Author: sparki

Final Straw Radio: Radicals on mass climate movements in Germany and the U.S.

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This week, while traveling through Oregon the “Scaling Resistance Tour” spoke with the long running anarchist podcast– Final Straw Radio. (starts at 40min 5sec)

Listen and download here.

“This week we’re sharing two interviews.

First up, Bursts spoke with glo merriweather and jamie marsicano, two supporters of Rayquan Borum, a young black man accused by Charlotte PD of killing Justin Carr, another protester out during the Charlotte Uprising after the police killing of Keith Lamont Scott in mid September of 2016. Rayquan spent 2 years and 5 months in pre-trial detention and his trial just began. Some witnesses to Carr’s death claim the Charlotte PD killed him, not Borum. Check out our April 2018 interview with glo, jamie and ash for background on the case. You can follow CharlotteUprising at their fedbook page. (starts at 11min 30sec)

Second we air an interview with Mia from Rising Tide North America, Selma from Ende Gelände and Johanna from the Climate Justice Action Camp in Germany about the tour the three are engaging around the so-called U.S. We talk about mass movements to stop the extractive industries in Germany and the U.S., the Yellow Vest movement, the Green New Deal and more. The tour dates and synopsis is up at risingtidenorthamerica.org under the title “Scaling Our Climate Resistance.” If you can’t make the tour dates, there’s also a free webinar on March 11 at 8pm EST. (starts at 40min 5sec)”

 

Rising Tide Chicago tells Chase Bank: “The Great Lakes are not an ATM”

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Cross-posted from Rising Tide Chicago

Chicagoans tell Chase Bank: “The Great Lakes are not an ATM”

Chase plan risks contaminating the Great Lakes with dirty Tar Sands oil; Residents tell Chase Midwest Chair Melissa Bean to halt project.

Chicago, Ill. (Feb. 23, 2019) — This Saturday, members of Rising Tide Chicago stood outside of a Chase Bank in Bridgeport to educate concerned citizens about the bank’s funding of dirty Tar Sands oil and humans rights and Indigenous rights abuses. Chase Bank is the #1 Wall Street funder of the dirtiest fossil fuels on the planet. Chicagoans were invited to sign postcards addressed to Chase Midwest Chair Melissa Bean, demanding that the bank pull their funds from the fossil fuel industry in favor of just and sustainable infrastructure.

“Last year the IPCC’s report confirmed we have twelve years to avoid the most drastic effects of climate change, and we must keep fossil fuels in the ground. We want to make sure Melissa Bean is prioritizing a transition away from fossil fuels, starting with sources like tar sands, one of the most carbon-intensive form of oil that also pollutes Lake Michigan, our drinking water,“ said Angie Viands, organizer with Rising Tide Chicago.

Rising Tide Chicago stands with Indigenous communities and tribal governments who have not consented to fossil fuel pipelines that directly threaten their resources. Chase Bank finances Enbridge’s highly contested Line 3 pipeline, its controversial extension, and other nearby pipelines around the Great Lakes, posing an urgent threat to the region’s water sources.

Chase customers were asked to share social media photos with their own “#ChaseStatement” urging Chase to stop financing dirty energy.

Rising Tide Chicago plans to continue these actions in the city, in partnership with local environmental and climate justice organizations. This action is one of many growing efforts across North America to demand banks divest from fossil fuel projects and finance a swift transition to renewable energy.

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Webinar: Scaling Resistance with the German Climate Justice Movement on March 11

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As you might know by now, German climate group Ende Galaende is on tour through the US with Rising Tide North America this February through April. We’re touring with them to share stories from Germany’s wildly successful mass mobilizations. So far, we’ve got tour stops in 22 cities covering the West Coast, the Northeast, Appalachia and the Midwest.

BUT for folks not a living in places where a tour stop is nearby, we’re hosting a webinar with our friends at 350.org to share Ende Galaende’s presentation.

The webinar will be 8pm EST/7pm CST/6pm MST/5pm PST on Monday March 11th.

RSVP for the webinar here.

About Ende Galaende:

A strong and diverse radical climate justice movement — called Ende Gelände (“Here and No Further”) — has been growing in Germany.

Last fall, they organized 6,000 people to collectively block a coal mine and 82 simultaneous tree sits to protect a forest from being completely bulldozed. No small feat, right? Demonstrators invaded mining pits, danced in front of the diggers, slept on the railways, and provoked pictures that made the connection between climate chaos and capitalism and exposed the dirty truth behind the German energy transition “Energiewende”.

Details on the U.S. tour here.

April 28: Oakland Fundraiser for Climate Justice! Featuring Casey Neill & the Norway Rats

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Casey Neill and the Norway Rats.

Diablo Rising Tide is excited to be hosting an Oakland fundraiser for climate direct action organizing featuring long time folk singer and Earth First! troubadour Casey Neill.

Join us for a benefit for direct action for climate justice! In Oakland, CA on April 28th!

Featuring:

  • Casey Neill & the Norway Rats
  • Loretta Lynch
  • Wayfairy

WHERE: Elbo Room Jack London. 311 Broadway, Oakland CA

WHEN: Sunday, April 28th 6pm-11pm

RSVP Here: https://www.facebook.com/events/396395090924531/

Sliding Scale – $10-50 suggested donation, no one turned away for lack of funds. 21+ Doors at 6:00, show at 7:00

Download: DiRT_Casey_Neil_benefit_poster

About the bands:

Casey Neill & The Norway Rats straddle the lines between somber Americana ballads, the intensity and ethos of punk, politically charged Irish folk tunes, and anthemic rock singalongs – but Neill’s storytelling talent and concern for real people’s struggles stand out. Based out of Portland, Oregon, their acclaimed latest album Subterrene is described as “dystopian romance” – where electronic elements weave in and out underneath razor sharp guitars. While not a traditional concept album, Subterrene follows a distinct story arc, and the ominous-yet-defiantly-optimistic portraits it paints were inspired in equal parts by vintage sci-fi novels, our current political climate, and the globetrotting manner in which Neill’s lived for the past few years. HIs records (and touring band) have a super-group reputation, including regular collaborators from R.E.M. , The Decemberists, Death Cab for Cutie, The Eels and more.

Loretta Lynch believes in having the right regrets. With lush three-part harmonies, raucous surf-tinged guitar and tongue in cheek, the East Bay Area’s own alt-country outfit Loretta Lynch’s stirring songs reach the shady grove in all of us. A little tear in your beer, a little knife in the back – think the Wailin’ Jennies’ crankier cousins at a warehouse hoedown. It’s Americana Noir. “Home Fires”, the band’s latest, critically acclaimed album, explores the decay of domestic life: loss and regret, bitterness and ambiguity, earthy humor, sweetness and occasional spasms of optimism.

Wayfairy started with a banjo on the turnpike and has grown into a Bay Area six piece music project that fills the sonic space between mournful folk and riotous punk. Originally the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Quiver Watts, Wayfairy has grown into a collective project that blends accordion, banjo, violin, washboard and upright bass with soft vocal harmonies, punctuated by raw wails.

This is a benefit for Diablo Rising Tide and direct action organizing for climate justice in the San Francisco Bay Area.