Action Alert Digest - September 1, 2021

September 1, 2021

Action Alert Digest

TAKE ACTION: Billions for Bullets Should Go to Helping People in Afghanistan

Now that the U.S military has left Afghanistan, there are ample funds available to ease suffering on the ground and support Afghans to rebuild their lives. Congress had earmarked more than $3 billion for the collapsed Afghan National Security Forces which no longer exist. Win Without War urges us to tell Congress to immediately use any money that was previously going to be spent supporting Afghan security forces to help save Afghan lives. TAKE ACTION

Armed Protests Are Picking Up, and a New Study Says They're More Likely to Turn Violent

Armed protests are six times more likely to turn violent as protests where no guns are present, concludes a new study that analyzed more than 30,000 public demonstrations in the U.S. over the past 18 months. Experts report that 94% of Black Lives Matter protests, hundreds of which occurred around the country, were peaceful. In contrast, demonstrations involving right-wing militias or militant social movements have turned violent or destructive over twice as often. MORE

Time to Declare: “There Can Be No Successful War on Terror”

Events in Afghanistan demand our horror and grief, but not our shock or surprise. The collapse of the Afghan government and its armed forces was forecast in the similar 2014 collapse of the Iraqi armed forces — another military, trained and supplied by the U.S. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. reflected concerning the war in Vietnam, “Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows.” And again our nation must ask: have we learned this lesson yet? MORE

We Can’t Prevent Tomorrow’s Nuclear Wars Unless We Imagine Them Today

During the Cold War, techniques designed to anticipate the future were instrumental in informing strategic decisions. It is now more important than ever to anticipate what the future might hold due to the uncertainty surrounding tomorrow’s strategic environment. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists suggests why and how nuclear policymakers and professionals should (re)introduce foresight in nuclear policymaking. MORE

As US Nuclear Exports Decline, Experts Fear International Safeguards Will Too

The United States’ position as a dominant exporter of nuclear reaction technology meant it could set and maintain adequate safeguards against the diversion of nuclear materials. What will happen when Russia and China overtake the US in that role? MORE

UN Chief Urges Countries to Reaffirm Commitment to Ban Nuclear Tests

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on countries that have not yet ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) to do so “without delay”. The CTBT was adopted in 1996 and has been signed by 185 countries, and ratified by 170, including three nuclear weapon States. However, it must be signed and ratified by 44 specific nuclear technology holder countries before it can enter into force. MORE

Migrants Stuck in Mexico Faced 6,356 Violent Attacks Since January

Thousands of migrants waiting in Mexico for processing of their U.S. asylum requests have been violently attacked since President Biden took office in January, said a Human Rights First report. It listed over 6,000 attacks, based on interviews, migrant surveys, media reports, and data from lawyers and humanitarian aid groups. MORE

Some Afghan Children Arrive in U.S. Unaccompanied

Some Afghan children evacuated from their home country have arrived in the United States without a family member, prompting U.S. officials to send them to government shelters for unaccompanied migrant youths. This adds new complexities to the legal, humanitarian, and logistical problems of resettling Afghans. MORE

Felony Reentry Immigration Law Is Unconstitutional Due to Racist Origins, Judge Rules

A federal judge has ruled that a provision of U.S. immigration law that makes it a felony for someone to reenter the United States after having been deported is unconstitutional because of its racist origins. Since 1929, U.S. immigration law has made it a misdemeanor to “unlawfully enter” the country and a felony to “unlawfully reenter” the country after being deported. These two offenses make up the majority of criminal prosecutions. MORE

TAKE ACTION: Support the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act

The production of plastic production wreaks havoc on the environment. Once it is used, the vast majority of plastic is not effectively recycled and instead goes on to harm wildlife and pollute the environment, be buried in landfills, or burned in incinerators. The Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act aims to end plastic waste at all levels. Green American urges us to tell Congress to pass this important legislation. TAKE ACTION

Rock Island County Recycling Drop-Off Site Closure Causing Community Pushback

Community members in Rock Island County, Illinois are pushing back against the Rock Island County Waste Management Agency’s decision to cancel the free recycling drop-off sites. The RICWMA says that with COVID-19, there was less garbage brought into the landfill resulting in less money for the program. Advocates are now asking the agency to reconsider the program, or at the least other options for recycling in the county. MORE

Weather Disasters Soar in Numbers and Cost, But Deaths Fall

Climate change is driving an increase in the frequency and severity of weather events like heatwaves, flooding, droughts, wildfires, and storms, with the average number of weather-related disasters climbing from an annual average of 711 in the 1970s to an average of 3,536 per year between 2000 and 2009. The number of fatalities associated with catastrophic weather events has dropped in the same period, largely due to developments in early warning systems. MORE

Iowa Participates In 12-State Operation Targeting Human Trafficking

Authorities across 12 states recently made 102 arrests using simultaneous state-level operations to target human traffickers. In Iowa, 12 federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies conducted 10 operations throughout the state, during which officers executed 10 search warrants, identified five businesses involved in sex trafficking, made 11 arrests, and seized a large quantity of cash. MORE

Slaves To Deforestation: Labor Abuses Fuel Brazil's Amazon Destruction

A spike in rainforest loss since right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro took power in Brazil has provoked an international outcry, but the workers who do the logging, often in slave-like conditions, remain invisible. Experts say slaves are used to clear jungle for cattle ranching. Illegal mines also drive deforestation and rely on slave labor. MORE

Kidnapped, Raped, Wed Against Their Will: Kyrgyz Women’s Fight Against a Brutal Tradition

Known as ala kachuu (“take and run”), the brutal practice of kidnapping brides has its roots in medieval times along the steppes of Central Asia, yet persists to this day. It has been banned in Kyrgyzstan for decades and the law was tightened in 2013, but it has not curtailed the practice, and prosecutions are rare. At least 12,000 marriages take place and are consummated, every year against the will of the bride. MORE

Univ. of Iowa Fraternity Faces Sexual Assault Allegations as Petition Reaches Over 70,000 Signatures

More than 500 people protested outside of the fraternity house at the University of Iowa this week, asking administrators to ban the fraternity from campus. An online petition accuses two members of Phi Gamma Delta - also known as Fiji - of sexual assault nearly a year ago and accuses police and the school of not doing anything about it. A petition which has been circulating has more than 70,000 signatures. MORE

TAKE ACTION: Support Funding for Global Vaccines

Less than 4 percent of people living in Africa and just 30 percent of people in Asia have received a vaccine, compared to 60 percent of Americans. The doses simply don’t exist in these places yet. Faithful American urges us to tell Congress to includes $34 billion for global vaccines in the next budget reconciliation bill. Experts say it will be enough to produce and distribute the 8 billion doses needed. TAKE ACTION

With Eviction Moratorium Gone, 3.5 Million U.S. Households Could Lose Their Home

Now that the Supreme Court has struck down eviction protections for most of the U.S., as many as 3.5 million households are at risk of losing their homes, including hundreds of thousands of tenants this year alone. That's because federal rent assistance has been agonizingly slow to make it to renters, with just 10% of available funding having gone out by the end of July. MORE

John Ramirez is scheduled to be executed on September 8 by the state of Texas for the murder of Pablo Castro. Please hold John, Pablo, their families, and the people of Texas in prayer. TAKE ACTION

Rick Rhoades is scheduled to be executed on September 28 by the state of Texas for the murders of Charles Allen and Bradley Allen. Please hold Rick, Charles, Bradley, their families, and the people of Texas in prayer. TAKE ACTION