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  2. <rss version="2.0" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/"><channel><title>Common Dreams</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/</link><description>Common Dreams</description><atom:link href="https://www.commondreams.org/feeds/feed.rss" rel="self"></atom:link><language>en-us</language><lastBuildDate>Sat, 04 May 2024 19:29:36 -0000</lastBuildDate><image><url>https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8zMjEwMDM4OS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTc0OTE0ODI1N30.nWE-dO3LpGCfrP6HKKrgMGYA-9xT8aazabGiQTfcsrM/image.png?width=210</url><link>https://www.commondreams.org/</link><title>Common Dreams</title></image><item><title>A War Against Humanity Itself</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/further/a-war-against-humanity-itself-2668123134</link><description><![CDATA[
  3. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/a-gazan-man-kisses-the-foot-of-his-dead-baby-killed-in-an-israeli-strike.png?id=52158173&width=1200&height=400&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C213"/><br/><br/><p>Amidst the ongoing, unfathomable slaughter, hunger, maiming, razing in Gaza at the hands of Israel's "voracious death machine," its leaders now openly vow "total and utter destruction" by what they <em>still </em>grotesquely call "one of the most moral militaries in the world," murdered newborns and all. But the hypocrisies and protests mount. "One of this genocide’s aims is to drown us in our own sorrow," says one of Balfour's "savages." Part of their resistance, in turn, "is to talk about tomorrow in Gaza."</p><p>The litany from Israel's mass killing, "monstrous and largely <a href="exposed%20h" target="_blank">indiscriminate</a>," to date: Almost 35,000 dead Palestinians, including well over 14,000 "ungrievable" children; more than 77,000 wounded, half children; at least 17,000 orphans, 5,000 children whose limbs have been amputated, thousands more buried under rubble, a child killed or injured every 10 minutes; hundreds of dead journalists, doctors, teachers, poets, aid workers, academics; most homes leveled, along with 400 schools, 12 universities, over 30 hospitals; starvation levels "the highest ever recorded." Thanks in part to $26 billion more the U.S. just <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/20/us-house-approves-aid-package-worth-billions-for-ukraine-israel" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">awarded </a> Israel, its "most decisive <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/us-house-26-b..." target="_self">vote</a> of confidence in genocide since the Indian Removal Act of 1830," the hellfire still rains down. Each day, the count grows: Air strikes kill 22, mostly children, kill 20, mostly children, kill 13, nine of them children, kill eight children and two women from one family, kill  three women and six children. Fathers <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-0..." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">sob</a> over small bodies, mourning "a world devoid of all human values." A strike killed a man, his very pregnant wife, and their three-year-old; doctors saved the baby. A sniper killed a West Bank man for going up on his roof; days later, his wife named their new son after him as their toddler played in sand strewn with his father's blood.</p><p>When upright IDF forces retreated from Nasser and Al-Shifa hospitals after mindlessly pulverizing them, rescue workers <a href="mass%20graves%20u" target="_blank">uncovered</a> mass graves - up to 400 bodies in one, over 200 in another - of <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/hundreds-bodies-unearthed-nasser-hospital-mass-graves" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">bodies </a>mutilated, beheaded, hands tied behind them. The IDF detain medics, block Red Crescent ambulances, storm hospitals and attack staff even as new victims <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/big-story/gaza-war-lies-genocide-al-jazeera-shown-how" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">"pile up,"</a> bloody and stick-thin, in rubble-strewn facilities with no supplies. "You can't imagine it unless you see it," <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-..." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">says </a>an Egyptian doctor working in the north. His most haunting memory: One orphan, an arm amputated, a leg broken, almost entirely burned, "constantly asking where her father, mother and siblings were." Say other <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-doctors-isr..." target="_blank">doctors, </a>Gazan and foreign, of <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gaza-doctor-amputates-nieces-leg-home-without-anaesthesia-2024-01-19/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">amputating</a> limbs without anaesthesia, delivering babies at risk of starvation, laboring beneath the relentless noise and threat of drones where there is "no safe plae, even in our minds," "We are alive, but we are not OK." One Gazan doctor recalls a broken fellow-psychologist, leaning his head on his knees, in tears. "He asked me what he was supposed to do, where he was supposed to go," he said. "I had no answers to give him." </p><p>Still, Israel, "whose founders longed to be a light unto the nations," <a href="https://twitter.com/TamarMegiddo/status/1775778869347312070" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">persists </a>in its "gallop into the abyss" by blocking food aid and <a href="https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/gaza-hunge..." target="_blank">facilitating </a>"catastrophic levels of hunger and <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/ali-velshi/watch/gaza-is-sta..." target="_blank">starvation</a>," a preventable famine “unprecedented in modern history." Rights workers say Gaza's entire population of 2.2 million do not have enough available calories; half are on the brink of starvation; a third of Gazan infants are acutely malnourished. In Rafah, where half of Gaza has taken shelter, dazed  people<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/09/unwr..." target="_blank"> spend</a> their days "in a perpetual state of survival," seeking or standing in line for water and food. The trickle of aid is grossly inadequate, and often fatal: Having survived an air strike that killed 17 relatives but only wounded him - "God saved him," said his grandfather -  Zein Oroq, 13, was <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/after-su..." target="_blank">killed </a>when a pallet of beans, rice and other food dropped by an unopened parachute hit him in the head; the stampede of people "were also hungry" and didn't stop for him. When a pharmacist mother of three, displaced six times, got a text message of an UNRWA food voucher, she<a href="https://electronicintifada.net/content/voucher-two..." target="_blank"> stood </a>in line five hours to get two eggs. En route home, crying, she met her 70-year-old aunt who had lost her husband and two chiuldren in an airstrike. She gave her one egg; at the tent, "We divided the egg into portions to share."</p><blockquote class="rm-embed twitter-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1773580386179613094">
  4. <div style="margin:1em 0"></div> —  (@)
  5.        <a href="https://twitter.com/angeloinchina/status/1773580386179613094"></a>
  6. </blockquote>
  7. <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p>Last month's targeted <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/26/wo..." target="_blank">killing </a>of seven<em> </em><em>World Central Kitchen</em> aid workers in a well-marked convoy - "it was very <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/chef-jos..." target="_blank">clear </a>who we are and what we do" - seemed a sort of turning point: In what some called "a story of Western racism." The deaths of white foreigners, who "<a href="https://twitter.com/chefjoseandres/status/17755090..." target="_blank">risked </a>everything to feed people they did not know and will never meet," caused an outcry that many, while not diminishing their generous courage, couldn't help but <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/israel-slaug..." target="_blank">note</a>: "We need not delude ourselves that (media) would have run the story on its front page had the dead carried Arab names, (when) countless Palestinians, equally heroic and innocent, have been slaughtered by Israeli forces’ actions in the same way." The <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/world-central-kitchen-i.." target="_blank">workers</a> - a Palestinian, Australian, Pole, three Brits and a dual US-Canada national - were "the best of humanity," <a href="%E2%80%9Cbest%20of%20humanity" target="_blank">said</a> <em>WCK </em>founder and chef José Andrés. "The seven souls we mourn today were there so that hungry people <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/03/opinion/jose-an..." target="_blank">could eat,</a>" he said at a remembrance. "There is no excuse for these killings." Angrily <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/video/chef-jos-and..." target="_blank">rejecting </a>Israeli  claims of "mistakes" - "the perpetrator cannot be investigating himself” - he<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/video/chef-jos-and..." target="_blank"> argued </a>"the death of one humanitarian, one child, one civilian is too many." "This doesn't seem anymore a war about defending Israel," he said. "At this point, it seems it’s a war against humanity itself.”</p><p>In the midst of Israel's far-right "Kahanist Spring," its political and military leaders are astonishingly unshy on that genocidal score. This week, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich openly <a href="https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-says-israeli-officials-call-to-annihilate-gaza-cities-is-further-evidence-of-genocidal-intent/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">called for </a>"total annihilation" of Gaza: "There are no half measures - Rafah, Deir al-Balah, Nuseirat...'Thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek'...There is no place for them under heaven." Echoing fellow war-monger <strong> </strong>Itamar Ben-Gvir - "God forbid, Israel does not enter Rafah, God forbid, we end the war" - Smotrich is so opposed to "strategic concessions" that would mean "the surrender of the State of Israel," he's <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/smotrich-threatens-t..." target="_blank">threatened </a>to bolt<strong> </strong>Netanyahu's coalition if he doesn't invade Rafah: "I will pursue my enemies and destroy them. We should deliver the decisive blow." "In any normal country," <a href="https://archive.md/s9sbz" target="_blank">noted</a> <em>Ha</em><em>aretz'</em>  lead editorial the next day, five minutes after his remarks (Netanyahu) would have convened a press conference, fired the minister in disgrace, and publicly declared (that) people  with such a worldview have no place in the Israeli government." Instead, in Netanyahu's Israel, "the leader of the far right is openly advocating genocide, but there's not one person in the government willing to stand up and say 'enough'." Because, in Netanyahu's Israel, it apparently never is. </p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
  8. <span class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2b126afed7219c40ae6bba79f50e6a5e" style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="auto" lazy-loadable="true" scrolling="no" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9v6F3MLF41g?rel=0" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" width="100%"></iframe></span>
  9. <small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich calls for ‘utter destruction’ in Rafah</small>
  10. <small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">
  11. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9v6F3MLF41g" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
  12. </small>
  13. </p><p>The grisly evidence is everywhere. On Friday, the eldest daughter, two-month-old grandson, and son-in-law of beloved Palestinian <a href="https://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/blog/poetry/bilingual-poem-gaza-refaat-alareer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">poet </a>and <a href="https://wearenotnumbers.org/about/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mentor </a>Refaat Alareer, assassinated last year in a targeted <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/refaat-alareer" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_self">airstrike </a>that also killed his brother, sister, and her four children, were <a href="https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/daughter-of-palestinian-poet-refaat-alareer-killed-in-israeli-airstrike-in-gaza/3203310" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reported</a> killed in another strike in Gaza City. "I have beautiful news for you,"<a href="https://www.democracynow.org/2024/4/30/jehad_refaat" target="_blank"> wrote </a>illustrator Shaima Refaat Alareer to her slain father after giving birth. "Do you know you have just become a grandfather? This is your first grandchild, Abdul Rahman...I never imagined I’d lose you so soon before you got to meet him." Heartbreak upon heartbreak, much like the murder of six-year-old Hind Rajab, who<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/30/nyregion/columb..." target="_blank"> became </a>a symbol of the carnage visited upon Gaza when she called for help - "I'm so scared, please come" - while trapped in a car with dead relatives under Israeli fire; weeks later, her decomposed body was found alongside them and an ambulance crew sent to rescue her, because in Netanyahu's Israel, nothing is still ever enough. "For too long, Palestinians have been lectured about the value of human life and dignity,"<a href="https://afsc.org/news/gaza-after-200-days-genocide..." target="_blank"> says</a> Gazan <em>AFSC </em>worker Yousef Aljamal of the "deafening international silence" on Israel's atrocities, "only to discover that the value of their lives and their dignity are exceptions to the rule."</p><p>Finally, though, the horrors have "struck a chord" on American campuses with the largest student anti-war <a href="https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/2024/05/01/wil..." target="_blank">protests </a>since the end of the Vietnam War. Nationwide, dozens of solidarity encampments have sprung up, from UCLA to New York's NYU and Columbia University, where protesters unfurled a banner <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/columbia-university-protests-negotiations-president-b2536461.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">renaming </a>the historic Hamilton Hall "Hinds Hall,” for Hind Rajab. Insisting they'll  remain "inescapably visible," students cite the hypocrisies and contradictions "between what our governments say they stand for in terms of democracy, human rights, freedom, and (the) actions they are <a href="https://www.facebook.com/reel/731743448867553" target="_blank">supporting </a>in Gaza" - ostensibly promoting human rights but enabling genocide, supporting free speech but siccing violent police on peaceful protests, etc. Some schools - Northwestern, Johns Hopkins - have successfully<a href="https://apnews.com/article/northwestern-students-i..." target="_blank"> negotiated</a> compromises, like agreeing to review college investments in return for limiting protests; laudably - "This is democracy at work" - Brown agreed to a formal divestment vote from Israel. Still, the "unhinged" <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/2/greater-th..." target="_blank">response</a> by many school administrations and riot-geared law enforcement, including a <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/04/07/nypd-strategic-response-unit-george-floyd-protests/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Strategic Response Group</a> meant to combat  public unrest and “counter-terrorism," aka young people opposed to genocide, has been blasted as "an authoritarian escalation."  </p><blockquote class="rm-embed twitter-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1785362914519519597">
  14. <div style="margin:1em 0"></div> —  (@)
  15.        <a href="https://twitter.com/netanyahu/status/1785362914519519597"></a>
  16. </blockquote>
  17. <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p>Speaking of: Netanyahu, meanwhile, clings to the  rabid, rigid rhetoric he's used since Oct. 7, declaiming his "iron-clad determination to achieve the goals of our war" against "an outrageous assault on Israel's inherent right to self-defense" by "barbarians" and "genocidal terrorists," which evidently include newborns, six-year-olds, entire families and thousands of children, journalists, doctors, aid workers and other innocents. Reportedly <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-netanyah..." target="_blank">worried </a>the ICC may soon issue arrest warrants for himself and other Israeli leaders as "war criminals," he's made the "very unusual appeal" to families of the hostages  - whom in his venomous investment in war he's declined to free when he repeatedly could have <a href="https://www.mako.co.il/news-diplomatic/2024_q2/Article-84e20f7e6113f81027.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">- "asking</a>" them to lobby Hague officials not to arrest him. Posting a  surreal speech with, "You have to hear this to believe this," he argues "trying to put Israel in the dock" for genocide would be "an outrage of historic proportions," the "first time a democratic country fighting for its life <em>according to</em><em> the rules of war </em>is itself accused of war crimes," "fueling the fires of anti-Semitism already raging on campuses" and, by targeting "the democracy called Israel, (the) targeting of all democracies" in their fight against "savage terrorism and wanton aggression." Yes: phantasmal pot/kettle. </p><p>As he harangues, lest we forget, the head of UNICEF just <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/unicef-gaza" target="_blank">declared </a>of the harrowing conditions in Gaza, "Nearly all of the some 600,000 children now crammed into Rafah are either injured, sick, malnourished, traumatized, or living with disabilities." A UNICEF spokesperson<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/may/01/rafah-graveyards-children-european-hospital-injured-dying" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> began </a>an op-ed with, "The war against Gaza's children is forcing many to close their eyes. Nine-year-old Mohamed's eyes were forced shut, first by the bandages that covered a gaping hole in the back of his head, and second by the coma caused by the blast that hit his family home. He is nine. Sorry, he was nine. Mohamed is now dead." In central and northern Gaza, surviving Palestinians seeking to return to their homes have <a href="https://www.972mag.com/khan-younis-return-gaza/" target="_blank">found </a>"only ruins, and the smell of death...The streets have turned to sand....It is not fit for life." And still they are terrorized: Rights groups <a href="https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6271/Israeli.." target="_blank">say </a>the IDF is luring returnees into the open with recordings of cries and screams to be shot at by snipers or drones. At <em></em>Nuseirat refugee camp, a 35-year-old "son of this city" found only "mountains of rubble." Yet Gaza, he insists, has <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2024/4/18/photos..." target="_blank">risen </a>before: "I will wait for the water lines to be extended in the area, and I will put up a tent and sleep in it with my children."<a href="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/we-will-teach-o..." target="_blank"> Says </a>another former resident, "We will teach our children in tents, under the sun, and anywhere else."<em></em> </p><p>"What does the liberation of Palestine mean?" <a href="https://theintercept.com/2024/05/01/judith-butler-..." target="_blank">asks </a>philosopher Judith Butler, when "the grief over Jewish lives lost is very often humanized and memorialized in ways that Palestinian deaths are not." Simply, she offers "a vision of cohabitation,"  that Palestinians and Jews and other inhabitants of that land find a way to live together. Either next to each other or with one another, under conditions of radical equality," where occupation is dismantled. As a Jew, she also dismantles the myth that Jews, having suffered genocide, cannot be enacting genocide: "There is nothing that keeps a people who have suffered massively in life from afflicting massive suffering on others...There is nothing in the history of the world that precludes that." Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah, newly installed as Glasgow University Rector, has seen and lived that reality. Except for himself, all his forefathers were born in Palestine, a land given away by Arthur Balfour, a former Glasgow rector who in his 46-word declaration announcing British support for Palestine noted, "A survey of the world (shows) a vast number of savage communities." After a lifetime as a war surgeon, <a href="address." target="_blank">said </a> Abu-Sittah, students at the school once headed by Winnie Mandela reached out to him, and "one of Balfour’s savages" was elected.</p><p>"Students understood what we have to lose when we allow our politics to become inhuman," said Abu-Sittah of what he <a href="https://mondoweiss.net/2024/04/dr-ghassan-abu-sitt..." target="_blank">views</a> as a vote of solidarity with too-long-ignored Palestinian suffering. Citing "the ravening beast" that is "the genocidal erasure of a people," he argued Gaza is the "axis of genocide" by western powers: "The quadcopters and drones fitted with sniper guns - used so efficiently (one) night at Al-Ahli hospital we received over 30 wounded civilians shot outside our hospital - today in Gaza will be used tomorrow in Mumbai, Nairobi and Sao Paulo." For those who have "seen, smelt, and heard what the weapons of war do to a child’s body," have "amputated the unsalvageable limbs of wounded children," have witnessed the "othering" by which many would be horrified by "the barbarity" of Israel killing 14,000 puppies or kittens, but not children - for all those, somehow, he urged hope. "When powerlessness is at its most acute, the determination to think like a human being, creatively, courageously, complicatedly matters the most," he said. "It is your world to fight for. It is your tomorrow to make." Dedicating  his address to dead family and colleagues, "but mostly to our land," he ended with the words of Bobby Sands: "Our revenge will be the laughter of our children."</p>]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 03 May 2024 00:57:03 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/further/a-war-against-humanity-itself-2668123134</guid><dc:creator>Abby Zimet</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/png" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/a-gazan-man-kisses-the-foot-of-his-dead-baby-killed-in-an-israeli-strike.png?id=52158173&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>Sanders Rips Colleagues for Attacking Student Protesters Instead of Netanyahu</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/further/bernie-sanders-college-protest-gaza</link><description><![CDATA[
  18. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/sen-bernie-sanders.png?id=52161029&width=1200&height=400&coordinates=0%2C63%2C0%2C209"/><br/><br/><p><em>Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Wednesday night spoke on the floor of the U.S. Senate about the student protests taking place on college campuses across the country, and the ongoing, horrific humanitarian disaster in Gaza.</em></p><p><em>Sanders’ remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below and can be watched live <a href="https://outreach.senate.gov/iqextranet/iqClickTrk.aspx?&cid=SenSanders&crop=21050.105617524.12567830.731960744&report_id=&redirect=https%3a%2f%2ftwitter.com%2fSenSanders%2fstatus%2f1785799066179297754&redir_log=207553046985348" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>:<br/></em></p><p><br/></p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">LIVE: A reminder to my colleagues about a document called the U.S. Constitution and, specifically, the First Amendment. <a href="https://t.co/yBa9pj9APm">https://t.co/yBa9pj9APm</a><br/>— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenSanders/status/1785799066179297754?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 1, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></div><p>President, some of us have been out of school for awhile and we may have forgotten our American history. But I did want to take a moment to remind some of my colleagues about a document called the U.S. Constitution and, specifically, the First Amendment of that Constitution.</p><p>For those that may have forgotten, here is what the First Amendment says: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.</p><p>Let me also take this opportunity to remember our late colleague, the former congressman John Lewis for his heroic role in the Civil Rights Movement.</p><p>I know it’s very easy to heap praise on Congressman Lewis and many others decades after they did what they did, but, I would remind my colleagues them that Mr. Lewis was arrested 45 times for participating in sit-ins, occupations, and protests – 45 times – for protesting segregation and racism.</p><p>I would also remind my colleagues that the Lunch Counter protest at Woolworths and elsewhere desegregating the South were in fact sit-ins and occupations where young Black and white Americans bravely took up space in private businesses, demanding an end to racism and segregation that existed at that time.</p><p class="pull-quote">I find it incomprehensible that members of Congress are spending their time attacking the protestors rather than the Netanyahu government which brought about these protests and has created this horrific situation.</p><p>Further, as I hope everybody knows, we have also seen in recent decades protests — some of them massive protests — against sexism, homophobia, and the need to transform our energy system away from fossil fuels in order to save this planet.</p><p>In other words, protesting injustice and expressing our opinions is part of our American tradition. And when you talk about America being a free country, whether you like it or not the right to protest is what American freedom is all about. That’s the U.S. constitution.</p><p>And, M. President, let me also remind you: exactly 60 years ago, student demonstrators occupied the exact same building on Columbia’s campus as is taking place right now – ironically, the same building.</p><p>Across the country, students and others, including myself, joined peaceful demonstrations in opposition to the war in Vietnam. Those demonstrators were demanding an end to that War.</p><p>And maybe – just maybe – tens of thousands of American lives and countless Vietnamese lives might have been saved if the Government had listened to those demonstrators.</p><p>And I might also add that the President at that time – a great president — Lyndon Johnson, chose not to run for re-election because of the opposition to him that occurred as a result of his support for that Vietnam War. And further, let us not forget those who demonstrated against the failed wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Maybe those protestors should have been listened to as well.</p><p>Shock of all shocks, government policy is not always right.</p><p>President, I noted recently that a number of my colleagues in both parties, as well as many news reporters, TV, newspapers, are very concerned about the protests and violence we are seeing on campuses across the country.</p><p>So let me be clear: I share those concerns about violence on campuses, or, for that matter, any place else, and I condemn those who threw a brick through a window at Columbia University. That kind of violence should not be taking place on college campuses.</p><p>I am also concerned and condemn about the group of individuals at UCLA in California who violently attacked the peaceful encampment of anti-war demonstrators on the campus of UCLA.</p><p>President, let me be clear: I condemn all forms of violence on campus whether they are committed by people who support Israel’s war efforts or those who oppose those policies.</p><p>And I hope we can also agree that in the United States all forms of bigotry must be condemned and eliminated. We are seeing a growth of antisemitism in this country which we must all condemn and work to stop.</p><p class="pull-quote">To stand up for Palestinian rights and the dignity of the Palestinian people does not make one a supporter of terrorism.</p><p>We are also seeing a growth of Islamophobia in this country which we must all condemn and stop. And in that regard, I would mention that in my very own city of Burlington, Vermont, three wonderful young Palestinian students were shot at close range on November 25th of last year. They were visiting a family member to celebrate Thanksgiving, walking down the street, and they were shot.</p><p>President let make an additional point, I have noted that there is an increasing tendency in the media and on the part of some of my colleagues here in the Senate to use the phrase “Pro-Palestinian” to suggest that that means “Pro-Hamas.”</p><p>To my mind, that is unacceptable and factually inaccurate. The overwhelming majority of American people and protestors understand very well that Hamas is a terrorist organization that started this war by attacking Israel in an incredibly brutal and horrific way on October 7th.</p><p>To stand up for Palestinian rights and the dignity of the Palestinian people does not make one a supporter of terrorism.</p><p>And let me also mention something that I found rather extraordinary and outrageous.</p><p>And that is just a few days ago Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of the right-wing extremist government in Israel, a government which contains out-and-out anti-Palestinian racists.</p><p>Netanyahu issued a statement in which he equated criticism of his government’s illegal and immoral war against the Palestinian people with antisemitism.</p><p>In other words, if you are protesting, or disagree, with what Netanyahu and his extremist government are doing in Gaza, you are an antisemite.</p><p>That is an outrageous statement from a leader who is clearly trying – and I have to tell you, he seems to be succeeding with the American media — trying to deflect attention away from the horrific policies that he is pursuing that created an unprecedented humanitarian disaster.</p><p>So, let me be as clear as I can be: It is not antisemitic or pro-Hamas to point out that in almost seven months Netanyahu’s extremist government has killed 34,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 77,000 – seventy percent of whom are women and children.</p><p>And to protest that or to point that out is not antisemitic. It is simply factual.</p><p>It is not antisemitic to point out that Netanyahu’s government’s bombing has completely destroyed more than 221,000 housing units in Gaza, leaving more than one million people homeless – almost half the population. No, Mr. Netanyahu it is not antisemitic to point out what you have done in terms of the destruction of housing in Gaza.</p><p>It is not antisemitic to realize that his government has annihilated Gaza’s health care system, knocking 26 hospitals out of service and killing more than 400 health care workers. At a time when 77,000 people have been wounded and desperately need medical care, Netanyahu has systematically destroyed the health care system in Gaza.</p><p>It is not antisemitic to condemn his government’s destruction of all of Gaza’s 12 universities and 56 of its schools, with hundreds more damaged, leaving 625,000 children in Gaza have no opportunity for an education. It is not antisemitic to make that point.</p><p>It is not antisemitic to note that Netanyahu’s government has obliterated Gaza’s civilian infrastructure – there is virtually no electricity in Gaza right now, virtually no clean water in Gaza right now, and sewage is seeping out onto the streets.</p><p>It is not antisemitic to make that point.</p><p>President, it is not antisemitic to agree with virtually every humanitarian organization that functions in the Gaza area in saying that his government, in violation of American law, has unreasonably blocked humanitarian aid coming into Gaza.</p><p>They have created the conditions under which hundreds of thousands of children face malnutrition and famine. It is not antisemitic to look at photographs of children who are starving to death because they have not been able to get the food that they need. It is not antisemitic to agree with American and UN officials that parts of Gaza could become famine districts in the not very distant future.</p><p class="pull-quote">It is not antisemitic to agree with virtually every humanitarian organization that functions in the Gaza area in saying that his government, in violation of American law, has unreasonably blocked humanitarian aid coming into Gaza.</p><p>Antisemitism is a vile and disgusting form of bigotry that has done unspeakable harm to many millions of people for hundreds of years, including my own family. But it is outrageous and it is disgraceful to use that charge of antisemitism to distract us from the immoral and illegal war policies that Netanyahu’s extremist and racist government is pursuing.</p><p>Furthermore, it is really cheap politics for Netanyahu to use the charge of antisemitism to deflect attention from the criminal indictment he is facing in the Israeli courts.</p><p>Bottomline, M. President: it is not antisemitic to hold Netanyahu and his government for their actions. That is not antisemitic. It is precisely what we should be doing.</p><p>Because among other things we are the government that has supplied billions and billions of dollars in order for him to continue his horrific war against the Palestinian people.</p><p>President, I would also point out while there has been wall to wall coverage of student protests, I think that’s about all CNN does right now, I should mention that it is not just young people on college campuses that are extremely upset about our Government’s support and funding for this illegal and immoral war.</p><p class="pull-quote">The people of the United States – Democrats, Republicans, and Independents – do not want to be complicit in the starvation of hundreds of thousands of children.</p><p>And I would point out that just last week this Senate voted to give Netanyahu another unfettered $10 billion for his war.</p><p>Let me quote just a few polls:</p><p>April 14 – Politico/Morning Consult: 67% support the United States calling for a ceasefire. This is at a time when Netanyahu is threatening to expand the war into Rafah.</p><p>April 12th – CBS: 60% think the U.S. should not send weapons and supplies to Israel as opposed to 40% who think the U.S. should. And for my Democratic colleagues, those figures are disproportionately higher among Democratic voters.</p><p>April 10th – Economist/YouGov: 37% support decreasing military aid to Israel, just 18% support an increase. Overall 63% support a ceasefire, 15% oppose.</p><p>No, M. President. This is not just protestors on college campuses who are upset about U.S. policy with regards to Israel and Gaza. Increasingly the American people want an end to U.S. complicity in the humanitarian disaster which is taking place in Gaza right now.</p><p>The people of the United States – Democrats, Republicans, and Independents – do not want to be complicit in the starvation of hundreds of thousands of children.</p><p>Maybe, and here’s a very radical idea, maybe it’s time for politicians to listen to the American people. Maybe it’s time to rethink the decision this body recently made to provide Netanyahu another $10 billion dollars in unfettered military aid.</p><p>Maybe it’s time to not simply worry about the violence we are seeing on American campuses, but focus on the unprecedented violence in Gaza which has killed 34,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 77,000 Palestinians – 70% percent of whom are women and children.</p><p>So, I suggest to CNN and some of my colleagues here, take your cameras off of Columbia and UCLA. Maybe go to Gaza and show us the emaciated children who are going to die of malnutrition because of Netanyahu’s policies. Show us the kids who have lost their arms and their legs. Show us the suffering.</p><p>President, let me conclude by saying, I must admit, I find it incomprehensible that members of Congress are spending their time attacking the protestors rather than the Netanyahu government which brought about these protests and has created this horrific situation.</p><p>Thank you and I yield.</p>]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 02 May 2024 16:38:07 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/further/bernie-sanders-college-protest-gaza</guid><category>Campus protest</category><category>Education</category><category>First amendment</category><category>Gaza</category><category>Human rights</category><category>Israel</category><category>Us senate</category><category>Bernie sanders</category><dc:creator>Bernie Sanders</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/png" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/sen-bernie-sanders.png?id=52161029&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>Friends of the Earth Statement on House Republican and Senate Democrat Farm Bill Proposals</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/friends-of-the-earth-statement-on-house-republican-and-senate-democrat-farm-bill-proposals</link><description><![CDATA[
  19. <p>After months of delay, House Republicans and Senate Democrats unveiled dueling Farm Bill priorities today. The House’s bill slashes nutrition programs and climate-focused conservation funding in order to boost commodity crop production. It also includes the EATS Act, which is opposed by 200 Members of Congress and more than <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eQgmpVGKskImh1NlPukUXDO76DS55CaJ/edit" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">150 organizations</a>. The EATS Act could wipe out many existing states’ environmental, health and safety laws related to agriculture, effectively overturning a Supreme Court ruling to uphold California’s Proposition 12, which bans extreme forms of animal confinement.  </p><p>In contrast, the Senate’s Farm Bill summary provides a starting point to advance a more just, healthy and sustainable food system by protecting nutrition programs, investing in popular conservation programs, and recognizing procurement as a critical lever to improve the food system. </p><p>In response, <strong>Friends of the Earth’s senior program manager Chloe Waterman</strong> issued the following statement: </p><p>House Republicans have proposed a dead-on-arrival Farm Bill framework that puts Big Ag’s profits over everyone else: communities, family farmers, consumers, states and local rule, farmed animals, and the planet. Senate Democrats are off to a much better start than the House, but they have also fallen short by failing to shift subsidies and other support away from factory farming and pesticide-intensive commodities toward diversified, regenerative, and climate-friendly farming systems. We are particularly concerned that millions of dollars intended for climate mitigation  will continue to be funneled to factory farms, including to support greenwashed factory farm gas.</p><p>Friends of the Earth recently published a report, <a href="https://foe.org/resources/biogas-or-bull/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Biogas or Bull****?: The False Promise of Manure Biogas as a Methane Solution</em></a>, that documents ways in which manure biogas production undermines environmental justice and exacerbates industry consolidation – for methane reduction benefits that are overstated by the U.S. government, inadequately tracked, and insufficient to meet global methane targets. <br/></p>]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2024 20:17:30 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/friends-of-the-earth-statement-on-house-republican-and-senate-democrat-farm-bill-proposals</guid><dc:creator>Newswire Editor</dc:creator></item><item><title>House Republicans Establish Dangerous Farm Bill Priorities</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/house-republicans-establish-dangerous-farm-bill-priorities</link><description><![CDATA[
  20. <p>Under fire for unreasonable delay, <a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.gqh-2BaxUzlo7XKIuSly0rC-2FaE6Ay7i6gEQiUnI2PHLuyTWzaOPuVHBiAHDFnQOS78r-2BdaaAgOHP-2FGRvMrC6gSWXQLKa0As03SCLx2KZDY3SU-3DVJ4t_ciJuXYfraQrmEXzxHGEcWNeiZKy7tdzQawxB4GG8-2FLPyhKWA4iiF6MSH6OJ2-2BUNtBAHsM9WPS35FVKJVmFTjWyHSaOL27U9S6E5zTalhKvAVMWcnTRFpywm6mgn7DRrKdD-2B1vqGam165pJYH3Nrz6XfOx8Pl4ouvD1HqnS5RUJVbQo5N-2F99dOblVDPDl80XvR-2B7L8IvlzexPMROggt-2BOF-2BTrCrhWt07ZZzsylL8N7-2FnRjdY6AJxykamLCBOOAwT0J-2FFWal0lXzYbJSwVndNzJS6Fg2EBZ0lCjNX1X5pxmyBDTqgjIjWAkTf8-2B0O2qqliXdrqXCZVZWNPCOkFS0SzfbjWuJ1iMf-2BrhdXOJQQxzOQ-3D" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">House Republicans</a> and <a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.gqh-2BaxUzlo7XKIuSly0rC4f4y5OQ-2BUEDgI9kW-2BacEWQrRFQ6OIL9M4kjFDgsaLOCpTUktu09tTPgwnqRjqpYuQ4PYy-2F0HqAlm4PxNUt-2BQvc86-2BZaqh0C1W775G9SfflNHNhSrcAar5B8eg6z9r5WWN0b6Hqzts4ebNaL6SpTMR9e2AvkL9b5UGFhjVtFWU5hS7ye_ciJuXYfraQrmEXzxHGEcWNeiZKy7tdzQawxB4GG8-2FLPyhKWA4iiF6MSH6OJ2-2BUNtBAHsM9WPS35FVKJVmFTjWyHSaOL27U9S6E5zTalhKvAVMWcnTRFpywm6mgn7DRrKdD-2B1vqGam165pJYH3Nrz6XfOx8Pl4ouvD1HqnS5RUJVbQo5N-2F99dOblVDPDl80XvR-2B7L8IvlzexPMROggt-2BOF4iZLbjPDTh2LRscoPxNva3Rzs9pOIzpH70LR4MpOq23xCXDrHHR4q3XCOxrW7wwMe2BhTGe0zsgl-2Fj0AZrBuUBE3VA1L80vWlpjoHSTkalLNZAK10uS1zxK8KlPXpdvlOQhPSja4fQlo2xGLttMptk-3D" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Senate Democrats</a> released Farm Bill priorities today, teeing up lengthy debate on the seminal food and agriculture legislative package that is already months overdue. </p><p>Early reporting suggests House Republican support for a number of priorities that put Big Ag profits over people, including The EATS Act, which would preempt state regulation of the factory farm and agribusiness industry, effectively reversing a Supreme Court ruling to uphold California’s Proposition 12 last year, widely celebrated as a victory against the worst factory farm abuses.</p><p>In response, <strong>Food & Water Watch Senior Food Policy Analyst Rebecca Wolf</strong> issued the following statement:</p><p>“Despicable ploys to undermine critical consumer and animal welfare protections must be dead on arrival. America’s farmers and consumers need forward-looking policies that build a sustainable, resilient and fair food system. Instead, House leadership seems poised to take us backwards, trading state-level gains for a few more bucks in the pockets of corporate donors. Congress must move beyond partisan bickering, and get to work on a Farm Bill that cuts handouts to Big Ag and factory farms.”</p>]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2024 16:33:14 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/house-republicans-establish-dangerous-farm-bill-priorities</guid><dc:creator>Newswire Editor</dc:creator></item><item><title>Biden’s DEA Proposes to Reschedule Marijuana Rather than Decriminalize It, Advocates Say Marijuana Must Be Descheduled</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/bidens-dea-proposes-to-reschedule-marijuana-rather-than-decriminalize-it-advocates-say-marijuana-must-be-descheduled</link><description><![CDATA[
  21. <p>Today, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/marijuana-biden-dea-criminal-justice-pot-f833a8dae6ceb31a8658a5d65832a3b8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the Associated Press reported</a> that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is proposing rescheduling marijuana from a Schedule I drug, the most restrictive class, to a Schedule III drug, a less restrictive class. Under this proposed shift, marijuana criminalization would continue at the federal level and most penalties, including those for simple possession, would continue as long as marijuana remains anywhere on the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). On the 2020 campaign trail, then-candidate <a href="https://youtu.be/V7nQiUl6Iqw?si=_tcqOpZjwd-2XKVX" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Biden repeatedly pledged to decriminalize marijuana</a> and expunge related criminal records – identifying these issues as <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20201102170158/https:/joebiden.com/blackamerica/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">barriers to racial equity</a>. However, the DEA’s proposal would leave most of the harms and racial disparities associated with criminalization unaddressed. </p><p>“Supporting federal marijuana decriminalization means supporting the removal of marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, not changing its scheduling” said <strong><a href="https://drugpolicy.org/person/cat-packer/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Cat Packer</a>, Director of Drug Markets and Legal Regulation</strong>. “We all deserve a federal framework for marijuana that upholds the health, wellbeing, and safety of our communities – particularly Black communities who have borne the brunt of our country’s racist enforcement of marijuana laws. Rescheduling marijuana is not a policy solution for federal marijuana criminalization or its harms, and it won’t address the disproportionate impact that it has had on Black and Brown communities.”</p><p><strong>Packer</strong> continued: “The individuals, families and communities adversely impacted by federal marijuana criminalization deserve more. Workers in the marijuana industry, people who use marijuana, all of us deserve more. Congress and the Biden Administration have a responsibility to take actions now to bring about marijuana reform that meaningfully improves the lives of people who have been harmed by decades of criminalization. Descheduling and legalizing marijuana the right way isn’t just good policy, it’s popular with voters, too.”</p><p>A majority of American voters support marijuana legalization and comprehensive reform, according to a <a href="https://www.filesforprogress.org/memos/case-for-comprehensive-marijuana-reform.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Data for Progress poll.</a> Policymakers, health professionals and criminal justice advocates agree that marijuana must be removed from the CSA and coupled with comprehensive Congressional legislative reform to address racial disparities, reduce harm, and move toward a federal marijuana policy and regulatory framework that benefits all communities. <a href="https://drugpolicy.org/news/drug-policy-alliance-commends-congressional-marijuana-reform-champions-for-supporting-descheduling/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Descheduling has also amassed significant support in Congress</a>, with <strong>Representatives Blumenauer (D-OR)</strong>, <strong>Joyce (R-OH)</strong>, <strong>Lee (D-CA)</strong>, and <strong>Mast (R-FL) </strong>leading their Congressional colleagues in two letters (in <a href="https://blumenauer.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/blumenauer.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2022-12-22-letter-urging-recognition-of-merits-of-descheduling-1_0.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">December 2022</a> and <a href="https://blumenauer.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/blumenauer.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2023-10-27-dea-letter-on-scheduling-review.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">October 2023</a>) to the DEA calling for descheduling marijuana, and <strong>Senator Warren (D-MA)</strong> leading eleven of her colleagues, including <strong>Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-OH)</strong>, <a href="https://www.warren.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2024.01.29%20Letter%20to%20DEA%20on%20descheduling%20marijuana.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">urging President Biden’s Administration to remove marijuana from the CSA</a>.</p><p>The Drug Policy Alliance and its coalition partners at <a href="https://www.decriminalizemarijuana.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">United for Marijuana Decriminalization (UMD)</a> plan to launch an ambitious outreach effort to encourage community members to tell President Biden and the DEA that marijuana must be descheduled once the public comment period is open. Members of the public will be able to submit comments in support of descheduling in response to the DEA’s proposal through a simple online form. During the brief, time-limited public comment period, UMD aims to solicit a historic number of public comments through extensive outreach to stakeholders, particularly those who have been harmed by marijuana criminalization, inviting participation in the public process and emphasizing the need for marijuana descheduling.</p><p>To end federal marijuana criminalization and create marijuana laws grounded in health, safety, and racial equity, the Drug Policy Alliance, fellow advocates, and Congressional leaders are calling on the DEA to deschedule marijuana by fully removing it from the CSA. While descheduling is critical to eliminating the ongoing harms of federal criminalization, marijuana reform can also take place through Executive Orders and Congressional legislation. President Biden can come closer to fulfilling his promise to end marijuana criminalization by taking immediate action to mitigate the harms of marijuana prohibition in people’s lives.</p><p>Additionally, Congressional legislation should provide relief from previous marijuana convictions, restore rights and benefits to people impacted by marijuana criminalization, reinvest in communities disproportionately harmed by criminal enforcement. Additionally, Congressional legislation should create a regulatory framework rooted in equity that prioritizes public health, workplace safety, and fair economic opportunities for small businesses. The House of Representatives has twice passed the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, a comprehensive descheduling bill with extensive criminal justice reform and community reinvestment. In 2022, the Senate introduced the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA), the most comprehensive Congressional descheduling bill to date.</p><p><strong>Rep. Barbara Lee (CA):</strong></p><p>“While the rescheduling of marijuana is a historic step in the right direction, anything short of descheduling falls woefully short of remedying the harms of the current system and the failed racist War on Drugs,” said Rep. Lee. “Rescheduling would allow for the criminal penalties for recreational and medical marijuana use to continue – disproportionately impacting Black and Brown communities. The criminalization of marijuana is also increasingly out of step with state law and public opinion. We need full descheduling and to pass the MORE Act – which I proudly co-lead – as a solution for equitable comprehensive marijuana reform rooted in racial and restorative justice.”</p><p><strong>Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (NY):</strong><em> </em></p><p>“Descheduling marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act is not just a social justice issue; it’s an economic, medical, and public safety issue. Since marijuana was classified as a Schedule I substance during the war on drugs, countless lives have been torn apart, and individuals in primarily Black and brown communities have been targeted for nonviolent cannabis-related offenses,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Studies show that legalizing marijuana could help reduce violence in international drug trafficking and generate billions of dollars for the economy. The vast majority of Americans agree that marijuana should be legalized – that’s why I’m calling on the Attorney General and the Drug Enforcement Administration to swiftly deschedule marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act.”<em> </em></p><p><strong>Rep. Jerry Nadler (NY):</strong></p><p>“While rescheduling marijuana is an important step, we must go further. It is time to end the prohibition and criminalization of marijuana at the federal level. That’s why I have introduced the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, or the MORE Act, which would not only decriminalize marijuana under federal law, but it would also expunge federal marijuana convictions and encourage states to do the same. The bill would also establish a fund to support programs assisting those communities who were most directly harmed by the War on Drugs and ensure that they have equal access to the benefits of decriminalization.”</p><p><strong>Amber Senter, Co-Founder, Board Chair, and Executive Director, Supernova Women:</strong></p><p>“There’s no doubt that the United States government recognizing cannabis has medicinal benefits is anything short of historic. Advocates have worked tirelessly for decades to reach this moment, banding together as patients, caregivers, social justice activists, and community members. However rescheduling cannabis to Schedule 3 is not enough. People will continue to be criminalized and punished for possessing and consuming cannabis, risking employment, housing, benefits and more. Workers in the cannabis industry will run the risk of federal prosecution for simply going to work and trying to provide for themselves and their families. Patients using cannabis as medicine through legal or state medical programs will also run the risk of federal criminalization by simply choosing a less harmful way to cope with pain from debilitating medical conditions. The war on drugs will continue to rage on, destroying lives and families as it’s done for decades. As a business owner in cannabis, I recognize the much-needed tax relief that rescheduling cannabis to Schedule 3 will bring. However, we cannot continue to allow some to capitalize from cannabis while others, primarily black and brown people, continue to be punished with their lives ruined. We must deschedule cannabis and stop criminalization for a medically beneficial plant.”</p><p><strong>Chelsea Higgs Wise, Executive Director, Marijuana Justice:</strong></p><p>“Since prohibiting marijuana there has been a targeted enforcement that has left communities of color disproportionately harmed at the individual, familial and community level. Rescheduling only brings benefits to businesses through tax relief, while our loved ones are left with the guarantee of repetitive surveillance, imprisonment, and collateral consequences. Any federal reform must directly address the disproportionate enforcement Black families continue to face. Presidential pardons are important but for true repair, we must continue to demand for marijuana to be descheduled along with people released and records expunged.”</p><p><strong>Michelle Rutter Friberg, Director of Government Affairs, National Cannabis Industry Association: </strong></p><p>“While rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III will undoubtedly provide much needed tax relief to cannabis businesses, the Biden Administration and Congress must act to deschedule marijuana and remove it from the Controlled Substances Act entirely. Only descheduling marijuana will harmonize federal law with the 37 states with some form of legal cannabis commerce, allow for the implementation of sensible regulations on hemp and marijuana derived products, and create a level playing field for small and minority owned businesses in the industry.”</p><p><strong>Dr. Rachel Knox, MD, MBA, Board Chair, Association for Cannabis Health Equity and Medine (ACHEM): </strong></p><p>“Cannabis must be removed from the Controlled Substances Act. From inception, its scheduling has been public health enemy #1, as it has underpinned decades of racist and classist provocation, perpetuating systemic harms directly linked to generational poverty and escalating health disparities in marginalized communities. Rescheduling does nothing to unravel this framework and, in fact, will allow it to continue unchecked. The only remedy to this chronic threat is descheduling, the swift overhaul of discriminatory cannabis policies across all sectors, and thoughtful regulation of diverse cannabis markets with standards rooted in science and social justice.”</p><p><strong>Lt. Diane Goldstein (Ret.), Executive Director, Law Enforcement Action Partnership</strong>:</p><p>“As the failed policies of marijuana prohibition continue to drag on and waste law enforcement resources, the DEA’s move to reschedule marijuana to a less restrictive class would simply not go far enough,” she said. “It would not end federal marijuana criminalization and would do little to rectify the harms of the current system, in which an arrest record can lead to fewer employment opportunities, limited housing options, and obstacles to obtaining loans, all of which make people more, not less, disposed to crime and further drug use. The only way to end this unnecessary criminalization and its harms is to completely remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act.”</p><p><strong>Dasheeda Dawson, Chair, Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition and Founding Director, Cannabis NYC: </strong></p><p>“The time for descheduling cannabis is not just a matter of policy; it’s an imperative for justice and equity. Rescheduling would undermine the hard-fought progress made by cannabis equity and policy reform leaders like the Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition, jeopardizing the livelihoods and futures of those entrepreneurs and communities disproportionately affected by past criminalization. We cannot afford to backtrack on our commitment to repair the harm inflicted by outdated policies. Descheduling is not just about legality; it’s about rectifying historic injustices and ensuring a fair and inclusive future for all.”</p><p><strong>Weldon Angelos, President & Co-Founder, The Weldon Project:</strong></p><p>”As an advocate for ending federal marijuana prohibition, I acknowledge that the DEA’s decision to reschedule marijuana as a Schedule 3 substance is a significant step – but it’s far from the inevitable ultimate destination where marijuana is no longer treated as contraband in America’s failed war on drugs. Only the complete descheduling of marijuana will begin to dismantle the barriers of a nationwide criminal ban and ensure that no further damage is inflicted after decades of misguided federal policies. As we navigate this pivotal moment, our actions must be bold and unequivocal to ensure justice and equity for all those who have suffered under the weight of prohibition. If our ultimate goals are to liberate and restore American communities, now is not the time to settle for half measures or, worse yet, to declare victory and pretend like everything’s been solved. It hasn’t.”</p><p><strong>Background</strong><strong>:</strong></p><p>38 states have laws that allow for medical cannabis use and 24 states have laws that allow for adult recreational cannabis use. Despite these reforms at the state level – as long as marijuana is a scheduled substance under the CSA, the repercussions of federal marijuana criminalization will continue – even for conduct that is authorized under state law. Individuals could still face criminal penalties, including mandatory minimum sentences, for personal use and distribution. Additionally, under a Schedule III classification, people with marijuana-related convictions could still lose access to federal housing and food benefits, or even face deportation. <a href="https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/publications/marijuanareport_03232021.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">According to the ACLU</a>, over 80% of people sentenced for federal marijuana charges were Black or Latino. This is a clear indication that maintaining federal criminalization in any form will perpetuate racially discriminatory policing and enforcement.</p><p><a href="https://drugpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/DPA-BidenReschedulingMarijuana_InDesign-Interactive.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Learn more about federal marijuana scheduling here.</em></a></p>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 19:12:01 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/bidens-dea-proposes-to-reschedule-marijuana-rather-than-decriminalize-it-advocates-say-marijuana-must-be-descheduled</guid><dc:creator>Newswire Editor</dc:creator></item><item><title>Sanders Responds to FTC’s Efforts to Target ‘Junk’ Ozempic Patents</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/sanders-responds-to-ftcs-efforts-to-target-junk-ozempic-patents</link><description><![CDATA[
  22. <p><em>Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today released the following statement after Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan announced that the FTC is taking action against the bogus patents Novo Nordisk filed to keep the outrageous price of Ozempic artificially high:</em></p><p>Let me commend the Federal Trade Commission, under the leadership of Chair Lina Khan, for taking bold action today against the bogus patents Novo Nordisk has filed to prevent Americans struggling with diabetes from receiving a generic version of Ozempic at a much lower price.</p><p>Novo Nordisk must not be allowed to make billions in profits by delaying generic competition for Ozempic by unlawfully filing junk patents that have nothing to do with the drug itself, but the injection pen.</p><p>Last week, the HELP Committee, that I chair, <a href="https://outreach.senate.gov/iqextranet/iqClickTrk.aspx?&cid=SenSanders&crop=0000.0000.0000.0000&report_id=&redirect=https%3a%2f%2fwww.sanders.senate.gov%2fpress-releases%2fnews-chairman-sanders-launches-investigation-into-outrageously-high-price-of-ozempic-and-wegovy-in-the-united-states%2f&redir_log=186939377651146" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">launched an investigation</a> into the outrageously high prices Novo Nordisk is charging for Ozempic and Wegovy in the United States. In my view, we can no longer tolerate Novo Nordisk charging the American people $969 for Ozempic when that same exact drug can be purchased for just $155 in Canada and $59 in Germany while it costs less than $5 to manufacture.</p><p>I look forward to working with the Biden administration to take on the greed of Novo Nordisk and substantially reduce the price of Ozempic and other prescription drugs.</p>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 19:03:12 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/sanders-responds-to-ftcs-efforts-to-target-junk-ozempic-patents</guid><dc:creator>Newswire Editor</dc:creator></item><item><title>FTC Right to Challenge Junk Patent Listings</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/ftc-right-to-challenge-junk-patent-listings</link><description><![CDATA[
  23. <p>Today, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/04/ftc-expands-patent-listing-challenges-targeting-more-300-junk-listings-diabetes-weight-loss-asthma" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">sent warning letters</a> to 10 drug manufacturers challenging the “junk listings” of more than 300 patents in the FDA Orange Book for medicines treating diabetes, weight loss, asthma, and COPD. These letters follow FTC challenges to improper Orange Book patent listings <a href="https://www.citizen.org/news/ftc-issues-orange-book-warnings-on-over-100-drug-patents/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">last November</a>, which were followed by companies delisting several of the challenged patents. <strong>Public Citizen’s Access to Medicines program advocate, Steve Knievel, issued the following statement: </strong> </p><p>“It’s becoming harder for drug corporations to use patent shenanigans to thwart competition, thanks to the FTC and Chair Lina Khan.</p><p>“Improperly listing patents in the FDA Orange Book stymies generic competition which is <a href="https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/center-drug-evaluation-and-research-cder/generic-competition-and-drug-prices" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">proven to dramatically lower</a>prescription drug prices, saving patients and the public billions of dollars.</p><p>“Today’s letter is yet another demonstration from the Biden-Harris administration that Big Pharma business-as-usual monopoly abuses and price gouging will not be tolerated. The FDA should supplement FTC’s action by <a href="https://www.warren.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2023.08.28%20Letter%20to%20FDA%20re%20drug%20patents.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">clarifying guidelines</a> for patents that can be listed in the Orange Book, as called for by Sen. Warren and Rep. Jayapal. The government should also explore using <a href="https://www.warren.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2022.4.20%20Letter%20to%20Warren%20on%20Drug%20Pricing%20Executive%20Authorities.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">licensing authorities</a> to overcome pharmaceutical monopoly abuses, leaving no option off the table.”</p>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 18:44:35 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/ftc-right-to-challenge-junk-patent-listings</guid><dc:creator>Newswire Editor</dc:creator></item><item><title>G7 Fail First Post COP28 Fossil Fuel Test</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/g7-fail-first-post-cop28-fossil-fuel-test</link><description><![CDATA[
  24. <p>Today G7 climate, environment and energy ministers released a joint <a href="https://priceofoil.org/content/uploads/2024/04/G7-Climate-Energy-Environment-Ministerial-Communique_Final.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">communique</a> that falls short of carrying forward the ambition of the COP28 agreement to transition away from fossil fuels. </p><p>G7 countries represent 27% of global oil and gas production, and are responsible for nearly 48% of CO2 from <em>new</em> oil and gas production. </p><p><a href="https://energyfinance.org/#/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Oil Change International data</a> shows between 2020 and 2022, the G7 provided USD $25.7 billion a year in international public finance for fossil fuels, compared to USD $10.3 billion for clean energy. Today’s communique reaffirmed the G7’s agreement to end this finance, but with no clear timeline.</p><p>This year’s G7 negotiations are at a historic time for climate politics. It is the first opportunity to reflect the landmark agreement from COP28 to phase out fossil fuels, and the last time the group of countries will meet before agreeing to a new climate finance goal and submitting updated climate plans to 2035. This is the last chance for this group of rich countries to align their plans with the agreed 1.5°C limit.</p><p><strong>In response, Romain Ioualalen, Oil Change International Global Policy Campaign Manager, said:<br/> </strong>“This was the first opportunity for the G7 to show they were taking the COP28 agreement seriously. They have failed. </p><p>“The G7 are falling far short of what’s needed to implement the COP28 agreement to phase out fossil fuels. They are not just delaying taking climate action – they are actively blocking a fair, fast, full, and funded phase out of fossil fuels. These leaders cannot say they’re committed to a livable climate, while slow walking coal phase out, endorsing expansion of fossil gas, failing to pledge new climate finance.</p><p>“While the G7 focuses on coal, it conveniently omits to stress that limiting warming to 1.5°C means they also need to end fossil fuel expansion at home, going fastest in phasing out existing production. They must end the billions of dollars in taxpayer finance still flowing to fossil fuel projects abroad and fund the buildout of affordable renewable energy on fair terms. If their oil and gas expansion plans are allowed to proceed, it would lock in climate chaos and an unlivable future.</p><p>Makiko Arima, Senior Finance Campaigner at Oil Change International said:<br/> “At a time when we need to phase out fossil fuels, Japan is driving gas expansion across Asia and globally. Last month, Japan approved over $2.7 billion dollars in financing for new gas projects in Vietnam, Australia and Mexico, breaking its G7 promise to end public finance for overseas fossil fuel projects. Japan is especially active in promoting gas in Asia through the Asia Zero Emissions Community initiative, which is just greenwashing designed to benefit Japanese corporate interests. Committing to phase out coal is a step in the right direction, but the phase out must include technologies like co-firing ammonia at coal plants that prolong the use of coal, as well as other fossil fuels like gas to ensure it is 1.5 degree-aligned.”</p>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 18:01:17 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/g7-fail-first-post-cop28-fossil-fuel-test</guid><dc:creator>Newswire Editor</dc:creator></item><item><title>Global: G7’s coal power phase out must come faster to protect people on the frontline of the climate crisis</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/global-g7s-coal-power-phase-out-must-come-faster-to-protect-people-on-the-frontline-of-the-climate-crisis</link><description><![CDATA[
  25. <p>Responding to an agreement reached by G7 member states today to phase out all unabated coal-fired electricity generation in the first half of the 2030s, Candy Ofime, Amnesty International’s Climate Justice Researcher, said:</p><p>“This is not the goal for coal we need and it will not deliver climate justice. Commitments put forward by G7 members – which have burnt coal for power for more than a century – to stop using this pollutant by 2035 are simply too late and weakened by unacceptable caveats.</p><p>“The end of coal power generation cannot come soon enough for those experiencing the worst effects of the climate crisis. Coal is one of the dirtiest energy sources and its burning has immense health impacts, particularly in lower income countries and among marginalized, often racialized, frontline communities globally.</p> <blockquote>The end of coal power generation cannot come soon enough for those experiencing the worst effects of the climate crisis. —<cite>Candy Ofime, Amnesty International’s Climate Justice Researcher</cite></blockquote> <p>“Protection of human rights requires an urgent, <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/pol30/7382/2023/en/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">full, fair and funded phase out of all fossil fuels</a>. A just and equitable phase out means ending financing for coal production and coal energy everywhere. The rights of workers in the coal industry must be protected during this transition.</p><p>“There appears to be no curb in this deal on the use of coal for steel production, which accounts for about 30% of coal consumption, and the commitment to phase out just so-called ‘unabated’ coal is misleading. Abatement relies on the use of carbon capture and storage, and other technologies <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/environment/2023/10/22/resources/ammonia-cofiring-issues/#:~:text=In%20Japan%2C%20PM2.,12%25%20of%20the%20country%27s%20PM2." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">such as ammonia and hydrogen co-firing with coal</a>, which are unproven at scale and can come with other risks. Coal pollution cannot be adequately abated, and harms health and the climate whenever it is used.</p><p>“This deal must not encourage an uptake of so-called natural gas, which is mostly methane, as an energy alternative. Its exploitation is increasingly associated with releases of this hugely potent greenhouse gas, which is a major contributor to global warming.</p><p>“As the world’s highest income countries, and among those most responsible for greenhouse gas emissions, G7 states have the greatest responsibility to help lower income states to move away from all fossil fuels.”</p>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 17:59:43 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/global-g7s-coal-power-phase-out-must-come-faster-to-protect-people-on-the-frontline-of-the-climate-crisis</guid><dc:creator>Newswire Editor</dc:creator></item><item><title>Medea Benjamin Arrested for Disrupting “Defense” Secretary Austin in House Armed Services Committee Hearing</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/medea-benjamin-arrested-for-disrupting-defense-secretary-austin-in-house-armed-services-committee-hearing</link><description><![CDATA[
  26. <p>Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODEPINK, was arrested this morning for disrupting testimony from Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on the 2025 budget request.</p><p>During the hearing, Benjamin voiced her opposition to the United State’s support for the genocide in Gaza, calling it illegal, immoral, and disgraceful. She directly confronted Secretary Austin, emphasizing the global scrutiny on the actions in Gaza and condemning the shipment of weapons that violates US and international laws, as well as basic principles of decency.</p><p>"The whole world is watching what we are doing in Gaza right now. Secretary General, you are supporting a genocide,” Benjamin shouted. </p><p>While being arrested, Benjamin highlighted the urgency of speaking out against this genocide, donning a T-shirt “Another Jew That Speaks Out Against Genocide” she drew attention to the allocation of billions of dollars for Israel, urging for a redirection of resources towards humanitarian efforts.</p><p><a href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=u001.XpcZ5DH9GewFQumJB1m3rti0ta8svz4CB-2F-2FkgpHt2xAPozaiQ9om16yjTmcRHH3OKtEVELAZdSz63hoiOp2VLA-3D-3Dob6d_uG4mCQLB9tukhJpN14mwsxlVU8FJaLnYeyjVw7PcNdGSPMJd0VFUKC4VarEz3-2FUMLCQbmB7rg9C2dA3sDM8Fo3AZCU-2Fr2y4hwmM-2BierL-2F8DNpuc9w8RMF9tAR4kkUcdaag143VYmzLwrHnd8WG9Ly5IO0yvyHzUUkWN804ouflXSK2BDO0AvzFifi9lK-2B4MLT9xq5tlIAmGgX4RKoqPHHwDNTlXBtvr1gApe-2FlKb4zKePpv1nVkJUmJtzR8xzedM1iSR3EEjMCMvM6o1CsyNIlPiZWCzUfKL6uWxNnYYi-2BLLdmpxcgUTszjYzEBTp3nwtOfefu5y-2FnAaSY4-2F0wLCCn6ja0IM9HcH5tD0PeG3rAysyMb9zOCeTK-2BJXfe5HemY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">View Video of Disruption and Arrest Here.</a></p><p>Despite facing arrests activists and state-sanctioned violence students, peace activists, and constituents across the country will continue to do everything in their power to stop the genocide in Gaza, end the occupation of Palestine, and cease U.S. military and financial support of Israel’s war crimes. <br/></p>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 17:56:19 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/medea-benjamin-arrested-for-disrupting-defense-secretary-austin-in-house-armed-services-committee-hearing</guid><dc:creator>Newswire Editor</dc:creator></item><item><title>Reproductive Freedom for All Condemns Trump’s Call To Prosecute and Punish Women for An Abortion</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/reproductive-freedom-for-all-condemns-trumps-call-to-prosecute-and-punish-women-for-an-abortion</link><description><![CDATA[
  27. <p>In a newly released interview with <a href="https://time.com/6972021/donald-trump-2024-election-interview/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">TIME</a>, Donald Trump doubled down on his extremist anti-abortion policies. Trump endorsed punishing women who get an abortion and allowing states to monitor women’s pregnancies and prosecute women who get an abortion. Trump also left the door open to signing legislation that could ban IVF and stood with extremist anti-abortion activists who want to ban medication abortion nationwide. </p><p><strong>Reproductive Freedom for All President and CEO Mini Timmaraju</strong> released the following statement in response:</p><p>“There is zero doubt in my mind that Trump will choose anti-abortion extremists and their horrifying agenda over American families every single chance he gets, and this new interview proves that he will ban abortion in all 50 states. It’s imperative that we double down on our mission to reelect the Biden-Harris ticket and deliver Congressional majorities to lock our right to abortion care into federal law.”</p>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 17:45:23 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/reproductive-freedom-for-all-condemns-trumps-call-to-prosecute-and-punish-women-for-an-abortion</guid><dc:creator>Newswire Editor</dc:creator></item><item><title>White House NEPA Rule is an Important Step Toward a Just Clean Energy Future</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/white-house-nepa-rule-is-an-important-step-toward-a-just-clean-energy-future</link><description><![CDATA[
  28. <p>Today, the Biden administration’s White House Council on Environmental Quality released a final rule guiding federal decision making under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). </p><p>This rulemaking, which was <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2022/04/biden-administration-restores-bedrock-environmental-protection" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">initiated </a>with Phase 1 in 2022, reverses Trump-era attacks on the bedrock environmental protection, as well as ensuring reviews fully and accurately consider the direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of proposed projects and that affected communities are consulted as early as possible. </p><p><strong>In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous released the following statement: </strong></p><p>“This rule is yet another reminder that we do not have to choose between environmental justice and meeting our energy needs. Through this commonsense reform, we can unlock the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act and bring abundant clean energy resources online without sacrificing communities or rubber-stamping more fossil fuels. We applaud the Biden administration for taking this important step toward ensuring certainty, efficiency, and transparency in the federal environmental review process.” <br/></p>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 17:32:41 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/white-house-nepa-rule-is-an-important-step-toward-a-just-clean-energy-future</guid><dc:creator>Newswire Editor</dc:creator></item><item><title>Friends of the Earth Celebrates Final Federal Rule Revamping NEPA, Environmental Protections</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/friends-of-the-earth-celebrates-final-federal-rule-revamping-nepa-environmental-protections</link><description><![CDATA[
  29. <p>Today, the White House Council on Environmental Quality announced its final rule reinstating 2020 rollbacks to the National Environmental Policy Act. The rule will officially restore past gutting of the nation’s bedrock environmental protection law, as well as add climate change and environmental justice as factors that should formally be considered by federal agencies when implementing NEPA review.  </p><p>CEQ’s announcement is the direct result of a 2020 <a href="https://foe.org/news/friends-of-the-earth-joins-a-nationwide-coalition-suit-to-defend-nepa/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">lawsuit filed</a> filed by a coalition of organizations, including Friends of the Earth, which challenged the Trump Administration’s <a href="https://foeaction.org/news/trump-attempts-gut-nepa/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">attacks</a> on NEPA. The litigation has been stayed pending CEQ’s restoration efforts. The 2020 attacks on NEPA attempted to exempt dirty energy projects from basic environmental reviews and silence public input. Today’s rule completes CEQ’s two-phase approach to undoing these unlawful rollbacks. </p><p><strong>Hallie Templeton, legal director for Friends of the Earth, issued the following statement: </strong></p><p>We commend CEQ for taking long-overdue actions to strengthen and restore NEPA, our nation’s most crucial environmental protection law. This marks a victory in our years-long litigation to reverse the rollbacks and benefits frontline communities who rely on NEPA for a voice in the permitting process and for transparency around our government’s activities. While much more must be done to shore up our nation’s environmental and environmental justice laws, this is a certain step in the right direction for safeguarding people and the planet. </p><p>CEQ <a href="https://foe.org/news/revamp-environmental-policy/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">issued</a> its draft Phase 2 rule in Aug. 2023, the final publication of which completes a 2-phase approach to reinstating and strengthening NEPA. CEQ published the Phase 1 rule in April 2022. Plaintiffs in the litigation are reviewing the rule and determining next steps for their lawsuit over the unlawful 2020 rollbacks.<br/></p>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 17:31:46 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/friends-of-the-earth-celebrates-final-federal-rule-revamping-nepa-environmental-protections</guid><dc:creator>Newswire Editor</dc:creator></item><item><title>Biden Administration’s NEPA Support Sends Strong Signal That Polluters Aren’t Above the Law</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/biden-administrations-nepa-support-sends-strong-signal-that-polluters-arent-above-the-law</link><description><![CDATA[
  30. <p>The White House Council on Environmental Quality today announced its final rule as part of a two-step process to restore and strengthen the critical National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This rule reinstates provisions that were gutted by the Trump administration to exempt industry from commonsense environmental safeguards. It also goes further by strengthening requirements to factor climate change risks into planned projects and consider the potential for disproportionate harm to human health or the environment in communities contending with ongoing environmental injustices. In effect for more than 50 years, NEPA is a foundational environmental law that helps ensure communities are meaningfully engaged in decisions about projects being built nearby or that affect them. </p><p>Below is a statement by <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/about/people/david-watkins" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">David Watkins</a>, the director of government affairs for the Climate and Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).</p><p>“Polluters have been attacking NEPA since it was signed into law 50 years ago, with the previous administration’s undermining efforts serving as the latest example. By restoring and strengthening key provisions of NEPA, the Biden administration has unequivocally declared that polluting industries will not have the only say in how federal investments and projects are evaluated.</p><p>“These new regulations will reverse the worst of the Trump administration’s attacks, implement bipartisan changes mandated by Congress, protect communities’ ability to weigh in on projects that affect their health and surrounding environment, and make NEPA a more effective tool for responding to the climate crisis. As an organization committed to scientific integrity and advancing environmental justice, we welcome these numerous improvements. A robust NEPA process leads to better public health outcomes, a cleaner environment and lower overall costs.”</p><p>In addition to Watkins, UCS has the following experts on staff available for interviews on this topic:</p> <ul><li> <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/about/people/rachel-cleetus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dr. Rachel Cleetus</a>, the policy director for the Climate and Energy Program at UCS.</li><li> <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/about/people/michell-mcintyre" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Michell McIntyre</a>, the policy director and program manager for the Center for Science and Democracy at UCS.</li></ul><p>If you have any questions or would like to arrange an interview with Watkins or another UCS expert, please contact UCS Climate and Energy Media Manager Ashley Siefert Nunes.</p><p>Additional Resources:</p> <ul><li>A <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/david-watkins/nepa-the-magna-carta-of-federal-environmental-laws-may-be-about-to-improve/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">blogpost</a> by Watkins, “NEPA, the ‘Magna Carta’ of Federal Environmental Laws, May Be About to Improve.”</li></ul>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 17:30:39 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/biden-administrations-nepa-support-sends-strong-signal-that-polluters-arent-above-the-law</guid><dc:creator>Newswire Editor</dc:creator></item><item><title>Stronger NEPA Rules Are a Victory for Democracy and Environmental Justice</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/stronger-nepa-rules-are-a-victory-for-democracy-and-environmental-justice</link><description><![CDATA[
  31. <p>Today the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) released its final set of regulations to restore the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a bedrock environmental law that gives communities the ability to weigh in on federal actions that impact their air, water and public health. </p><p>The new rule is the second in a two-phase process to reverse a Trump administration rollback that gutted NEPA review to fast-track polluting projects and stifle community input. </p><p>In response, <strong>Food & Water Watch Legal Director Tarah Heinzen</strong> released the following statement: </p> <blockquote> “NEPA gives communities the power to participate and advocate for themselves when the federal government green-lights polluting projects like factory farms and fossil fuel power plants. Today’s rule restores strong environmental review of federal actions and will go a long way towards having a meaningful process to assess the health and safety impacts of an array of projects. <br/>“Over the past few years, NEPA has been targeted by polluters and their political allies as an impediment to permitting sensible and necessary projects. But this is simply not the case; full, transparent consideration of a project’s impacts – including climate and environmental justice impacts – is critical to informed decision making and ultimately transitioning away from fossil fuels.”<br/> </blockquote>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 17:29:07 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/stronger-nepa-rules-are-a-victory-for-democracy-and-environmental-justice</guid><dc:creator>Newswire Editor</dc:creator></item><item><title>4th U.N. Plastics Talks End Without Commitment to Curb Plastic Production or Coherent Draft Text</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/4th-u-n-plastics-talks-end-without-commitment-to-curb-plastic-production-or-coherent-draft-text</link><description><![CDATA[
  32. <p>The fourth session of the United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution, or INC-4, ended today without much-needed progress toward an international agreement to end plastic pollution and protect human health, the climate and biodiversity.</p><p>While INC-4 did manage a commitment to convene experts to conduct intersessional work before the final scheduled negotiation session in November, it was marred by aggressive efforts by low-ambition countries to clog the text with plastic-promoting edits.</p><p>“Countries should be rallying around plastic production cuts at this critical stage, not continuing to wrangle over the treaty’s scope,” said Julie Teel Simmonds, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, an observer at INC-4. “Despite hearing people from polluted communities around the world give sensible proposals to curb the lifecycle harms of plastics, fossil fuel and petrochemical interests are still shamelessly blocking progress and focusing on utterly inadequate plastic waste management.”</p><p>Throughout INC-4, U.N. member states discussed treaty text options proposed at previous negotiations and attempted to streamline the draft toward a final agreement. To the frustration of environmental, public health, and frontline organizations observing the session, nations struggled to agree even on the treaty’s scope and key substantive provisions.</p><p>Highlighting the ongoing division over the core issue of plastic production cuts, fossil fuel- and petrochemical-friendly countries could not even agree that intersessional work should cover the issue of primary plastic production.</p><p>The Center and many other groups from the Break Free From Plastic movement attended INC-4 in person to pressure member states to negotiate strong and effective treaty language that cuts plastic production and addresses pollution along the full lifecycle of plastic, from extraction and refining of the oil and gas that provides its raw materials to its disposal and loss in the environment.</p><p>Rwanda and Peru — both members of the “High Ambition Coalition” — released strong proposals for text on production reductions. In contrast, a coalition of fossil fuel–aligned countries, including Russia, China, and Saudi Arabia, continued to forcefully object to treaty measures to address plastic production. These member states, calling themselves the “Like-Minded Group,” suggested changes to the treaty text that gut it almost entirely.</p><p>“Rather than showing leadership, the United States has remained disappointedly in the middle,” said Teel Simmonds. “The U.S. proposals lack binding targets and focus on cutting demand for plastic rather than production itself. And they don’t go beyond existing U.S. policy, which has failed to curb plastic production or protect frontline communities and the environment from harm.”</p><p>The BFFP movement released a <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/break-free-from-plastic-ottawa-treaty" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_self">call for action</a> expressing disappointment and demanding more from the U.S. delegation.</p><p>Representatives of the Indigenous Peoples Caucus attending the negotiations again highlighted the lack of resources and support to ensure their strong participation. The harms that Indigenous Peoples face from plastic production were underscored by INC-4 participants from the Aamjiwnaang First Nation, who are fighting to protect their health from an INEOS petrochemical facility recently shut down for leaking illegal levels of benzene.</p><p>Even more fossil fuel, chemical and beverage industry representatives attended INC-4 than previous sessions, and several groups again called for policies to protect the negotiation process from conflicts of interest.</p><p>“Despite mounting proof of plastics’ enormous harm to people and the planet, the petrochemical industry and the countries that put them first are ramping up efforts to water down this treaty,” Teel Simmonds said. “We’ll keep fighting their deception and obstruction because the world desperately needs a treaty that protects us from plastic production and pollution. And we’ll keep pushing the United States to lead.”</p><p>The next negotiating session, INC-5, will take place in Busan, Korea, in November 2024.</p>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 17:26:40 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/4th-u-n-plastics-talks-end-without-commitment-to-curb-plastic-production-or-coherent-draft-text</guid><dc:creator>Newswire Editor</dc:creator></item><item><title>Senate Budget Committee Releases Damning Report on Big Oil's Climate Deception Day Before Hearing</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/senate-budget-committee-releases-damning-report-on-big-oil-s-climate-deception-day-before-hearing</link><description><![CDATA[
  33. <p>Today, the Senate Budget Committee, led by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, released a <a href="https://www.budget.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/fossil_fuel_report1.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">repor</a>t detailing the fossil fuel industry's decades-long campaign of climate deception and delay. The report, which comes a day before the committee's <a href="https://www.budget.senate.gov/hearings/denial-disinformation-and-doublespeak_big-oils-evolving-efforts-to-avoid-accountability-for-climate-change" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">hearing</a> investigating Big Oil's role in the climate crisis, sheds new light on the industry's efforts to mislead the American people about the catastrophic impacts of their products on our climate.</p>
  34. <p>The documents show that the oil majors were never serious about meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement and have instead used a false-commitment to climate action as cover to push false solutions like methane gas and carbon capture.</p>
  35. <p>"This report is a scathing indictment of the fossil fuel industry's lies and corruption," said Cassidy DiPaola, spokesperson for the <a href="https://www.polluterpay.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Make Polluters Pay</a> campaign<em>.</em> "As the impacts of the climate crisis worsen, from deadly heat waves to devastating floods and wildfires, it's never been more important to hold polluters accountable for the damage they've knowingly caused. The Senate Budget Committee's investigation is a critical step towards justice, and it’s time the Biden Administration follows suit.”</p>
  36. <p>Momentum for holding polluters accountable is growing across the country. Several states and cities, including <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/15/business/california-oil-lawsuit-newsom.html#:~:text=lawsuit%2Dnewsom.html-,California%20Sues%20Giant%20Oil%20Companies%2C%20Citing%20Decades%20of%20Deception,fund%20to%20pay%20for%20recovery." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">California</a>, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/cop/honolulu-climate-case-against-oil-cos-can-go-trial-hawaii-top-court-2023-11-01/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hawaii</a>, and <a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2024/02/20/bp-chevron-conocophillips-exxonmobil-chicago-lawsuit-climate-change-damage#:~:text=Chicago%20is%20suing%20five%20of,the%20city%20and%20its%20residents." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Chicago</a> have filed lawsuits against Big Oil for climate damages and fraud. Climate superfund bills, which would make polluters pay into state funds to help communities prepare for and recover from climate disasters, are also rapidly moving forward in states like <a href="https://vnrc.org/vermont-senate-judiciary-committee-advances-s-259-the-climate-superfund-act/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Vermont</a> and California.</p>
  37. <p><em>A </em><a href="https://www.filesforprogress.org/datasets/2024/4/dfp_ffm_ca_ny_superfund_crosstabs.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>new poll</em></a><em> released by Fossil Free Media and Data for Progress today found that 72% of voters are angry to learn that oil companies lied to Americans about fossil fuel’s impact on the climate, even as they knew it was accelerating global warming</em><em>. </em><em>Furthermore, 66% of likely voters—including 89% of Democrats—support the passage of a climate superfund bill that would make oil companies cover the cost of climate damage caused by their pollution, and 63% of voters under 45 and 66% of Black voters are more inclined to support a candidate that prioritizes the passage of a climate superfund bill—a key finding as the Biden administration looks to galvanize its voting base ahead of what is likely to be another record-setting year for climate disasters. <br/></em></p>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 14:20:23 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/senate-budget-committee-releases-damning-report-on-big-oil-s-climate-deception-day-before-hearing</guid><dc:creator>Newswire Editor</dc:creator></item><item><title>New Evidence of Big Oil’s Climate Deception Demands Justice Dept. Inquiry</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/new-evidence-of-big-oils-climate-deception-demands-justice-dept-inquiry</link><description><![CDATA[
  38. <p>Members of the U.S. House and Senate today jointly released <a href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=u001.2QDJN49wxP8WtGDlIEKgZXQiipcu1VbQGYOdYx9Yah7hjt0j8zg8QPv4qUk1MfUD2Of6aFDm8OA91tVy4IpmacwjOjRjJ3PHt0C5BStTdbE-3D0TI7_ciJuXYfraQrmEXzxHGEcWNeiZKy7tdzQawxB4GG8-2FLPZ7CvygO9jxiRAMn5pClU-2BaVyTVqOLFOcSwNedqIPRD7Iu4re7VidEjRuKyl31Qq5nf0vL8gQpTa78BdRHqBKar-2F9FGanFjEE-2BUOB93EAAI2p9cLIEt6wkdRV2TBaI3e09FSH7PsntCn6uZYOao8Xy3ehqNsyLqHAOemE-2FMjseQmcxtIMUzCWiV5qOikCq9LPWxop1NoyWgtcTWPrykiEVieg-2FZw5Rf4u4cPhfJ89tuD2HO25AORhHVlELFR8n3xzDfkDgrLKu3nB-2B6GijQ61cIh0U515KI9uAaewthLvG2xMMOONUUeRCCLV7QEGHjhlaJVjWJPctoIvFBv3fxcRe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">new evidence</a> shining further light on the fossil fuel industry’s decades-long efforts to deceive the American people about climate change.  </p><p><strong>Richard Wiles, president of the Center for Climate Integrity, released the following statement:</strong> </p><p><em>“This new evidence of Big Oil’s climate lies will likely be used to hold these companies accountable in court — and it should generate renewed calls for the U.S. Department of Justice to finally open its own investigation into the fossil fuel industry. </em></p><p><em>“We applaud Senator Whitehouse, Representative Raskin, and their committees for helping to shine further light on Big Oil’s ongoing climate deception. Communities across the country are already taking these polluters to court to make them pay for their deceit, and many of their lawsuits have cited documents unearthed by Congress as evidence. </em></p><p><em>“Big Oil’s concerted efforts to mislead the public about their destructive industry are the most consequential corporate fraud in history. Tomorrow’s hearing should make clear that it’s time for the U.S. Justice Department to get off the sidelines and take action to hold Big Oil accountable for lying to the American people for decades."</em></p><p><strong>Background on Congressional Investigations into Big Oil</strong></p><p>In 2021, the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform launched an <a href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=u001.2QDJN49wxP8WtGDlIEKgZT-2Fx4gmWm2PR-2BPmpSHyzfg7W-2BoDUGhQy-2BxcHjJLIR17qL-2FEkSjbKsKqL-2Frk6vlttuV3CFMcpmcRcibpeoolC2tphsLNQEuXq2ZEyeFx9rywQchhWT8-2BnKgEvjz2-2F4Tedbj-2BPmdjyPOKoYud4W-2FnyeNbwQF9AOCvnJbgR9k1dytHMwUu1_ciJuXYfraQrmEXzxHGEcWNeiZKy7tdzQawxB4GG8-2FLPZ7CvygO9jxiRAMn5pClU-2BaVyTVqOLFOcSwNedqIPRD7Iu4re7VidEjRuKyl31Qq5nf0vL8gQpTa78BdRHqBKar-2F9FGanFjEE-2BUOB93EAAI2p9cLIEt6wkdRV2TBaI3e09FSH7PsntCn6uZYOao8Xy3ehqNsyLqHAOemE-2FMjseQvCgPxm80p5fuBnehyNmt6dftoOadlWOugIobyZ1LBEB0lLF8QggnsGZzmZCTdZ6CTrd1eHk-2FRzsBpkxSScOYKsvoM4JSfdIm-2Bnfwh-2BELX6XNLO3-2BbZLyhJgqEBztkY7rotMhCYhfVfQIN1jriJOgpZYJzXhDHJDzYQ1U5O3fEXt" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">investigation</a> into the role of ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP, the American Petroleum Institute, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in a “long-running, industry-wide campaign to spread disinformation about the role of fossil fuels in causing global warming.”</p><p>In a historic hearing, the Big Oil executives testified before the committee and <a href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=u001.2QDJN49wxP8WtGDlIEKgZe0378bSTWVIFhTHgDLihGF85dQS6jLHvwxUDu8bZh6FKB-2F4oBLWhHawpwB080gxwBiCY-2BqaEfJRZf-2FG7DJusWY-3DNCge_ciJuXYfraQrmEXzxHGEcWNeiZKy7tdzQawxB4GG8-2FLPZ7CvygO9jxiRAMn5pClU-2BaVyTVqOLFOcSwNedqIPRD7Iu4re7VidEjRuKyl31Qq5nf0vL8gQpTa78BdRHqBKar-2F9FGanFjEE-2BUOB93EAAI2p9cLIEt6wkdRV2TBaI3e09FSH7PsntCn6uZYOao8Xy3ehqNsyLqHAOemE-2FMjseQrssn5sXdLsUu9tW9gRkYC-2FPhp0rD01qS5CikUAm0VKMBimeS6nEEzT2hoyRCE3ZjPsK0IBwFq0hQGnroOnMbosmhyHYjS5-2F9WDEnyFBY3IZ48FTBV7Pssq2ewenrkrfrB6eFDoVUKvuqiBhdRtK0YRj4CzBvun6esql34vse8pv" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">refused under oath</a> to pledge that they would stop spending money to oppose climate action. The committee subpoenaed the companies for documents, and in 2022, the committee <a href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=u001.2QDJN49wxP8WtGDlIEKgZT-2Fx4gmWm2PR-2BPmpSHyzfg7W-2BoDUGhQy-2BxcHjJLIR17qL-2FEkSjbKsKqL-2Frk6vlttuWtEZZcWUUDf7nHvN2k09Qm9kcF0NVpNiELm3kT2L7-2B47QNH8L146Hx3gDzsYX7bEOVdU-2BIBayzMPLNtPuOGq2MskLy7T75QLYyi57IYfSCPn5Jl_ciJuXYfraQrmEXzxHGEcWNeiZKy7tdzQawxB4GG8-2FLPZ7CvygO9jxiRAMn5pClU-2BaVyTVqOLFOcSwNedqIPRD7Iu4re7VidEjRuKyl31Qq5nf0vL8gQpTa78BdRHqBKar-2F9FGanFjEE-2BUOB93EAAI2p9cLIEt6wkdRV2TBaI3e09FSH7PsntCn6uZYOao8Xy3ehqNsyLqHAOemE-2FMjseQhpvk07h-2FpAPdbt1qcCwt6U5Fn-2Fyuow8BCJviQ2DMuj9m8957Z8Juieg-2BHPnYkTdDWDqnTigzCKRXAgmCdAbRGR11xYrWnS5kMscl9kub-2F9OM7moAmsGzgQyfdqd3lv91rXzOIQ5xVXfzivKhB6YSo57p3DmAV27v2oApw6yv6eP" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">twice</a> <a href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=u001.2QDJN49wxP8WtGDlIEKgZT-2Fx4gmWm2PR-2BPmpSHyzfg7W-2BoDUGhQy-2BxcHjJLIR17qL-2FEkSjbKsKqL-2Frk6vlttuV3CFMcpmcRcibpeoolC2tqstae-2F5heNPn1f7CgmJJ0NRWzq9ElLgT0kGNNZanJv0KCsuIp6h9IsbZLWm9-2BaYIV2B-2B3v-2FTQLcS-2BKybigKclK2Rsj_ciJuXYfraQrmEXzxHGEcWNeiZKy7tdzQawxB4GG8-2FLPZ7CvygO9jxiRAMn5pClU-2BaVyTVqOLFOcSwNedqIPRD7Iu4re7VidEjRuKyl31Qq5nf0vL8gQpTa78BdRHqBKar-2F9FGanFjEE-2BUOB93EAAI2p9cLIEt6wkdRV2TBaI3e09FSH7PsntCn6uZYOao8Xy3ehqNsyLqHAOemE-2FMjseQtVczEuP50dexzRnFXrjnHeDqHokZA-2FU03qvbs4Yyx6Ggcc18gzSlqEDLeR9M1E7djZfKqDweCpFNYFN5xLWe0cGRjU66jRGKpGZsMuEkLC6uwVQ-2BhipjayF0IgCj7n8JvXFByVgTH-2FpMpA7U0m2XLKDMYcWR274zHvSv6dZ5FLz" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">released</a> new evidence showing that the companies continue to obstruct climate action and deceive the public. </p><p><strong>Background on Congressional Calls for DOJ Action Against Big Oil</strong></p><p>Last summer, nearly two dozen House and Senate members wrote <a href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=u001.2QDJN49wxP8WtGDlIEKgZUj6SCVamObnd0vSg6TK5FiCbmaN-2Fh3jYqzGqzxzJyhVju5w9QPeQ-2FPe9Al4ocV-2FRmNwkC-2FK8ClEeJUcFt6YsnRPwXgarQSAU9fmKc4ixncrRYkU_ciJuXYfraQrmEXzxHGEcWNeiZKy7tdzQawxB4GG8-2FLPZ7CvygO9jxiRAMn5pClU-2BaVyTVqOLFOcSwNedqIPRD7Iu4re7VidEjRuKyl31Qq5nf0vL8gQpTa78BdRHqBKar-2F9FGanFjEE-2BUOB93EAAI2p9cLIEt6wkdRV2TBaI3e09FSH7PsntCn6uZYOao8Xy3ehqNsyLqHAOemE-2FMjseQuQ9On0Knc-2B315s0h9zZPMMQRpY-2FZ8BctskD-2BkgDDRZUZdqMC96Hw1C6gcBuWavcaqVTn4OA4NXBuvKMUcT8SAboC-2FqEc04uFULCyIFSnEn-2BEEbhVWOJnzZjxKrYsGpucV4Am5V4d0ULXEdcHYQvClDx9rtuPtMFraGw-2F2DZaDEu" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">letters to Attorney General Merrick Garland</a> urging the Department of Justice to either investigate or sue Exxon, Shell, and other fossil fuel companies for violating fraud, racketeering, and other federal laws.</p><p><strong>Background on State and Local Climate Accountability Lawsuits Against Big Oil </strong></p><p>The attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the District of Columbia, as well as dozens of municipal governments in California, Colorado, Hawai`i, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Puerto Rico, and two tribal governments, have filed <a href="https://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=u001.2QDJN49wxP8WtGDlIEKgZUj6SCVamObnd0vSg6TK5FjgYsc0pmtDNrh0jj-2BEGDnHYJ0k_ciJuXYfraQrmEXzxHGEcWNeiZKy7tdzQawxB4GG8-2FLPZ7CvygO9jxiRAMn5pClU-2BaVyTVqOLFOcSwNedqIPRD7Iu4re7VidEjRuKyl31Qq5nf0vL8gQpTa78BdRHqBKar-2F9FGanFjEE-2BUOB93EAAI2p9cLIEt6wkdRV2TBaI3e09FSH7PsntCn6uZYOao8Xy3ehqNsyLqHAOemE-2FMjseQg5ujmSl5rLB87GGyHEszUTpq9SUp9uzvp3nWEr5qEpkwf4JplOPdve56NgVOdYynK7tS8a67ims-2FEJ3HwP8-2FftWhyjZ2G7-2FmcMWbYUJIa-2B26VgtAflTnLz3DT95PLxYAolTq-2BASVs63xVYxsTyIK5qWL3r9Gtic5wQupo5nP629" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">lawsuits</a> to hold major oil and gas companies accountable for deceiving the public about their products’ role in climate change. </p><p>At least four of those lawsuits have cited evidence unearthed by the House Oversight investigation in their filings. <br/></p>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 14:14:58 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/new-evidence-of-big-oils-climate-deception-demands-justice-dept-inquiry</guid><dc:creator>Newswire Editor</dc:creator></item><item><title>World’s largest economies agree to phase out coal power before 2035, but miss the opportunity to reject fossil fuels at the scale and speed necessary to meet climate targets</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/coal-phase-out350-g7</link><description><![CDATA[
  39. <p>The G7 Climate, Energy and Environment Ministerial held in Turin, Italy released its final text on Tuesday with <a href="https://350communications.cmail20.com/t/t-l-eidttul-autddlkhi-r/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">all seven member states committing</a> to phase out domestic coal power generation before 2035 – marking an unprecedented commitment from the United States and Japan, the only outlying G7 countries not to have set a coal phase out date. Fossil gas, nuclear and biofuels featured heavily in the final communique, while restrictions to Russian fossil gas imports were also adopted. </p><p>While the G7 today reaffirmed its commitment to achieving the tripling of renewable energy and doubling of energy efficiency by 2030 agreed upon at COP28, the agreement to phase out coal power generation before 2035 does not align with the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees, with experts asserting that G7 and OECD countries must phase out coal across all sectors by 2030 and take urgent steps to phase out oil and fossil gas.</p><p><strong>Quotes</strong></p><p><strong>Andreas Sieber, <a href="http://350.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">350.org</a> Associate Director of Global Campaigns says:</strong></p><p>“The G7’s agreement to phase out domestic coal power in the first half of the 2030s is important yet insufficient progress, leaving room to push for the more urgent and complete phase out the climate crisis demands. To meet the Paris Agreement target, G7 countries must phase out coal well before 2030 and continue to push for the G7 to commit to phase out all fossil fuels including oil, gas, and reject the adoption of dangerous technologies like nuclear. </p><p>It is imperative that the world’s largest economies support the global renewable energy transition by providing finance at scale, particularly for the Global South, and urgently pull out of funding fossil fuels both at home and abroad.”</p><p><strong>Masayoshi Iyoda, <a href="http://350.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">350.org</a> Japan Campaigner says:</strong></p><p>“Japan agreeing to a specific deadline to phase out domestic coal power generation is momentous and long overdue. As an historic outlier amongst G7 countries on making coal phase-out commitments, and with the highest share of power generated from coal amongst its G7 peers, this is a step forward. However, 2035 is too late to meet the 1.5 degree target set in the Paris Agreement. </p><p>Along with phasing out domestic coal power by 2030 at the latest, Japan must stop its financing of coal and fossil gas projects across Asia and the globe. While acknowledging this progress, we must not allow Japan to take this opportunity to go all-in on nuclear, fossil gas, or ammonia co-firing technology, which serve as dangerous distractions from the urgent need to transition to fair, safe, and affordable renewable energy. We must use this momentum to collectively push for a tighter deadline for a full, fast, and fair transition away from all fossil fuels.”</p><p><strong>Jeff Ordower, <a href="http://350.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">350.org</a> North America Director says:</strong></p><p>"It is past time that the U.S. made concrete commitments to phase out coal power. While welcome this and all steps towards phasing out fossil fuels, such as the Environmental Protection Agency's recent announcement to <a href="https://350communications.cmail20.com/t/t-l-eidttul-autddlkhi-y/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">further limit coal-fired power plants' CO2 emissions</a>, we must not lose sight of what is really at stake.To keep global warming in line with what communities around the world need to survive, the U.S. must go much further and phase out all fossil fuels, including oil and gas. </p><p>The U.S. must not rely on unproven technologies like carbon capture, or <a href="https://350communications.cmail20.com/t/t-l-eidttul-autddlkhi-j/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">dangerous, expensive and unequal ones like nuclear</a> just so they can continue business as usual. Historically one of the world's largest emitters, the U.S. continues to invest tens of billions on fossil fuel subsidies annually. At the last COP, the U.S. agreed to <a href="https://350communications.cmail20.com/t/t-l-eidttul-autddlkhi-t/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">triple renewable energy by 2030</a> and to phase-out fossil fuels – but we are yet to see the concrete commitments that will make that happen."</p><p><strong>Nicolo Wojewoda, <a href="http://350.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">350.org</a> Europe Regional Director says:</strong></p><p>“European G7 countries must go beyond rehashing existing coal phase out commitments, and instead replace all fossil fuels in the power sector with renewable energy well before 2035. France, Germany, Italy and the UK have the resources to achieve that – they just need to stop putting public money into the problem, and redirect it towards the solutions. We know taxes on Europe's most polluting companies and on the super rich could generate billions, and go a long way to support the energy revolution here in Europe and in the Global South”</p>]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 12:21:26 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/coal-phase-out350-g7</guid><dc:creator>Newswire Editor</dc:creator></item><item><title>New Video: Groundwork’s Rakeen Mabud Explains How the Federal Reserve May be Worsening the Housing Crisis</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/new-video-groundworks-rakeen-mabud-explains-how-the-federal-reserve-may-be-worsening-the-housing-crisis</link><description><![CDATA[
  40. <p>Today, Groundwork Collaborative released a <a href="https://twitter.com/Groundwork/status/1784995792006095202" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">new video</a> featuring <strong>Chief Economist Dr. Rakeen Mabud</strong>, who explains how the Federal Reserve’s refusal to lower interest rates is keeping housing costs high and making it more costly and more difficult for people to buy or even rent a home. The video comes ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomccalendars.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">April 30 and May 1</a>, where the Fed will announce the path forward on interest rates in the coming months.</p><p>“The Fed has jacked up interest rates to the highest level in 20 years. When the Fed raises interest rates, mortgage rates rise too. That means that many prospective homebuyers are priced out of the decision to buy a home. Where do these potential buyers go? Back into the rental market, increasing demand among renters and pushing up rent costs,” Mabud explains in the video. </p><p>“The Fed’s high interest rates also make building housing more expensive, and some reports find that we are short as many as six and a half million homes. That’s a housing crisis of epic proportions.”</p><p>“Even though sky-high interest rates are keeping inflation high and worsening an already dire housing crisis, the Fed may delay in cutting rates. It’s time for the Fed to cut interest rates and get our housing market moving again.”</p>]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2024 18:18:37 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/new-video-groundworks-rakeen-mabud-explains-how-the-federal-reserve-may-be-worsening-the-housing-crisis</guid><dc:creator>Newswire Editor</dc:creator></item><item><title>Win Without War Condemns Militarized Response to Protests</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/win-without-war-condemns-militarized-response-to-protests</link><description><![CDATA[
  41. <p><em>Win Without War Executive Director Sara Haghdoosti released the following statement responding to scenes of police violence at university protests:<br/></em><br/>“The use of state violence against peaceful protestors is unacceptable. Police batons deployed against students calling for peace in Gaza are not a source of safety on campus, nor are they a bulwark against antisemitism. They hurt people, impinge on fundamental liberties, and serve an extreme right-wing agenda that threatens Jews, Muslims, and the right to protest across the country. University leaders and government officials must take steps to protect students exercising their right to protest, not enlist police to attack them. <br/><br/>“Antisemitism and anti-Muslim bigotry are on the rise and serious issues nationwide, including on college campuses. The people endangered by these scourges deserve better than to be the targets of cynical political ploys or to be used as excuses for violent repression. No one is made safer by police violence, and politicians who say otherwise are only attempting to sow division for their own reprehensible ends. What we need from our leaders right now is to de-escalate, permit protests, and not allow state violence against people exercising their fundamental rights.”</p>]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 26 Apr 2024 17:13:37 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/win-without-war-condemns-militarized-response-to-protests</guid><dc:creator>Newswire Editor</dc:creator></item><item><title>Major Brazilian Mobilization Demands Indigenous Land Rights in the Face of Mounting Threats</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/major-brazilian-mobilization-demands-indigenous-land-rights-in-the-face-of-mounting-threats</link><description><![CDATA[
  42. <p>Thousands of Indigenous leaders and representatives and their allies converged on Brazil’s capital this week for the 20th Free Land Camp (<em>Acampamento Terra Livre –</em> ATL), a major annual mobilization to advance the struggle for Indigenous rights to land demarcation and sovereignty. Organized by the Association of Brazil’s Indigenous Peoples (APIB), this year’s gathering is entitled “Our Existence is Ancestral: We Have Always Been Here!” to counter the virulent anti-Indigenous narratives that underpin spiraling attacks waged principally by agribusiness and mining interests in Brazil’s Congress. </p><p>Today’s march through Brasilia’s Esplanade of Ministries displayed the strength of the country’s Indigenous movement and focused on threats emblematic of the current assault upon constitutional land rights. To symbolize these threats, a large vehicle entitled “Tracks of Destruction” showcased drivers of human rights violations and environmental devastation, from agribusiness efforts to cut the Ferrogrão<strong> </strong>mega-railway through the heart of the Amazon rainforest to the relentless push to open Indigenous lands to<strong> </strong>industrial mining<strong>.</strong> The action also denounced the scourge of illegal mining on native lands, which continues to flourish despite federal efforts to crack down on the activity. </p><p>“Ferrogrão is the train of death, of deforestation,” said Goldman Prize winner <strong>Alessandra Korap Munduruku</strong>. “The railroad is not going to carry people, as they claim, but grain production of international companies that are financing this project. It’s a project that will affect not only Indigenous people, but also traditional communities and the people who live in the towns alongside its route. In addition, it is a project that will affect people all over the world because it would exacerbate climate change with the massive deforestation it would cause.”</p><p>“Since Ferrogrão’s inception, hearings have only been held in cities, none in Indigenous villages,” said <strong>Kleber Karipuna</strong>, an Executive Coordinator at APIB. “Once again, we demand that the protocols for consulting Indigenous peoples be respected. Additionally, the absence of a consultation protocol should not be used as an excuse to deny consultation of peoples affected by the project.”</p><p>“The mere announcement of Ferrogrão has increased deforestation around our Indigenous lands,” said <strong>Doto Takak Ire</strong>, President of the Kayapó people’s Kabu Institute. “Land grabbing has increased, risks of land invasion have increased, and we have been forced to increase the monitoring of our territories. Soy cultivation has encroached to the edge of Menkragnoti Indigenous Land. It dirties the rivers that pass through our villages. We can already see all this. And Ferrogrão will only make it worse.” </p><p>“Ferrogrão represents the death of kilometers and kilometers of forest,” said <strong>Takakpe Tapayuna Metuktire</strong>, from the Raoni Institute. “While we should be thinking about how to preserve what remains and think about alternative infrastructure projects that respect our rights, nature and Indigenous and traditional peoples. We are fighting to prevent yet another project of death and destruction from prevailing in the Amazon. With Ferrogrão all that will be left is scorched earth.”</p><p>The Free Land Camp’s closing march prioritized Ferrogrão and mining on native lands because of the centrality of these threads to Indigenous land rights and the ecosystems sustained by Indigenous land defenders. <a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.gqh-2BaxUzlo7XKIuSly0rC8YSmUSfguK2XODQtt0-2BKK9u61iXExbEpWkl3FH2ugJKY68Osgfyarbt04J1sIpimxSs6E6nzZOkawry-2BMG-2BSjsq6na6GHqHdXdVipMlvg0sy9-2B1Tw8QkRQ2gJKVMll7L0kbq2Z-2FIIBhMcmOCK3yC8A-3DhbYq_s0lTyPdoyuzn-2FJTE9fjR8nSlryGpLl-2B7mxK4it06DfKhpucLPiMkMsi-2BcoCz3G4i8jUNnqize9Qw4UrpZWAO3kP0RIX1HZfjrpIiHY9LHFeL7TUwcKAL-2FCQ-2FlLBnqmWAanfc6GgkHWC-2FiNIImiDAc3B4e-2BSrMrr8ihrCTcFIQUmNLgbJPpqFglxm3jIFomwEa36eFnRB-2BhazzsrvI3C49eLlecXh2QQjHPODg3uvD-2FkUVGtiT4IHVmYl285pXmkFIt7EjBk-2BGAT82mYb3sE6rULx8rqcTJD4ZSJ3Y6RJvC5cMqyREGd-2BUsn1gfNmsvDQpbslbhrkOJuMB6TQXm7dI3LFXzOmA0c-2B-2BLZ5NDRymjg-3D" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">Ferrogrão</a> would impact at least 16 Indigenous lands and 104 rural settlements, threatening 4.9 million hectares of protected areas. Meanwhile, Brazil’s mining sector is projecting a new mineral boom in the Amazon and is openly seeking to prospect on Indigenous lands.</p><p>“Through today’s powerful action and protest, Brazil’s Indigenous movement denounced the trails of destruction left by illegal miners, multinational mining interests, and agribusiness companies in the Amazon and on Indigenous territories,” said <strong>Paula Vargas</strong>, Amazon Watch Brazil Program Director. “These companies and their political backers must be stopped and held accountable, and Brazilian authorities must defend the rights of Indigenous peoples and traditional communities.”</p><p>Notably absent from this year’s ATL was President Lula, who had attended the two previous mobilizations. APIB has criticized his government’s failure to fulfill a campaign promise to swiftly demarcate Indigenous lands, as well as its weak response to congressional attacks on Indigenous rights. <a href="https://u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=u001.gqh-2BaxUzlo7XKIuSly0rC8YSmUSfguK2XODQtt0-2BKK9WziEw2bTbmaWim8npWqV61vFL9LzHYhzwiakJVFhABeiMa5zR8IuU4K4G5ByxmHe36HxTQPJaKbNLeqYdiewTcXCnx8qUD50sseDq7FzMfbUGyv1ZJYRVvidNpWTkyAdgEXsxoaVGjv1NYB3u9u4U8FvI_s0lTyPdoyuzn-2FJTE9fjR8nSlryGpLl-2B7mxK4it06DfKhpucLPiMkMsi-2BcoCz3G4i8jUNnqize9Qw4UrpZWAO3kP0RIX1HZfjrpIiHY9LHFeL7TUwcKAL-2FCQ-2FlLBnqmWAanfc6GgkHWC-2FiNIImiDAc3B4e-2BSrMrr8ihrCTcFIQUmNLgbJPpqFglxm3jIFomwEa36eFnRB-2BhazzsrvI3C49Ye4b0cL1uq-2B6Lefg3o5FHF3ZQ1LbUE2FMP-2FqmFKgDzbG2jK1CGIKRPQOGN1KQTwvIdgkqp6e1KKywhqZGAWUKoUlPaFLyRveB-2BFOfanJA5OZq-2BWm4Y2O2xNsN17Ddt-2Fz0hgK1EhFz0DSAmFYBTECP4-3D" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">Lula’s announcement</a> that his government would only title 10 of 14 promised Indigenous territories has also sparked denunciations from Brazil’s Indigenous movement. Yet despite his absence at the mobilization, Lula received a group of leaders at the presidential palace today.</p><p>The ATL mobilization occurs within a backdrop of the most severe political rollacks on Indigenous rights since the ratification of Brazil’s constitution in 1988. Last year’s passage of Federal Law 14,701 which enshrined the “Marco Temporal” (time limit thesis) into law after overriding President Lula’s partial vetoes to the legislation, has effectively frozen Indigenous land demarcations while opening federally-titled territories to industrial activity, which could potentially include mining and agribusiness projects. </p><p>While the constitutional basis for Marco Temporal had been roundly rejected by Brazil’s Supreme Court (STF), this week STF justice Gilmar Mendes signaled the court would not rule on the constitutionality of Law 14,701, opening the possibility of negotiating away fundamental Indigenous rights in a major setback to the country’s Indigenous movement.</p>]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 25 Apr 2024 21:11:47 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/major-brazilian-mobilization-demands-indigenous-land-rights-in-the-face-of-mounting-threats</guid><dc:creator>Newswire Editor</dc:creator></item><item><title>In Historic Vote, the FCC Reasserts Its Authority to Protect the Open Internet and Safeguard Online Users</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/in-historic-vote-the-fcc-reasserts-its-authority-to-protect-the-open-internet-and-safeguard-online-users</link><description><![CDATA[
  43. <p>On Thursday, in a 3–2 vote, the Federal Communications Commission voted to restore Net Neutrality protections and reclassify high-speed-internet access services as telecom services subject to Title II of the Communications Act.<br/> <br/> The decision is a major victory for the public interest: Title II authority empowers the FCC to hold companies like AT&T, Comcast, Spectrum and Verizon accountable for a wide range of harms to internet users across the United States. Prior to the historic vote, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said: “[We] take this action today to help ensure that broadband is fast, open and fair for all of us.”<br/> <br/> Since the Trump FCC repealed open-internet protections in 2017, people from across the political spectrum have called on the agency to reinstate Net Neutrality and assert the agency’s authority to prevent broadband providers from harming online users.<br/> <br/> Free Press Co-CEO <strong>Craig Aaron</strong> said:<br/> <br/> “Everyone should celebrate today’s FCC vote. Public support for Net Neutrality is overwhelming, and people understand why we need a federal watchdog to protect everyone’s access to the most essential communications platform of our time. The FCC heard the outcry and did its job: delivering on promises to stand with internet users and against big telecom companies and their trade groups, which have spent untold millions of dollars to spread lies about Net Neutrality and thwart any oversight or regulation.<br/> <br/> “We’ve been fighting for this moment since well before the Trump FCC threw out strong Title II rules in 2017. It’s been nearly 20 years since Net Neutrality first came under threat. In the time since, the debate over Net Neutrality, like the internet itself, has evolved. But the central concern remains the same: Does the FCC have the authority, vested in Title II of the Communications Act, to step in when internet service providers treat their customers unjustly by blocking or interfering with the free flow of information online? Today, the FCC answered that question with a resounding yes.<br/> <br/> “Chairwoman Rosenworcel and Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Anna Gomez today reversed the Trump FCC’s gutting of these essential protections, and ensured that the agency can once again protect internet users whenever big phone and cable companies like AT&T, Comcast, Spectrum and Verizon attempt to harm them. By restoring the essential safeguards that millions fought so hard to make a reality, the FCC will once again follow the law that Congress wrote for modern internet-access service, reestablishing its oversight of the vital telecommunications service that connects all of us.<br/> <br/> “This is common sense: The nation’s communications regulator must be able to oversee the nation’s communications infrastructure. Congress has already given the FCC the tools it needs to make the internet work better for everyone. After today’s vote, the FCC can actually use them. Under the agency’s strong but flexible rules, every ISP will be responsible for making resilient networks available to people on just and reasonable terms. The agency now has the ability to protect internet users from ISPs’ privacy invasions, promote broadband competition and deployment, and take action against hidden junk fees, data caps and billing rip-offs.<br/> <br/> “Big cable and phone companies won’t be able to pick and choose what any of us can say or see online. Net Neutrality is a guarantee that these companies will carry our data across the internet without undue interference or unreasonable discrimination. Without this clear authority over broadband access, the FCC was vastly weakened, having to implore broadband providers during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic to agree to voluntary and toothless pledges to protect internet users — pledges many of these companies failed to uphold.<br/> <br/> “We’re especially grateful to Chairwoman Rosenworcel and her staff for leading this effort to restore these essential rights to internet users, as well as for the strong support of Commissioners Starks and Gomez. Today’s decision shows a government agency doing what it’s supposed to do: Listen to the public and stand up for them against rich and powerful companies that for too long have called all the shots in D.C.<br/> <br/> “Despite the many obstacles Net Neutrality advocates have faced, we are celebrating today’s vote. This is what democracy should look like: public servants responding to public sentiment, taking steps to protect just and reasonable services and free expression, and showing that the government is capable of defending the public interest.”</p>]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 25 Apr 2024 17:08:57 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/in-historic-vote-the-fcc-reasserts-its-authority-to-protect-the-open-internet-and-safeguard-online-users</guid><dc:creator>Newswire Editor</dc:creator></item><item><title>FCC Votes to Restore Net Neutrality</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/fcc-votes-to-restore-net-neutrality</link><description><![CDATA[
  44. <p>Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to restore Net Neutrality. The move restores the FCC’s authority under Title II of the Communications Act to oversee broadband providers and enforce the open-internet protections. The Open Internet Order was repealed during the Trump Administration in the face of widespread public opposition – including comments filed during the proceedings opposing the controversial reversal by the agency.</p><p>Common Cause, along with its partners, delivered a petition with over 126,000 signatures, thanking the Commissioners for their vote today, showing the continued widespread public support for Net Neutrality.</p><p><strong>Statement of Michael Copps, Former FCC Chair and Common Cause Special Adviser</strong></p><p>If I weren’t out of the country today, I would be personally at the FCC jumping up and down, saluting the majority for reinstituting the network neutrality rules that were so foolishly eliminated by the previous Commission. I have been personally and deeply involved in the battle for an open internet for more than 20 years, both as a Commissioner and more recently as a public interest advocate. Today’s action brings back moderate rules that have already passed court muster and are essential building blocks for a consumer-friendly and citizen-friendly internet. Congratulations to Chair Rosenworcel, Commissioner Starks, and Commissioner Gomez for getting us here today.</p><p>Our communications technologies are evolving so swiftly, affecting so many important aspects of our individual lives, that they must be available to all of us on a non-discriminatory basis. And they must advance the public interest, protecting consumers, fostering competition, and providing us all the news and information we need as we fight to maintain our democracy. We still have much to do; but today, let’s celebrate a huge step forward.</p><p><strong>Statement of Ishan Mehta, Common Cause Media and Democracy Program Director</strong></p><p>The restoration of Net Neutrality is a victory for every American household, and it is a victory for democracy. Today’s vote returns control of the Internet to the American people instead of corporate interests. The Internet is crucial to civic engagement in the United States today. It functions as a virtual public square where social justice movements organize and garner support.</p><p>Since the repeal of Net Neutrality during the Trump Administration broadband access has been unregulated and consumers have been left at the mercy of Internet providers. Americans have seen those providers throttle popular video streaming services, offer service plans that favor their own services over competitors, and degrade video quality in order extract higher prices for improved quality.</p><p>This Internet today is an essential public utility and in recent years, service providers proved themselves incapable of delivering that service without supervision.</p><p>The FCC’s vote today returns the Internet to the American people.</p>]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 25 Apr 2024 17:08:12 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/fcc-votes-to-restore-net-neutrality</guid><dc:creator>Newswire Editor</dc:creator></item><item><title>Supreme Court to Determine Whether Politicians Can Deny Emergency Medical Care to Pregnant People</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/supreme-court-to-determine-whether-politicians-can-deny-emergency-medical-care-to-pregnant-people</link><description><![CDATA[
  45. <p>The Supreme Court will hear oral argument later today in <a href="https://www.aclu.org/cases/idaho-and-moyle-et-al-v-united-states" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Idaho and Moyle, et al. v. United States</em></a>, a case brought by extreme politicians seeking to disregard a federal statute — the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) — and put doctors in jail for providing pregnant patients necessary emergency medical care. The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Idaho, and the law firm Cooley LLP previously filed an <a href="https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/aclu-brief-in-emergency-abortion-care-case-highlights-idaho-politicians-deeply-flawed-legal-arguments" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">amicus brief</a> in this case explaining that Idaho’s arguments cannot be justified under the Supreme Court’s own precedents, and that all three branches of government have long recognized that hospitals are required under EMTALA to provide emergency abortion care to any patient who needs it. </p><p>“For the second time in as many months, the Supreme Court will hear a case with extraordinary impacts on our ability to get the essential, and in some cases life-saving, health care we need,” said <strong>Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, deputy director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project</strong>. “Anti-abortion politicians have brought this case to the nation’s highest court to challenge long-standing federal protections for emergency care abortion care. If these extreme politicians succeed, doctors will be forced to withhold critical care from their patients, and pregnant people will suffer severe, life-altering health consequences, and even death. We’re already seeing the devastating impact of this case play out in Idaho, where medical evacuations to transport patients to other states for the care they need have dramatically spiked since the Supreme Court allowed state politicians to block emergency abortion care. This case once again highlights the extraordinary lengths extremist politicians will go to control our bodies, our lives, and our ability to get the health care we need.”</p><p>The case comes to the Supreme Court after the Department of Justice (DOJ) sued Idaho in August 2022, seeking an injunction to allow patients to receive abortions in emergency circumstances. The case argues that EMTALA — a nearly 40-year-old federal statute that requires hospitals that receive Medicare funds to provide emergency stabilizing treatment to any patient that needs it — prevents Idaho from banning emergency abortions. A lower court granted the injunction, but anti-abortion politicians appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court, which lifted the injunction and <a href="https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/aclu-rings-alarm-over-supreme-court-taking-up-emergency-abortion-care-case" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">took the case</a> in January.</p><p>Medical professionals, from the American College of Emergency Physicians and American Hospital Association to the <a href="https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/let-texas-physicians-provide-crucial-emergency-care" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">American Medical Association</a> and the <a href="https://www.acog.org/news/news-releases/2022/07/acog-statement-on-clarification-regarding-emtala-protections" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists</a>, have underscored that doctors must be able to provide their patients with the emergency abortion care they need.</p><p>Idaho is home to one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country, which went into effect following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on <em>Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization</em> in 2022. As a result of this ban, medical providers have found themselves having to decide between providing stabilizing care to a pregnant patient and facing criminal prosecution from the state, or declining medical care and leaving a patient in crisis while facing federal sanctions for violating EMTALA.</p><p>As a result, <a href="https://www.opb.org/article/2024/02/22/report-shows-fewer-idaho-obgyns-since-repeal-of-roe-v-wade/#:~:text=A%20new%20report%20shows%20Idaho,more%20than%201%20in%205." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Idaho has lost nearly 1 in 5 obstetricians and gynecologists</a> who have chosen to leave the state and practice elsewhere, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/idaho-abortion-ban-doctors-leaving-f34e901599f5eabed56ae96599c0e5c2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">which has led to hospital obstetrics programs around the state shuttering their doors</a>.</p><p>The brief in <em>Idaho and Moyle, et al. v. United States</em> is a part of the ACLU’s <a href="https://www.aclu.org/court-cases?type=supreme-court" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Joan and Irwin Jacobs Supreme Court Docket</a>.</p>]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 24 Apr 2024 14:30:04 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/supreme-court-to-determine-whether-politicians-can-deny-emergency-medical-care-to-pregnant-people</guid><dc:creator>Newswire Editor</dc:creator></item><item><title>A Federal TikTok Ban Is a 'Misguided Detour' from Doing What’s Needed to Protect People’s Privacy and Safeguard National Security</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/a-federal-tiktok-ban-is-a-misguided-detour-from-doing-whats-needed-to-protect-peoples-privacy-and-safeguard-national-security</link><description><![CDATA[
  46. <p>On Tuesday, the Senate passed a bill that would force TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, to divest its holdings of the popular social-media site or face an effective ban in the United States. The White House has indicated that President Biden will sign the legislation, which – after failing to move quickly through the Senate – was folded into a foreign-aid bill that included support for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan.<br/> <br/> According to the bill, ByteDance must sell its TikTok shares within 270 days to a buyer that satisfies the U.S. government. If ByteDance refuses to sell, the government will prohibit cloud providers and app stores from distributing TikTok in the United States.<br/> <br/> TikTok has approximately 170 million active monthly users in the United States alone and is especially popular with younger generations and people of color, who use TikTok to organize, communicate, educate and entertain.<br/> <br/> Free Press Action Policy Counsel <strong>Jenna Ruddock</strong> said:<br/> <br/> “If lawmakers want to rein in the harms of social-media platforms, targeting just one under the guise of national security ignores an entire industry predicated on surveillance capitalism. Like all popular platforms — including those that Meta and Google own — TikTok collects far too much user data. But banning a single platform will not address the privacy problem that’s rotting the core of the entire tech industry. At any given time, dozens of corporations are tracking us, analyzing our behavior and profiting off of our private information. An entire business sector is dedicated to harvesting our sensitive data, selling it both in the United States and abroad, where it’s used to discriminate, target people with unwelcome ads and political disinformation — and, potentially, pry into their personal lives.<br/> <br/> “Singling out TikTok for privacy concerns, when so much personal information is available on the open market to U.S. law enforcement and foreign intelligence agencies alike, is a misguided detour from doing what’s needed to protect everyone’s digital rights. A sell-or-be-banned law targeting one platform runs afoul of the First Amendment and unilaterally closes off essential spaces for people to connect and communicate. The government should never have the right to cherry-pick the venues we use to explore new ideas. Many of the same lawmakers who passed this effective ban on TikTok are often heard decrying the rise of censorship. Such rhetoric gives a distinct whiff of hypocrisy to this latest legislative move. <br/> <br/> “TikTok users include a disproportionate number of younger people and people of color, who traditional media outlets too often ignore or neglect. Free Press Action will continue to fight for the free-speech rights of these and all other social-media users. Instead of banning TikTok, lawmakers should focus their energies on passing a federal privacy law that limits how all of these companies collect, store, analyze and sell our personal data.”</p>]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 24 Apr 2024 14:24:17 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/a-federal-tiktok-ban-is-a-misguided-detour-from-doing-whats-needed-to-protect-peoples-privacy-and-safeguard-national-security</guid><dc:creator>Newswire Editor</dc:creator></item><item><title>Making Clorox Great Again: Sounds Interesting, Right?</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/further/making-clorox-great-again-sounds-interesting-right</link><description><![CDATA[
  47. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/a-man-pretends-to-drink-bleach-during-a-protest-against-covid-restrictions-in-2020.jpg?id=52080276&width=1200&height=400&coordinates=0%2C187%2C0%2C102"/><br/><br/><p>Happy Disinfectant Injection Day to those survivors who four years ago ignored the "stratospherically insane" advice, even for him, of a demented buffoon babbling hokum in the face of a pandemic he couldn't spin his way out of - which, thanks to his ineptness, needlessly killed over 200,000 Americans. "I see the disinfectant, it knocks it out in a minute," he raved to a stricken Dr. Birx. "And is there a way we can do something like that?" Yeah, sure, let's elect him again.</p><p>Tuesday's fourth Bleachiversary, aka <a href="https://twitter.com/SarahBurris/status/1782759493958283313" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Stick a Light </a>Up Your Ass Day or  Bleach Injection Day, marks what's been deemed "the most surreal moment ever witnessed (in) a presidential press conference." For weeks, Trump had been <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/04/23/trump-bleach-one-year-484399" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">giving</a> "stream-of-consciousness" updates on a pandemic he insisted would soon  vanish, but wasn't. Earlier that day, the COVID task force had met, as usual without him, to discuss new findings on the effects of sunlight and humidity on the virus; Trump was briefed, didn't get it, went out and winged it 'cause he loved free TV airtime and what's a few hundred thousand deaths anyway? "So supposing we hit the body with a tremendous, whether it's ultraviolet or just very powerful light. And I think you said you're going to test it?" he <a href="https://digbysblog.net/2024/04/23/happy-disinfecta..." target="_blank">prattled </a>to Birx cringing behind him. "And then I see the disinfectant, it knocks it out in a minute...And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning? So you’re going to use medical doctors, right? But it sounds interesting to me. So we’ll see..."</p><p>And we did. Because, alas, dumb people <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertglatter/2020/04/25/calls-to-poison-centers-spike--after-the-presidents-comments-about-using-disinfectants-to-treat-coronavirus/?sh=14f4ab0d1157" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">listened.</a> Calls to Poison Control Centers after ingesting bleach, Lysol and other (deadly) household cleaners soared - this was even before he started touting hydroxychloroquine - and the day's deranged press bleaching went on to live in infamy. Ultimately, thanks to Trump's cumulative health policy cluster-fucks, America saw the highest number of COVID deaths in the world - over a million - of which, experts say, roughly 234,000 could have been prevented. In the moment, video shows a grim, mute Dr. Birx curled in horror - some swear you could see her soul leave her body, but it would have been far more useful, as the madman burbled, if she'd shrieked WHAT THE EVER LOVING FUCK?!?  "I wanted it to be 'The Twilight Zone' and all go away," she later <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/abc-news-exclusive-dr-birx-speaks-trump-disinfectant/story?id=84295724" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">said </a>in an interview. "I could just see everything unraveling." From then on, said a Dem official,  "We knew without any doubt the government was in way over its head, and its ability to respond effectively (was) not going to be anywhere close to meeting the moment."</p><blockquote class="rm-embed twitter-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1782758407637729591">
  48. <div style="margin:1em 0"></div> —  (@)
  49.        <a href="https://twitter.com/BidenHQ/status/1782758407637729591"></a>
  50. </blockquote>
  51. <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p>And so it went. And here we are. And now he is not just "gaspingly stupid" but, <a href="https://thinkbigpicture.substack.com/p/john-gartne..." target="_blank">experts say,</a> "in the advanced stages of dementia," from word salad - “space capsicule" and "Yoonayded Nations" - to 4th grade vocabulary - big, strong, great - to memory issues - Pelosi/ Haley - to a growing inability to control his behavior: "All of this will only get worse. The Trump you see today is the best Trump you're ever going to see." Last week, he described  the Battle of Gettysburg - "What an unbelievable battle that was. Gettysburg. Wow" - as either a <a href="https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/177931088782580..." target="_blank">mash-up </a>of the Civil War and <em>Pirates of the Caribbean </em>or a <a href="https://ew.com/jon-stewart-mocks-donald-trump-gettysburg-speech-8634327" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">horse giving birth</a>. This week outside court, accordion hands flying,  he <a href="https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1782451743445365201" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">gabbled </a>about his hush money crimes to reporters: "It’s a case as to book-keeping, which is a very minor thing in terms of the law in terms of all the violent crime that's going on outside…"This is a case where you pay a lawyer, he's a lawyer and they call it a legal expense. That's the exact term they use. We never even deducted it as a tax deduction..."</p><p>In court, meanwhile, he slumps, glowers, nods off as his hapless lawyers - admonished by the judge with, "I have to tell you right now, you're losing all credibility with the court" - struggle to explain how he's innocent of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal in an act of election interference. Between sessions, he <a href="https://twitter.com/BidenHQ/status/178283963238569..." target="_blank">whines</a>: "I'm here in a courtroom, sitting here...Sitting up as straight as I can all day long. It’s a very unfair situation.” <a href="https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1782566769820848136" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">So does</a><em> Fox' </em>Jesse Watters, who evidently doesn't realize that before sitting up straight in court Trump spent his time riding a golf cart like a beached whale: "They're draining his brain and his body...You're taking a man who's usually (in) action and you're gonna sit him in a chair in freezing temperatures. He needs sunlight and he needs activity. It's really cruel and unusual punishment to make a man do that." But the Super Man of his digital trading cards is "extraordinarily resilient," a co-host reminds him. So yeah, sure, four more years, even from a prison cell. </p><p>"There are several stages of grief after someone dies," a wise patriot notes, and often even before they do. "Like realizing your own dad has lung cancer, realizing he is not well  and is not going to be well down the road...The fact is that Trump has a cancer, a cancer of his soul that affects us all...It is time to let ‘dad’ go...People need to let Donald Trump go. Let him fade into the shadows where he came from." For a reminder of why that is now vital, see Sarah Cooper four years ago recreate his ignominious moment of moronic lunacy, one of far, far too many, in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxDKW75ueIU" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>How To Medical.  </em></a>Biden is already <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/17828217515686..." target="_blank">on it. </a>“Remember when he told us, literally, inject bleach?" he asked last week. “Bless me, Father.” So many crimes, so few consequences, so much at stake. "Don't inject bleach," Biden urged on the anniversary of the day Trump bungled to make Clorox great again. "And don’t vote for the guy who told you to inject bleach." Sigh. This is where we are. Are we better off than we were four years ago? In a feckin' relative universe, yes.</p>]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 24 Apr 2024 01:12:56 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/further/making-clorox-great-again-sounds-interesting-right</guid><dc:creator>Abby Zimet</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/a-man-pretends-to-drink-bleach-during-a-protest-against-covid-restrictions-in-2020.jpg?id=52080276&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>First They Came For My Appliances: We Are Here For the Refrigerator Freedom Act</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/further/first-they-came-for-my-appliances-we-are-here-for-the-refrigerator-freedom-act</link><description><![CDATA[
  52. <img src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/people-marvel-at-a-refrigerator.jpg?id=51994338&width=1200&height=400&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C222"/><br/><br/><p>Okay all you naysayers whining shambolic House GOPers aren't doing their job just 'cause they're blocking border solutions, ignoring infrastructure, enabling Ukrainian deaths and barely keeping the government afloat: Listen up. Boldly showcasing their astute priorities, they will fight  Monday to liberate your dishwashers, dryers, fridges and other home gizmos from a Marxist "avalanche" of new "Libby Boogyman" rules aimed at keeping the planet from vaporizing into air, and c'mon who cares about that?!</p><p>Ever-steadfast in  upholding their tradition of chasing fictional ills - Mike 'Election Chicanery' Johnson is now vowing to require proof of citizenship to prevent (brown-skinned) non-citizens from voting even though it's already illegal, also "not a thing" - the GOP-led House Rules Committee <a href="unveiled" target="_blank">meets</a> Monday to discuss six bills to prep them for final votes on the House floor. The six <a href="https://twitter.com/RepDonBeyer/status/17785438241..." target="_blank">bills</a> are the Stop Unaffordable Dishwasher Standards Act, the <em>Liberty in Laundry Act, the Affordable Air Conditioning Act, the Clothes Dryer Reliability Act, the Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act and the Refrigerator Freedom Act</em>. Yes. They are real. They're in response to a number of Biden regulations or proposals aimed at addressing climate change,  part of a $369 billion <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/strategies-supporting-climate-economy-1887459" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Inflation Reduction Act</a> that seeks to lower costs, reduce energy use, cut pollutants and move to more green-energy practices.</p><p>To Republicans, however, they're aimed at letting tyrants "control everything Americans are able to do on a day-to-day basis," part of an insidious plot to allow "others" to come for their stuff, their choices and their God-given rights, evidently including the right to get a back-alley abortion with a coat hanger. (One sage: "REPUBLICANS: 'Keep gubmint OUT of our toasters and dish washers!' ALSO  REPUBLICANS: 'We need surveillance cameras inside every cha-cha so we can keep an eye on what women are doing!'") Thus did Arizona's Rep. Debbie Lesko,<a href="https://lesko.house.gov/2023/11/lesko-stands-up-fo..." target="_blank"> declaring</a> she is  "proud (to) stand on the side of choice for American consumers," devise the <em>Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act </em>to prohibit "federal bureaucrats" from issuing an  aforementioned "avalanche" of new energy standards "not technologically feasible and economically justified."</p><p>In March, Iowa's Rep.Mariannette Miller-Meeks echoed her, introducing and eventually passing the<em> </em><em>Refrigerator Freedom Act t</em>o prohibit the same offenses - now "not cost-effective or technologically feasible" - because Biden has "done nothing but implement outrageous regulations" that only limit choice, increase prices, disenfranchise toilets and blenders, and move us toward dictatorship. MAGA-ites, of course, applaud these red-meat efforts to rescue heat pumps, gas stoves, washing machines, showers and air fryers from domination. "Finally, following American and not Globalist priorities," said one. "I am sick and tired of the government telling us what we can and cannot buy and use." And after 11 GOP-run states sued over some of the changes, a judge <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/joe-biden-stinging-lawsuit-loss-department-energy-efficiency-1859053" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">dismissed</a> the rules as "arbitrary and capricious."</p><p>That could also apply to a House focused on fighting to be able to buy a $7 toaster even if, okay, so it may burn your house down but FREEDUMB! Of course, confronting issues like national security or infrastructure require actual, unflashy, conciliatory, negotiating, attention-to-detail legislative<em> work, </em>and they're barely able to co-exist with their <em>colleagues,</em> never mind opponents, and anyway it's probably about time for another two-week recess, so let's go with hair dryers and ceiling fans. Along with the petty stupidity is the economic irony: Most appliances are made in China, so they're protecting Chinese companies from U.S. regulations, and for things made here, they're ensuring big business can be left alone to make over-priced, planet-killing, deliberately-soon-obsolete crap. Your tax dollars at work!</p><p>Predictably, the cognitive dissonance drew its share of mockery, with<em> Digby </em>noting, "We all know the GOP likes to focus on kitchen table issues, but this is ridiculous." Others argued that, "Insurrectionists are now GOP Congresspersons" and that, thanks in part to such diversionary tomfoolery, "The GOP has Ukrainian  blood on their hands." "First they came for my appliances," one intoned. "I was not an appliance, so I said nothing." Another suggested a key addition to the GOP agenda: a "Stop Wasting Our Time on Meaningless Legislation Act." There were also triumphant stories of deliverance born of the GOP's hard and noble   work. "In honor of the <em>Refrigerator Freedom Act, </em>I just opened my front door and set my newly liberated Frigidaire free," one reported. "Needless to say, it's running."</p>]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 14 Apr 2024 19:17:20 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/further/first-they-came-for-my-appliances-we-are-here-for-the-refrigerator-freedom-act</guid><dc:creator>Abby Zimet</dc:creator><media:content medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/people-marvel-at-a-refrigerator.jpg?id=51994338&amp;width=980"></media:content></item><item><title>Biden Administration Rule Improves Accountability For Big Oil Corporations That Profit From Public Lands</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/biden-administration-rule-improves-accountability-for-big-oil-corporations-that-profit-from-public-lands</link><description><![CDATA[
  53. <p>Accountable.US today released the following statement in response to the publication of the Department of the Interior and Bureau of Land Management’s final oil and gas <a href="https://www.blm.gov/press-release/blm-ensures-fair-taxpayer-return-strengthens-accountability-oil-and-gas-operations" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">rule</a>:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">“The Biden administration deserves our thanks for holding accountable the companies who have gotten a sweetheart deal to drill public property for far too long. Anyone who wants to profit from resources that belong to all American taxpayers should pay their fair share. This is an important step toward fixing a wildly irresponsible system that has given so much to massive corporations at the expense of everyone who enjoys the great outdoors.” —Chris Marshall spokesperson for Accountable.US</p>An Accountable.US <a href="https://accountable.us/report-biggest-public-lands-drillers-made-100-billion-after-cheating-taxpayers/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">report</a> last year found that the public lands oil and gas leasing system is broken in favor of some of the biggest, most profitable corporations in the world that lock up hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands.]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 12 Apr 2024 18:10:52 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/biden-administration-rule-improves-accountability-for-big-oil-corporations-that-profit-from-public-lands</guid><dc:creator>Newswire Editor</dc:creator></item><item><title>Sierra Club Statement on Reforms to Federal Oil and Gas Leasing Program</title><link>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/sierra-club-statement-on-reforms-to-federal-oil-and-gas-leasing-program</link><description><![CDATA[
  54. <p>Today the White House <a href="https://www.blm.gov/press-release/blm-ensures-fair-taxpayer-return-strengthens-accountability-oil-and-gas-operations" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">announced new reforms</a> to the federal oil and gas leasing system on public lands.</p><p>The new regulations bring much-needed balance to a system that has long favored corporate profits over public benefit. The reforms enacted by the Biden Administration include:</p><ul><li>Reasonable increases in bonding rates, ensuring oil and gas companies, not taxpayers, pay to clean up messes left by extractive activities; </li><li>New leasing criteria for future lease sales that will help reduce conflicts with wildlife, cultural, and outdoor recreation resources;</li><li>An end to “speculative leasing,” which allows oil and gas companies to tie up public lands with little to no chance of resource development;</li><li>Permanent increases to federal fees required to lease public lands for drilling, to the same levels required by many Western states; and</li><li>Ending noncompetitive leasing, which allowed public lands to be auctioned off for as little as $1.50 per acre.</li></ul><p><em><strong>In response, Sierra Club Lands Protection Program Director Athan Manuel, released the following statement:</strong></em></p><p>“These new regulations are the kind of common-sense reforms the federal oil and gas leasing program has needed for decades. The days of oil and gas companies locking up public lands for decades for pennies on the dollar and leaving polluted lands, water, and air in their wake are over.</p><p>“Simply put, the rules governing the leasing system weren’t working for communities, taxpayers, or the environment. The only people for whom they did work were oil and gas CEOs, who could pad corporate bottom lines while leaving the public to foot the bill to clean up their messes.</p><p>“The reforms announced by the Biden Administration are long-overdue, and will ensure that taxpayers get a fair return from the use of federal public lands while limiting harmful impacts to lands, wildlife, and community health.</p>]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 12 Apr 2024 18:09:01 +0000</pubDate><guid>https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/sierra-club-statement-on-reforms-to-federal-oil-and-gas-leasing-program</guid><dc:creator>Newswire Editor</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>

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