February, 06 2019, 11:00pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Kari Jones, 510-433-2759, Martha Wallner, 510-273-2264, or Rachel Berger, 510-561-6614
Nurses Launch Medicare for All 'Barnstorm' Actions in 150 U.S. locations Feb. 9-13
WASHINGTON
The grassroots Medicare for All movement will ramp up like never before Feb. 9-13, during the Medicare for All Week of Action, as volunteers across the U.S. host 150 Medicare for All "barnstorm" mass organizing meetings to kickstart canvassing and grassroots lobbying in local communities throughout the country.
"Nurses have been fighting for decades to win Medicare for All, so we are thrilled to see the movement for real health care reform in America expanding like never before," said Bonnie Castillo, RN, executive director of National Nurses United (NNU), sponsor of the Medicare for All week of action. "The barnstorms are about harnessing that momentum and continuing to build it out even further, into every community, conversation by conversation, neighbor by neighbor--until the people's will for Medicare for All becomes the political will to get it done."
What: Medicare for All barnstorm
When: February 9-13
Where: See map of 150 U.S. locations at: medicare4all.org/actions
A recent Reuters-Ipsos poll showed 70 percent of respondents support Medicare for All. According to nurses, ground support has been unprecedented, with volunteers knocking on doors, crowd canvassing, and phone banking--identifying tens of thousands of Medicare for All supporters, from August 2017 through September 2018 alone. An organizing call for the barnstorms, featuring Rep. Pramila Jayapal. who will soon be introducing the new House Medicare for All Act; Senator Bernie Sanders, sponsor of the Senate bill; and NNU's Castillo, was attended by thousands of people.
With the impending introduction of Jayapal's new House bill, nurses and activists say the barnstorms will focus on organizing to knock on doors, make phone calls to and otherwise rally the American public to lobby representatives for the bill's passage.
"Profiting off sick people is sick," said Briana Moss, whose fight to maintain insulin for her Type I diabetes inspired her to host the Dubuque, Iowa barnstorm. "I know people with diabetes literally dying because they cannot afford their insulin. My grandparents are too scared to retire. Having health care tied to your occupation holds everybody back. In what should be the greatest country in the world, there's no excuse for this."
Allentown, Pa. barnstorm host Emily Hibshman, 25, says she is fighting for a future in which young people can fulfill their potential, rather than basing life decisions around aging out of family insurance at 26. She says she is committed to holding elected officials accountable.
"I want people who support incremental change in the existing system to think about who will be hurt by continuing to do that," said Hibshman. "Any democratic politician worth their salt needs to get behind Medicare for All. People want it. If you're not behind it, you need to get out of office."
Nurses say they have been blown away by the massive response to the call for barnstorm events, and are heartened to see everyday people stepping up and joining the movement.
"The health care and insurance industries may be able to buy politicians and the media, but they will never be as persuasive as our thousands of volunteers," said NNU Copresident Jean Ross, RN. "We're going to put intense pressure on Congress members to sign on as cosponsors of the Medicare for All Act of 2019 and for key House committee members to bring the legislation to hearings. In honor of our patients who have paid the ultimate price in this deadly system, we know we can't wait any longer - and together, with all of the working people and allies standing up this week and beyond, we will see that Medicare for All makes it across the finish line."
National Nurses United, with close to 185,000 members in every state, is the largest union and professional association of registered nurses in US history.
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'Obscene': BP Has Paid Out $27 Billion to Shareholders Since Russia Invaded Ukraine
"Instead of helping to rebuild Ukraine, ease the burden of high bills, or support countries suffering from the climate crisis, BP is making the rich richer," one campaigner said.
May 07, 2024
Oil major BP has paid out $27.4 billion to shareholders since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Global Witness found in an analysis published Tuesday.
The environmental justice group released its calculations one day after BP announced its profits for the first quarter of 2024: The company made a total of $2.7 billion and spent $1.75 billion—more than half that amount—on share buybacks.
"It's obscene that anyone would profit from the Ukraine war, the energy crisis, or the climate crisis, but that's what's happening," Alice Harrison, head of fossil fuel campaigns at Global Witness, said in a statement. "With the biggest spoils going to one of the richest, most destructive industries in the world—the fossil fuel industry."
"Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, [oil companies] are seen as providing countries with energy security rather than being terrible companies polluting the world—and they have used that to their advantage."
BP's first-quarter profit announcement came one day after the Financial Timesreported that shareholders expected the company to relax its plans to reduce oil and gas production. The company is currently the only major player in the industry that has committed to actually curbing production, with a reduction target of 25% of 2019 levels by 2030. That target, set in 2023, was already a scaling back of its 2020 goal to cut production by 40% by the end of the decade.
However, in January, Murray Auchincloss replaced Bernard Looney as BP's CEO, and shareholders say he has different priorities.
"Murray is saying outwardly that there's no change, but behind the scenes he's being a lot more pragmatic, returns-focused, and hard-nosed about it," one anonymous investor told FT. "We'd all love them to build more in renewables but from a shareholder point of view, returns are not there."
Shareholders also spoke candidly about how Russia's invasion of Ukraine had impacted the industry.
"Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, [oil companies] are seen as providing countries with energy security rather than being terrible companies polluting the world—and they have used that to their advantage," one said.
Another speculated that BP's rumored change in strategy was "partly a response to market pricing" as higher interest rates made renewable energy projects more expensive while the Ukraine war raised oil prices.
In a recent letter to BP's board, activist shareholder Bluebell Capital Partners said that if the company was planning to raise production, as it had suggested privately to shareholders, then that "should be reflected in BP's official communication and targets."
However, a U.S. Senate hearing last week focusing on major oil companies including BP revealed that the industry has a history of saying one thing and doing another when it comes to climate targets. For example, while BP has committed to the Paris climate agreement on its website, in internal emails shared at the hearing, the company admitted that "no one is committed to anything, other than to stay in the game."
In response to BP's quarterly profits, Oxfam argued that oil and gas companies cannot be trusted to regulate themselves.
"With BP's earnings once again in the billions and its oil production higher than the last quarter, we clearly cannot rely on fossil fuel companies to lead us out of the escalating climate crisis," Oxfam Great Britain's senior climate justice policy adviser, Chiara Ligouri, said in a statement. "The buck must stop with the government. Instead of adding fuel to the fire by allowing new oil and gas licenses, they can and should be taxing fossil fuel companies like BP more to ensure they pay their fair share for damage caused by their activities."
"We need faster and fairer action to support people living in poverty—in the U.K. and globally—who did the least to cause the crisis but who are now suffering the most, and fossil fuel companies should foot the bill," Ligouri added.
Harrison of Global Witness also called for a transition to renewable energy.
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Tlaib Says 'No Coincidence' Israel Invaded Rafah After Congress Approved More Military Aid
"For months, Netanyahu made his intent to invade Rafah clear, yet the majority of my colleagues and President Biden sent more weapons to enable the massacre," said U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib.
May 07, 2024
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib said Tuesday that the Israeli government's decision this week to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah was directly connected to American lawmakers' recent approval of billions of dollars in additional military aid.
"It's no coincidence that immediately after our government sent the Israeli apartheid regime over $14 billion with absolutely no conditions on upholding human rights, [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu began a ground invasion of Rafah to continue the genocide of Palestinians—with ammunition and bombs paid for by our tax dollars," Tlaib (D-Mich.), the only Palestinian American in the U.S. Congress, said in a statement.
Tlaib was one of 37 House Democrats who voted against the foreign aid package that included military assistance for Israel, which has repeatedly used U.S. weaponry to commit atrocities in Gaza. U.S. President Joe Biden signed the package into law late last month.
Last week, Tlaib joined 56 fellow House Democrats in urging the Biden administration to suspend deliveries of offensive weapons that could be used in an Israeli assault on Rafah, which is currently home to more than half of Gaza's population—including around 600,000 children.
"Many of my colleagues are going to express concern and horror at the crimes against humanity that are about to unfold, even though they just voted to send Netanyahu billions more in weapons," Tlaib said Tuesday. "Do not be misled, they gave their consent for these atrocities, and our country is actively participating in genocide. For months, Netanyahu made his intent to invade Rafah clear, yet the majority of my colleagues and President Biden sent more weapons to enable the massacre."
For months, Netanyahu made his intent to invade Rafah clear, yet the majority of my colleagues and President Biden sent more weapons to enable the massacre.
My statement on the Israeli apartheid regime's ground invasion of Rafah: pic.twitter.com/PbMP1tq3ka
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) May 7, 2024
Tlaib's statement came after Israeli forces, including ground troops and tanks, seized control of the Gaza side of Rafah's border crossing with Egypt, halting the delivery of critical humanitarian aid as the enclave's population starves.
A day earlier, Israel's military ordered more than 100,000 people in eastern Rafah to evacuate the area, a directive that aid organizations and experts condemned as a grave violation of international law.
Echoing humanitarians' warnings, Tlaib said Tuesday that "there is nowhere safe in Gaza" for displaced people to go and noted that "nearly 80% of the civilian infrastructure has been destroyed."
"There is no feasible evacuation plan, and the Israeli government is only trying to provide a false pretense of safety to try to maintain legal cover at the International Court of Justice," said the Michigan Democrat. "Netanyahu knows that he will only stay in power as long as the fighting continues. It is now more apparent than ever that we must end all U.S. military funding for the Israeli apartheid regime, and demand that President Biden facilitate an immediate, permanent cease-fire that includes a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and the release of all hostages and arbitrarily detained Palestinians."
Tlaib went on to demand that the International Criminal Court (ICC)—which is tasked with investigating individuals for violations of international law—"swiftly issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and senior Israeli officials to finally hold them accountable for this genocide, as is obviously warranted by these well-documented violations of the Genocide Convention under international law."
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Cutting Off Lifeline for Starving Gazans, Israel Seizes Control of Rafah Crossing
"This has devastating impacts for the people of Gaza who are already on the verge of famine," said the UNRWA's director of planning.
May 07, 2024
With tanks and ground forces, the Israeli military seized control of the Gaza side of Rafah's border crossing with Egypt on Tuesday, cutting off a critical humanitarian aid route as much of the enclave's population faces imminent famine.
Israel's takeover of the Rafah crossing came hours after the country's military ordered more than 100,000 people in the southern Gaza city to evacuate ahead of a ground assault, which is moving forward after the right-wing Israeli government rejected a cease-fire proposal accepted by Hamas. Cease-fire negotiations mediated by Egypt and Qatar are expected to continue in the coming days.
Video footage posted to social media shows an Israeli tank running over a Gaza sign as Israeli forces took control of the Rafah crossing on Tuesday.
Israeli tank bulldozers Gaza sign as Israeli army captures Rafah crossing this morning.
pic.twitter.com/JNnAXKeW9h
— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) May 7, 2024
Reporting from Rafah, Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud said the Israeli military is "cutting off the only lifeline right now to the people in Gaza, particularly for the 1.5 million displaced Palestinians here in Rafah."
The Rafah crossing is closed, cutting off the life line for 1.5m people crammed into this tiny piece of land right at the southern end of the Gaza strip.
Hani Mahmoud reporting from Rafah. pic.twitter.com/kPeImrntDj
— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) May 7, 2024
Two key humanitarian aid routes—the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings—have been shut down for days as the Israeli military plows ahead with its Rafah assault in the face of international outrage. More than 600,000 children are currently living in Rafah, and aid organizations say Israel has no credible plan to protect them.
Overnight, Israel launched deadly airstrikes in Rafah, describing its military operation in the overcrowded city as "very precise." One resident
toldReuters that the Israeli strikes killed his wife and children.
Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, toldThe Associated Press that Israeli authorities have denied the agency access to the Rafah crossing.
A lasting shutdown of the route, Laerke warned, "will plunge this crisis into unprecedented levels of need, including the very real possibility of a famine." He added that Israel's military is "ignoring all warnings about what this could mean for civilians and for the humanitarian operation across the Gaza Strip."
Speaking to Al Jazeera on Tuesday, the director of planning at the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)—the most important aid organization operating in Gaza—said the closure of the Rafah crossing is having "catastrophic impacts on everyone in Gaza."
"Since October, this has been the main entry point of goods coming into Gaza," said Sam Rose. "There has only been a trickle of goods coming in, and since Sunday the crossing has been closed completely. And this has devastating impacts for the people of Gaza who are already on the verge of famine."
"No aid coming in means no aid distributed after a couple of days," Rose continued. "And equally importantly, Rafah and Kerem Shalom are the only entry points for fuel in Gaza, so without the fuel there's no ability for trucks to move around, there's no ability for desalination plants to operate and provide safe water, there's no electricity. It cuts off everything. Rafah and Kerem Shalom—they're the lifeblood for the small amount of goods that have been coming into Gaza since October, so absolutely devastating."
"Absolutely devastating"
This morning the IDF have seized the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, and Sam Rose from UNRWA explains what it means now that the crossing is closed. pic.twitter.com/iC1w8AWnt5
— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) May 7, 2024
Laerke of the U.N. humanitarian affairs office said that cutting off the supply of fuel to Gaza for an extended period of time "would be a very effective way of putting the humanitarian operation in its grave."
Volker Türk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said in a statement that "more attacks on what is now the primary humanitarian hub in the Gaza strip are not the answer."
"First and foremost, there must be a cease-fire. Humanitarian aid must be allowed to flow freely and at scale. And the hostages and those arbitrarily detained must be released at once," said Türk. "Those that elect to flout international humanitarian law and international human rights law must be held to account."
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