November, 26 2020, 11:00pm EDT
![Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)](https://assets.rbl.ms/32012690/origin.jpg)
WASHINGTON
The Trump Administration is moving forward with gutting one of the nation's oldest environmental protections, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
Following is reaction from Katie Umekubo, a senior attorney at the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council):
"Under cover of the Thanksgiving Holiday, the Trump administration is rushing to finalize another gift to the oil and gas industry by rolling back key provisions of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. In blatant disregard to its recent court loss and over 200,000 public comments, the Trump administration is taking another swing at the bedrock environmental laws that protect Americans and our environment.
"Holding industrial bad actors accountable for shoddy practices and mass bird kills, doesn't just protect birds. It also protects sportspeople, nearby communities and other wildlife from unnecessary harm."
More information on the Migratory Bird Treaty Act at https://www.nrdc.org/protect-migratory-bird-treaty-act
NRDC works to safeguard the earth--its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. We combine the power of more than three million members and online activists with the expertise of some 700 scientists, lawyers, and policy advocates across the globe to ensure the rights of all people to the air, the water, and the wild.
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Israeli Forces Have Killed 366 UN Workers and Family Members in Gaza: Leaked Report
Confidential figures shed additional light on what's been the deadliest-ever war for United Nations staff.
Jul 24, 2024
A leaked report obtained by Drop Site estimates that Israeli forces have killed at least 366 United Nations staffers and their family members in the Gaza Strip since October, an indication of the grave threat Israel's ongoing assault poses to humanitarian relief workers and the enclave's broader civilian population.
Drop Site's Ryan Grim reported Wednesday that the confidential figures, assembled by the U.N.'s Crisis Coordination Center, show that three family members of World Food Program staffers and four dependents of U.N. Children's Fund workers were among those killed by Israeli forces.
The U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the primary aid agency operating in Gaza, has seen the largest impact on staffers and their family members. The leaked report estimates that Israeli forces have killed 158 dependents of UNRWA staffers since October.
Israel's devastating military campaign in Gaza, aided by U.S. weaponry and diplomatic support, is by far the deadliest-ever war for U.N. personnel, who have repeatedly been targeted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Over the weekend, Israeli soldiers fired on a U.N. convoy heading toward Gaza City. UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said that "the teams were traveling in clearly marked U.N. armored cars and wearing U.N. vests."
"While there are no casualties, our teams had to duck and take cover," he added. "Like all other similar U.N. movements, this movement was coordinated and approved by the Israeli authorities."
Targeting humanitarian relief personnel is a war crime.
#Gaza
Heavy shooting from the Israeli Forces at a UN convoy heading to Gaza city.
While there are no casualties, our teams had to duck and take cover.
This took place yesterday. The teams were traveling in clearly marked UN armoured cars & wearing UN vests.
One vehicle…
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) July 22, 2024
Grim noted that the leaked report is just "the latest in a series of alarming findings regarding Israel's actions in Gaza," much of which is facing famine conditions due to what U.N. experts recently described as a "targeted starvation campaign" by Israel.
During a 12-hour period earlier this week, Israeli forces killed at least 70 Palestinians and wounded around 200 others—mostly women and children—in a barrage of attacks on the city of Khan Younis, according to the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor.
The confidential U.N. data emerged hours before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's scheduled address to a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress on Wednesday afternoon. Dozens of Democratic lawmakers are expected to boycott the prime minister's speech.
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), the lone Palestinian American in Congress, argued Tuesday that Netanyahu "should be arrested and sent to the International Criminal Court," alluding to that body's request for an arrest warrant for the Israeli prime minister.
On Tuesday, hundreds of demonstrators were arrested on Capitol Hill during a peaceful Jewish-led demonstration against Netanyahu's visit and U.S. complicity in the IDF's mass atrocities in Gaza.
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'Not in Our Name': Hundreds Arrested at Jewish-Led Protest Ahead of Netanyahu Speech
"The Israeli government is using U.S funding and weapons to slaughter and starve Palestinians in Gaza," said one peace advocate. "Americans—including Jewish Americans—are disgusted by our own government's complicity in this genocide."
Jul 24, 2024
Hundreds of demonstrators were arrested inside a U.S. House building on Tuesday while protesting the American government's continued support for Israel's assault on Gaza and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's forthcoming speech to Congress.
The protest was led by Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and joined by members of several other organizations, including IfNotNow, Democratic Socialists of America, and Shoresh, a group of anti-Zionist Israelis based in the U.S.
JVP said 400 protesters—including more than a dozen rabbis—were arrested at the peaceful sit-in at the Cannon House Office Building rotunda. Protesters wore shirts that read "Not in Our Name" and "Jews Say Stop Arming Israel."
"For nine months, we've watched in horror as the Israeli government has carried out a genocide, armed and funded by the U.S.," said Stefanie Fox, JVP's executive director. "Congress and the Biden administration have the power to end this horror today. Instead, our president is preparing to meet with Netanyahu and congressional leadership has honored him with an invitation to address Congress. Enough is enough."
President Joe Biden and Congress "must listen to the people," Fox added. "We need an arms embargo now to save lives."
Jane Hirschmann, a daughter of Holocaust survivors and member of JVP, said that "the Israeli government is using U.S. funding and weapons to slaughter and starve Palestinians in Gaza."
"Americans—including Jewish Americans—are disgusted by our own government's complicity in this genocide," said Hirschmann. "The only way to reach a cease-fire and build a just future is for the U.S. to stop sending weapons to Israel now."
"Instead of platforming a war criminal, Congress should be imposing an arms embargo and using its leverage to force Netanyahu to end the bombing and bloodshed."
Netanyahu's visit to Washington, D.C. comes as the death toll from Israel's large-scale assault on Gaza nears 40,000 after almost 10 months of relentless bombing that has decimated much of the enclave's infrastructure and displaced 90% of its population. Earlier this week, Israel's military ordered the evacuation of another area previously designated as a safe zone and killed dozens of Palestinians in a fresh round of attacks.
Netanyahu has addressed Congress more than any other world leader. As The Washington Post's Ishaan Tharoor noted Wednesday, "The first time Netanyahu addressed Congress was nearly three decades ago in 1996, when he and his right-wing allies had just come to power in the wake of the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, whose efforts toward forging peace with the Palestinians that Netanyahu had opposed."
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) formally invited Netanyahu to speak to a joint meeting of Congress in late May, just days after it became clear that Israeli forces used U.S.-made bombs in a devastating attack on a camp of displaced Palestinians.
"It is utterly shameful that U.S. lawmakers would invite war criminal Netanyahu to address Congress," JVP communications director Sonya Meyerson-Knox said in a statement after Tuesday's protest. "We are hundreds of American Jews calling on our elected leaders to stop funding and fueling this genocide."
In addition to grassroots protests against Netanyahu's visit—which are set to continue ahead of and during his speech—dozens of Democratic lawmakers are planning to boycott the prime minister's address, which is scheduled to begin at 2:00 pm ET. Following his speech to Congress, Netanyahu is planning to meet with President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday before traveling to Mar-a-Lago to meet with Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who is expected to become the Democratic presidential nominee following Biden's exit from the 2024 race, has opted to attend a previously scheduled event in Indianapolis instead of presiding over Netanyahu's remarks.
Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), one of the progressive lawmakers boycotting Netanyahu's speech, said in a statement Tuesday that "by bestowing Prime Minister Netanyahu with a joint address, Congress is not only continuing to green-light genocide; it is actively celebrating the man at the forefront of that genocide."
"Instead of platforming a war criminal, Congress should be imposing an arms embargo and using its leverage to force Netanyahu to end the bombing and bloodshed that has already killed over 39,000 Palestinians and failed to ensure the safe release of the vast majority of hostages, all while decimating schools, hospitals, homes, and humanitarian convoys," Bush added.
In remarks on the floor of the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) also called Netanyahu a war criminal and said it is a "disgrace" that he was invited to speak to Congress.
"Netanyahu is a right-wing extremist and a war criminal who has devoted his career to killing the prospects of a two-state solution and lasting peace in the region," said Sanders. "He should not be welcomed to the United States Congress. On the contrary, his policies in Gaza and the West Bank should be roundly condemned and his right-wing extremist government should not receive another nickel from U.S. taxpayers."
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Tens of Thousands Call for Federal Marijuana Decriminalization
"When it comes to the DOJ's proposal to reschedule marijuana, public opinion could not be clearer," said a campaigner with Drug Policy Alliance, which analyzed public comments on the pending change.
Jul 23, 2024
Shortly after the public comment period for the Biden administration's proposed rule to reschedule marijuana closed, a reform group on Tuesday released an analysis showing that the majority of submissions advocate for federal decriminalization.
When President Joe Biden pardoned U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents convicted of simple federal marijuana possession in October 2022, he also ordered the departments of Justice (DOJ) and Health and Human Services to review how cannabis is treated under the Controlled Substances Act.
Marijuana is currently Schedule I, the federal law's most restrictive category, despite dozens of states allowing adult recreational or medicinal use. In May, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which is part of the DOJ, proposed a shift to Schedule III and initiated the public comment period that ended Monday.
"Participation in public comment processes gives the American public a chance to speak from personal experience and provide feedback on proposed legal changes—and it gives the federal government an opportunity to adjust their proposals to reflect public opinion," said Cat Packer of the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), which reviewed submissions.
"When it comes to the DOJ's proposal to reschedule marijuana, public opinion could not be clearer," added Packer, DPA's director of drug markets and legal regulation. "Rescheduling is simply not enough."
As DPA detailed in a statement, after analyzing the 42,910 public comments, the group found:
- 69.3% or 29,750 of comments support descheduling, decriminalizing, or legalizing marijuana at the federal level;
- 42.4% or 18,207 commentsmention the need for federal marijuana reform to advance racial justice or social equity; and
- 24% or 10,327 comments were submitted through a public comment tool hosted by United for Marijuana Decriminalization (UMD), a coalition that DPA convenes. These comments were the result of months of grassroots outreach to communities that have been impacted by marijuana criminalization.
"The people are demanding the Biden administration do more to deliver on the marijuana reforms that communities deserve," Packer said, pointing to previous promises from Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee to face former Republican President Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) in the November election.
Packer highlighted that nearly half of the comments "recognize that ending federal criminalization is key to achieving racial justice and social equity," and "this is something that the Biden administration has repeatedly identified as a priority in their marijuana reform efforts."
"However, under Schedule III, communities of color would still face disproportionate harms and lifelong consequences from federal marijuana criminalization," she explained. "Under Schedule III, people could still be jailed or deported for marijuana violations, even in states where it is legal. Under Schedule III, people could lose their jobs, their housing, their... food stamp benefits, or even lose custody of their children for marijuana violations."
Earlier this month, DPA and Human Rights Watch released a 91-page report detailing how the U.S. War on Drugs has impacted the lives of immigrants, "punishing people with deep connections to the United States, where they have formed families, attained education, and built their lives."
Packer argued Tuesday that "if the Biden administration wants to be responsive to public opinion and live up to their own stated values of racial justice and repair, marijuana must be federally decriminalized and additional actions must be taken to end the lifelong collateral consequences that result from marijuana criminalization."
"This is a galvanizing moment for our movement for drug policies grounded in health, equity, and reinvestment," she stressed. "Even if marijuana is ultimately rescheduled through this process, there are additional actions that President Biden and Congress can take. In the coming weeks and months, we will continue working with our allies to urge President Biden to take a whole government approach to advance equity in federal marijuana policy and mitigate the harms of criminalization."
"That means expanding pardons and commutations, protecting state marijuana programs, and directing federal agencies to cease punishing people for marijuana use," she said. "We know that the people and the evidence are on our side. It is time that our federal government listened."
Despite support from top figures including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), there is little hope that the current divided Congress would decriminalize marijuana. As Marijuana Momentreported shortly before House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) was voted into his role last year, he "has consistently voted against cannabis-related legislation."
The cannabis industry analytics firm Headset on Tuesday also reviewed public submissions for the new proposal and noted that "this comment period has shattered previous DEA records, surpassing even the highly contentious 2020 telemedicine rules that garnered approximately 38,000 comments."
"To put this into perspective, that's roughly equivalent to the entire population of Juneau, the capital city of Alaska," the firm highlighted. "It's as if every resident of a small state capital took the time to voice their opinion on this crucial issue."
Headset found that 92.45% of comments were in favor of changing cannabis' schedule, with 61.7% of them advocating for descheduling and 38.3% supporting a shift to a less restrictive category. Just 7.55% wanted to retain Schedule I.
"Those supporting rescheduling emphasized potential medical benefits, increased research opportunities, and alignment with state laws," Headset said. "Proponents of descheduling, the largest group, advocated for complete legalization, citing social justice concerns, economic opportunities, and personal liberty."
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