After Nearly 14 Years of Civil War as Rebels Seize Capital
"The city of Damascus has been liberated," rebel fighters declared on state TV.
Dec 08, 2024
The government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad collapsed Sunday after rebels seized control of the capital following a stunning advance through major cities, prompting celebrations in the streets as the country's ousted leader fled.
"The city of Damascus has been liberated," rebel fighters declared on state TV. "The regime of the tyrant Bashar al-Assad has been toppled."
Video footage posted to social media showed rebels escorting Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali to meet with their leaders. The prime minister said that "we are ready to cooperate" and called for free elections and the preservation of "all the properties of the people and the institutions of the Syrian state."
"They belong to all Syrians," he said.
A video captured outside the Syrian Prime Minister's residence shows rebel forces escorting Mohamad Al Jalali to a meeting with their leaders at the Four Seasons Hotel pic.twitter.com/WkT2IZAJLi
— The National (@TheNationalNews) December 8, 2024
The rebel movement was led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)—an Islamist organization that was once an affiliate of al-Qaeda—along with Turkish-backed Syrian militias. HTS is led by Abu Mohammad al-Jolani; the U.S. State Department has deemed him a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" and is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information that results in his capture.
After the Assad government fell, ending a decades-long family dynasty, The Associated Pressreported that "revelers filled Umayyad Square in the city center, where the Defense Ministry is located."
"Men fired celebratory gunshots into the air and some waved the three-starred Syrian flag that predates the Assad government and was adopted by the revolutionaries," the outlet reported. "A few kilometers (miles) away, Syrians stormed the presidential palace, tearing up portraits of the toppled president. Soldiers and police officers left their posts and fled, and looters broke into the Defense Ministry. Videos from Damascus showed families wandering into the presidential palace, with some emerging carrying stacks of plates and other household items."
Prisons, including a notorious facility on the outskirts of Damascus that Amnesty International described as a "human slaughterhouse," were reportedly opened in the wake of Assad's ouster, with video footage showing detainees walking free.
"Literally seeing hundreds of people across Damascus, friends, family people I've known to be neutral and not involved in politics, all post green flags, all support this movement, people are tired, broken and angry, they want change and change is what they've got," Danny Makki, a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute who was on the ground in Damascus as the government fell, wrote on social media.
(Photo: Aref Tammawi/AFP via Getty Images)
Assad's whereabouts are not known; he left the country without issuing a statement. Reutersreported that the ousted president, "who has not spoken in public since the sudden rebel advance a week ago, flew out of Damascus for an unknown destination earlier on Sunday." (Update: Citing Russian state media, APreported that "Assad has arrived in Moscow with his family" and has been given asylum.")
Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that "as a result of negotiations between B. Assad and a number of participants in the armed conflict on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic, he decided to resign from the presidency and left the country, giving instructions for a peaceful transfer of power."
The explosion of Syria's civil war in recent days brought renewed focus to the current role of United States troops in the country. There are currently around 900 American forces in Syria alongside an unknown number of private contractors—troop presence that the Pentagon said it intends to maintain in the wake of Assad's ouster.
The U.S. has said it was not involved in the rebel offensive. In a social media post, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council wrote that President Joe Biden and his team "are closely monitoring the extraordinary events in Syria and staying in constant touch with regional partners."
"The astonishing speed at which the Assad regime has crumbled exposes once again the inherent fragility of seemingly ironclad dictatorships, and of all governments whose rule is based on repression and corruption."
The U.S.-backed Israeli military said Sunday that it has "taken up new positions" in the occupied Golan Heights "as it prepared for potential chaos following the lightning-fast fall" of Assad, The Times of Israelreported.
"Syrian media reports said Israel had launched artillery shelling in the area," the outlet added.
Geir Pedersen, the United Nations' special envoy for Syria, said in a statement Sunday that Assad's fall "marks a watershed moment in Syria's history—a nation that has endured nearly 14 years of relentless suffering and unspeakable loss."
"The challenges ahead remain immense and we hear those who are anxious and apprehensive," said Pedersen. "Yet this is a moment to embrace the possibility of renewal. The resilience of the Syrian people offers a path toward a united and peaceful Syria."
Nancy Okail, president and CEO of the Center for International Policy, said Sunday that "today belongs to the people of Syria."
"The astonishing speed at which the Assad regime has crumbled exposes once again the inherent fragility of seemingly ironclad dictatorships, and of all governments whose rule is based on repression and corruption," said Okail. "The regime's fast disintegration shows how autocracy, resistance to political transitions, and gross atrocities and the lack of accountability for committing them ultimately doomed Assad's brutal rule. Ritualistic elections cannot replace legitimacy, which remains crucial for stability."
"True sovereignty cannot be attained under the influence of foreign powers that exploit nations as arenas for their own geopolitical competition," Okail added. "While Syria's future is for its people to determine, the United States and its partners should take immediate steps to facilitate delivery of humanitarian and reconstruction aid, and help ensure that future is free and democratic, and the rights of all of its communities are protected."
This story has been updated to include a statement from the Center for International Policy.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular