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The “Greenest Governor” vs. The Climate Kids

By Patrick Mazza for Cascadia Planet. June 23 is milestone in climate history. Today in 1988, then NASA scientist James Hansen told Congress human-caused global warming was with us. The fossil fuel industry knew it too. ExxonMobil scientists had accurately projected the track of climate disruption. Its oil industry peers were also well aware. If political leaders had been listening to Hansen then, we could have avoided a lot of death and destruction. Climate Trust youth have won a series of court victories, but, ironically, the administration of Gov. Jay Inslee, who came into office as the “greenest governor” with stellar credentials as a Congressional climate leader, is trying to overturn the most recent victory through an appeal to a higher court. In an astounding move guaranteed to provoke intense cognitive dissonance, it’s the “greenest governor” versus the climate kids.

Who Says They Don’t Protest In DC: Protest Year In Review

By Luke for DC Indy Media. Below is a month-by-month video review of activism, primarily in the Washington, DC region. If you think there are no protests in DC this video will disabuse of that thought. In fact, it was a busy year of protests on a wide range of issues. If these videos were shown on the commercial media or covered regularly by the corporate press it would look like the United States was in revolt. Luke who made the video is based in DC but he cannot cover all the protests that go on here. For example, few protests inside of Congress are included in this video, even though there have been many. Highlights of the past year include Black Lives Matter, the Baltimore Uprising, the TPP, the Pope, the climate protests and more. Below the video is a list of the protests covered by Luke, a DC independent media maker. Luke is primarily covering DC-area protests. In reality, many cities across the country have regular protests on the economy, climate, racism, wars, low wages and more. In the last couple of years as pipelines and other carbon infrastructure is being put in place we are also seeing protests outside of urban areas. When we are in the midst of the struggle, even if we are aware of many protests, we often can still not see how active the movement for economic, racial and environmental justice is.

A Different Kind Of CSA: Community Supported Activism

By Ashley Ahearn for KUOW - Lynnwood, Wash. -- Carlo Voli moves through the crowd of protesters outside a recent public hearing in Washington. He pauses to talk to a woman holding a cardboard cutout of an oil train and directs her over to where a group holding similar train car posters is lining up to complete the phrase “No More Exploding Oil Trains.” One by one, as the crowd grows, local politicians, tribal members and activists take the microphone to urge opposition to a proposal to bring oil by rail to Shell’s refinery in northern Puget Sound.

Solidarity With COP21 Protests, Hundreds At White House

By John Zangas for DC Media Group - Washington, DC – Several hundred people allied with environmental organizations rallied at the White House on Sunday, November 30 to show their solidarity with protests happening at the start of a major summit on climate change in Paris. More than 500 activists called on President Obama to end carbon emissions and implement programs now to transition to renewable energy sources. Parisians responded to a government ban on planned climate protests by setting 20,000 pairs of shoes in streets near the Place de la République.

Native Candidates Win Big In Washington State Elections

By Matt Remble for LRInspire - On November 3rd, Native American candidates won in several statewide races, included Debora Juarez (Blackfeet) who became the first Native American to win a seat on the Seattle City Council. Joining Juarez in another Seattle first, was the election of Scott Pinkham (Nez Perce) to the Seattle School board. Pinkham is believed to be the first Native American elected to serve on the school board. North of Seattle, in Bellingham, Roxanne Murphy (Nooksack) was re-elected to the Bellingham City Council. In 2014, Murphy sponsored the “Coast Salish Day” resolution to replace the Federal holiday Columbus Day for the city of Bellingham.

Cafeteria Union Workers Demand Restaurant Employees Get Better Pay

By Clark Mindock of IBTimes - U.S. Senate aides brown-bagged their lunches this week in support of cafeteria workers on Capitol Hill hoping to unionize. The aides were aligning themselves with a broader push by federally contracted workers to unionize and demand higher wages in one of the most expensive cities in the country. Senate cafeteria workers associated with the movement have alleged that the company contracted to provide meals in the underbelly of the Capitol has illegally retaliated against their organizing efforts. The workers are employed by private employer Restaurant Associates, which is contracted to run a subsidized business that feeds senators and their staff.

D.C.’s Public-Camping Ban Dooms Occupy Suit

By Jack Bouboushian in Courthouse News - Two Occupy protesters arrested for pitching their tent outside the offices of Merrill Lynch cannot sue the District of Columbia, the D.C. Circuit ruled. Samuel Dukore and Kelly Canavan were members of the Occupy movement in Washington, D.C. In February 2012, they were part of a group of about four dozen protesters who set up tents outside Merrill Lynch's office to "occupy" public space outside the wealth-management firm as a protest against financial inequality in the United States. D.C. law requires the mayor's permission, however, to "set up, maintain, or establish any camp or any temporary place of abode in any tent" on public property. Most of the protesters disassembled their tents when police threatened to arrest them, but Dukore and Canavan defied the officers' orders, reassembled their tent and continued their protest.

BLM Opposes DC Mayor’s Increase In Policing

By Eugene Puryear & Sean Blackman for Stop Police Terror - Mayor Muriel Bowser has released her plan addressing the spike in crime. Stop Police Terror and many others, have stated, she is headed in the wrong direction. In her framing she states the plan is “comprehensive.” Translated from politician-speak that means it contains “something for everyone.” Stop Police Terror has some serious concerns particularly about the massive increase in police presence and expansion of police powers. Much of what Bowser proposes is based on spurious information. Tougher penalties for crimes on public transit is a strategy that simply will not work. One of the principal studies on the effect of more severe penalties concluded: “the studies reviewed do not provide a basis for inferring that increasing the severity of sentences generally is capable of enhancing deterrent effects.” Stop Police Terror rejects this mass incarceration approach to criminal justice that has been proven by the academic and anecdotal evidence to be unsound.

Journey For Justice March From Selma To DC

By Alvin Benn in The Montgomery Advertiser - Protest marches have been part of Selma’s civil rights fabric since 1965, but an 860-mile trek to Washington had a minister leaning on the Bible for heavenly support Saturday. The Rev. Theresa Dear noted the magnitude of what lies ahead, but never doubted that the “40-day-and-40-night” march will be successful. “We are doing something of biblical proportions,” said Dear, just before a program ended in the shadow of the Edmund Pettus Bridge so that march could begin. Sponsored by the NAACP, “America’s Journey for Justice” is scheduled to extend through eastern seaboard states before ending in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 15. Saturday’s event in Selma drew political and religious leaders from around the country and, while the turnout didn’t come close to some predictions, organizers were still optimistic.

30,000 Teachers Walk Out In Protest Of Big Class Sizes

By Mario Vasquez in In These Times - On Tuesday, May 19, thousands of demonstrators marched through downtown Seattle to support a rolling strike by public school teachers across Washington state. The teachers are protesting what they say are unacceptably high class sizes and low pay, stemming from their state legislature’s failure to fully fund public education. Six thousand teachers and supporters from Seattle Public Schools and the nearby districts of Mercer Island and Issaquah shut down intersections for blocks in the largest coordinated action since the rolling walkout began on April 22. In total, at least 30,000 teachers in 65 striking school districts have participated in one-day strikes.

Mothers Going To Washington DC To March Against Police Brutality

Moms are coming to Washington DC to tell the Obama Administration a few things: their children are the nation’s children and they don’t want to lose any more of their sons and daughters to police violence. Over 50 mothers who have lost children to police violence plan to rally and speak at the Department of Justice to remind America their pain is her pain. Her healing can not come without an end to police killings. They are coming to say there should not be another mother to bury their child because of police brutality. The Million Mom March on Washington will walk from Mt. Vernon Square in Washington DC to the Department of Justice on May 9th, adding yet more authenticity to the Black Lives Matter Movement.

Charges Against Sawant Dismissed In #Fightfor15 Protest

A SeaTac city judge abruptly ended the disorderly-conduct trial of Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant and two others Friday, dismissing all charges against the three defendants, who were arrested during a minimum-wage demonstration. The defense didn’t need to call witnesses and the jury didn’t deliberate because Judge Ann Danieli terminated the trial moments after prosecutors rested their case. Danieli agreed with a defense lawyer, who argued the prosecutors had failed to present sufficient evidence that Sawant, the Rev. John Helmiere and airport worker Socrates Bravo engaged in disorderly conduct by intentionally blocking traffic. Testimony from police officers showed that it was police who blocked traffic on International Boulevard in the minutes before Sawant, Helmiere and Bravo were arrested, the judge said.

The 15-Dollar Minimum Wage & The Broader Struggle Against Capital

Across the United States, the campaign for raising the minimum wage to 15 dollars is gaining momentum. From cities such as traditionally left wing Olympia, Washington, to more moderate Atlanta, Georgia, activists are pushing for better wages- and they’re starting to win the debate. But will a higher minimum wage really change that much for the average American? It’s unlikely unless the struggle is broadened beyond the scope of the minimum wage in the United States. To explore this further, let’s start with a hypothetical future scenario of the results of the domestic struggle. Once the groundswell of activism in favor of the 15-dollar minimum wage becomes too great to ignore, the concept will begin to be taken seriously by leading pundits. Leaders from Socialist Alternative, such as Seattle’sKshama Sawant, will be ignored in the mainstream media.

Disability Rights Activists’ Week Of Nonviolent Protest

ADAPT activists from across the nation gathered in Washington, DC and began our week of non violent, civil disobedience. We demanded President Obama act NOW to support the Community Integration Act. We were 150 strong and 53 ADAPT warriors were arrested. Justin Dart used to call us all patriots. For me, it is like coming home to be back on the line with my ADAPT sisters and brothers. A new disability kept me home for a couple years. That and the fact that I’ve reached wise crone age sent me down memory lane today. It was great interviewing old timers and youth about what the Community Integration Act means to them. Elaine Kolb is a wheelchair riding cultural worker and artist who joined the disability rights movement way earlier than half the ADAPTERS were born.

Marijuana Activists Are Chaining Themselves To ‘Liberty Pole’

At the very deliberate time of 4:20 a.m. Wednesday, dozens of D.C. marijuana activists arrived at the Mall. They put on some music, constructed a 42-foot “liberty pole,” and chained themselves to it. “Chained to this pole, I feel more free than I have in my memory,” said protester David Keniston. “We are living democracy right now.” Led by the DC Cannabis Campaign, the organization that spearheaded efforts to legalize marijuana in the city, the nearly week-long vigil in which city activists decry congressional meddling into local D.C. affairs began Wednesday. The activists decided to start the around-the-clock protest on April 15, Tax Day, because, as the city’s license plates say, the District has “taxation without representation.”
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