APRIL 11TH GLOBAL SHOWDOWN! Day of Action! THE PEOPLE vs. CITIGROUP CONFRONTING THE WORLD'S MOST DESTRUCTIVE BANK
A call for creative non-violent action! Whether its civil disobedience, mass credit card cut-ups, teach-ins, shareholder activism, demonstrations, phone zaps, fax blasts, press conferences, guerilla theater, informational pickets or whatever - take action against CITIGROUP on April 11th.
FOR MORE INFO, TO GET AN ORGANIZING PACKET OR TO CONNECT WITH LOCAL ACTIVISTS IN YOUR AREA CONTACT RAINFOREST ACTION NETWORK:
NY - Beka Economopoulos beka at ran.org, 917-560-3609/888-840-6416 or SF - Patrick Reinsborough organize at ran.org, 415-398-4404/800-989-RAIN
Citi has over 1200 branches and offices around the US and office in over 100 countries around the world. Find your local subsidiary and ORGANIZE LOCALLY!
<http://www.citibank.com/branches/ <http://www.citifinancial.com/branchlocator/ <http://www.salomonsmithbarney.com/
Are you sick of corporate globalization and all the environmental destruction, poverty and injustice it is creating? Sick of undemocratic Free Trade agreements like NAFTA, WTO and FTAA being rammed down your throat? Are you ready to stand up to the system of global destruction that put the interests of corporate elites ahead of local communities, workers, farmers, the environment and democratic decision-making? Can you envision a global society based on justice, democracy and ecological sanity? Well then it sounds like you are ready to go for the jugular of the corporate global economy - and take on the world's most destructive bank - CITIGROUP.
CITIGROUP is America's largest financial institution made up of Citibank, Citifinancial, Traveler's insurance and investment house Salomon Smith Barney (now called Citi Asset Management). From rainforest destruction to redlining, prisons to pollution Citi is writing the rule of the global economy and bankrolling the destruction.
A few examples of what Citi has been involved in :
FOREST DESTRUCTION Mining in the Amazon. Clear-cutting rainforests in Indonesia. Liquidating California's last ancient redwoods.
FOSSIL FUELS Drilling in Venezuela's fragile Orinoco River Delta. Helping Exxon-Mobil and the repressive governments of Chad and Cameroon build a massive oil pipeline.
ECONOMIC INJUSTICE From predatory lending to redlining communities of color to strangling poor nations with crippling debt payments.
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS Involved in China's Three Gorges Dam which will displace 2 million people. Underwriting the Colombian government despite their horrible track record on human rights.
GENETIC ENGINEERING Raising money for biotech investments. Promoting Genetically engineered trees.
PRISONS Underwriting the growth and privatization of the prison industry
ANTI-LABOR From laying off 10,000 workers to bankrolling strikebreaking companies to profiting from sweatshop labor, Citigroup's practices attack working people everywhere.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE CORRUPTION Citi has profited from the revolving door between Wall Street and Washington. Former Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin spearhead the effort to rewrite the laws to allow the Citibank/Travelers merger than left public office to become the Chairman of the Board of the newly formed Citigroup! While this was happening Citi spent over $18 million on lobbying and campaign contributions.
CITI is creating a doomsday global economy where human rights, justice and the environment don't show up on the balance sheet. It's up to all of us to unite for an economy where principles come before corporate profits! Demand that Citi go BEYOND THE BOTTOMLINE to stop investing in the destruction of the environment and communities around the world.
CITI is uniquely vulnerable to grassroots pressure because of their massive consumer presence and efforts to promote the Citi brandname. They are terrified that the word will get out about their destructive practices. So let's organize people to cut up their Citi credit cards, switch their student loans, cancel their accounts And confront Citi at their local branches! Together we can send a strong message that you won't do business with the world's most destructive bank!
FOR MORE BACKGROUND INFO CHECK OUT www.ran.org www.innercitypress.org/citi.html www.citiaction.org
We want to hear from you with your questions, ideas, strategies, tactics or local research. To learn more, get involved, or endorse this campaign contact us:
NY - Beka Economopoulos beka at ran.org, 917-560-3609/888-840-6416 or SF - Patrick Reinsborough organize at ran.org, 415-398-4404/800-989-RAIN
IF NOT US, THEN WHO? DON'T BE AFRAID TO THINK BIG. OUR TIMES DEMAND IT.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Beka Economopoulos Rainforest Action Network East Coast Grassroots Organizer http://www.ran.org 888-840-6416 office 917-560-3609 cell
"Only after the last tree has been cut down. Only after the last river has been poisoned. Only after the last fish has been caught. Only then you will find that money cannot be eaten." -- Cree Indian Proverb