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For Immediate Release
March, 31 2009, 03:03pm EDT
Contact:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167
With Obama in Europe: Critical Perspectives
WASHINGTON
MARTIN KHOR
Available for a limited number of interviews, Khor is executive director of the South Center, a think tank of developing countries. He recently presented a paper to the UN, which begins: "The extraordinarily serious global economic crisis has its origins in the developed countries. Developing countries are not responsible, but they are severely affected, and in ways that are worse than the developed countries, as they also lack the means to counter the effects. Developing countries are only in the past few months beginning to feel the effects of the crisis, due to the lag time in transmission. The crisis will certainly last longer than originally expected, and then it may take even more time before a full recovery. ...
"The United Nations used to play a central role in policy formulation and in reaching and implementing agreements. However in recent years, too much faith and power had been given instead to the markets and to international financial institutions which supported the drive towards 'marketization' and 'financialization.'"
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PATRICK SEALE
Seale is a British journalist now living in France and a leading expert on the Mideast. His books include "Asad: The Struggle for the Middle East."
Seale's recent articles include "Obama's Arab and Muslim Strategy," "The Impact of the Coming U.S.-Iran Detente" and "NATO's Tough Choices in Afghanistan."
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DAVID MILLER
Miller is professor of sociology at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland and author of the book "Arguments Against G8." He said today: "[British Prime Minister] Gordon Brown said that he was confident that the demonstrator's demands would be met by his actions at the G-20. It's the same thing he said in 2005 at the G-8 meeting. People in London are demonstrating about the economy, war and climate, but the G-20 seem fundamentally to be upholding the interests of the bankers, to continue the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and are missing the chance for a global 'Green New Deal.'"
STEFFIE WOOLHANDLER
DAVID HIMMELSTEIN
Woolhandler and Himmelstein are associate professors of medicine at Harvard University and the co-founders of Physicians for a National Health Program. They have closely examined the health care systems of many European countries. Woolhandler said today: "The U.S. fails to cover 46 million people. Virtually all are covered in all European nations -- though small numbers of uninsured are creeping up in the Netherlands, which has adopted a market model of universal health care."
Capps-Schubert deployed to Camp Victory, Baghdad from November 2005 to late September 2006. After a tour in Iraq, the former U.S. Army communications specialist refused to deploy to Afghanistan and went absent without leave (AWOL) in March 2007. Today, Capps-Schubert resides with his wife in Hanau, Germany and is the regional coordinator for Europe for the organization Iraq Veterans Against the War. The New Jersey native also counsels GIs who want to get out of the military or who have already deserted.
He spoke today about his plans to join the NATO protests in Strasbourg: "Soon after releasing a disappointing new plan for Afghanistan, U.S. President Barack Obama is traveling to Europe to solicit for more support for ISAF from his European allies. Additionally he has defended America's right to violate the sovereignty of Pakistan and has refused to give the American people what they want out of Iraq, a complete withdrawal. With someone who has not delivered on the 'change' he promised in his election campaign, I feel it is definitely appropriate and necessary to demonstrate to him and the other military advisors and politicians in Strasbourg that we will not tolerate anything less than the appropriate change he promised in his election campaign."
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A nationwide consortium, the Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA) represents an unprecedented effort to bring other voices to the mass-media table often dominated by a few major think tanks. IPA works to broaden public discourse in mainstream media, while building communication with alternative media outlets and grassroots activists.
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May 31, 2023
Rep. Jim McGovern, a leading anti-hunger lawmaker in the House, expressed anger Tuesday that the debt ceiling legislation negotiated by Republicans and the Biden administration targets food benefits for older adults while doing nothing to raise taxes on the wealthy or rein in military spending.
During a House Rules Committee hearing on the bill, McGovern (D-Mass.)—the panel's top Democrat—slammed his Republican colleagues for claiming to care about the deficit but refusing to look to the Department of Defense, a paragon of wasteful spending and fraud, for savings. The White House and Republicans ultimately agreed to increase military spending for the coming fiscal year.
Meanwhile, Republicans rejected White House proposals to close tax loopholes exploited by the rich.
Instead, McGovern said Tuesday, the GOP insists Congress has to "cut funding that helps the most vulnerable in this country."
"Give me a goddamn break," he added.
McGovern voiced particular alarm over the bill's expansion of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) work requirements to include adults between the ages of 50 and 54, a Republican demand. Analysts and campaigners say the change, which would sunset in 2030, could put hundreds of thousands of older adults at risk of losing food aid.
White House officials and President Joe Biden himself have defended the new requirements by pointing to the legislation's proposed expansion of SNAP benefits for veterans, kids leaving foster care, and people experiencing housing insecurity.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Biden brushed aside progressives' warnings that the bill could cause some people to go hungry, calling such concerns "ridiculous."
McGovern pushed back during Tuesday's hearing, saying that "improving benefits for some does not justify putting 700,000 older adults at risk of losing critical, lifesaving food benefits."
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) published an assessment late Tuesday that concludes the debt ceiling bill, titled the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, would lead to roughly 78,000 people gaining SNAP benefits "in an average month, on net (an increase of about 0.2% in the total number of people receiving SNAP benefits)."
But observers cautioned that the CBO's estimate hinges on ensuring that vulnerable people, particularly those who are homeless, are aware they are exempt from SNAP work requirements and able to navigate the program's bureaucracy.
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After a nearly six-hour hearing, the Republican-controlled House Rules Committee voted Tuesday to send the debt ceiling legislation to the full House for a vote, which could come as soon as Wednesday evening.
McGovern and every other Democrat on the panel voted no.
Ahead of Tuesday's committee vote, McGovern called the latest standoff over the debt ceiling an "all-time high in recklessness and stupidity" and said Republicans "manufactured" a "crisis that risks the full faith and credit of the United States."
"Republicans are unfit to govern," said McGovern, one of the lawmakers who—to no avail—urged Biden to use his 14th Amendment authority to unilaterally avert a debt ceiling catastrophe.
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As progressives excoriated President Joe Biden's debt ceiling deal with Republican lawmakers over "polluter giveaways" including the Mountain Valley Pipeline, activists rallied outside Sen. Chuck Schumer's Brooklyn home on Tuesday evening with a message for the majority leader: "Stop the dirty pipeline deal, or we shut down your block."
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\u201cNew Yorkers taking the street outside @SenSchumer\u2019s Brooklyn apartment now. Risking arrest to demand he stop the dirty deal giveaway to the oil and gas companies.\n\nNo MVP! No Dirty Deal!\u201d— Alex Beauchamp (@Alex Beauchamp) 1685484102
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\u201cOne of the companies behind the pipeline, NextEra Energy,\u00a0is a major donor\u00a0to Mr. Schumer & Mr. Manchin. \n\nIn 2022, NextEra\u2019s employees and political action committees gave $302,600 to Mr. Schumer and $60,350 to Mr. Manchin, according to OpenSecrets data.\n\nhttps://t.co/upVyuiCNzU\u201d— OpenSecrets.org (@OpenSecrets.org) 1685488230
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The organizers of Tuesday's protest called the MVP an "ecocidal project" that "would transport 2 billion cubic feet of fracked gas every single day."
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More than 150 climate and other advocacy groups on Tuesday urged U.S. President Joe Biden to block authorization of all new carbon dioxide pipelines—which experts say increase emissions while posing serious safety risks due largely to underregulation—until adequate safety rules are enacted.
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\u201cWe were proud to join over 150 other groups last week on a letter calling for a moratorium on CO2 pipelines. \n\nVia @foodandwater: https://t.co/e3Xs7LB6sf\u201d— Imagine Water Works (@Imagine Water Works) 1685475572
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Experts say that, in addition to emitting harmful chemicals like formaldehyde and benzene, CCS actually contributes to a net increase in emissions.
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\u201cEver wondered why we say that carbon capture is a fossil fuel industry scam, even though it sounds like a good thing? Now you can learn more about why carbon capture is another lie from the fossil fuel industry!\n\nExplore our new info hub on our website. \u2b07\ufe0f https://t.co/4toQ2CxxSm\u201d— Food & Water Watch (@Food & Water Watch) 1685386904
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\u201cCarbon capture is a fossil fuel industry scam that isn\u2019t proven to work at scale \u2013 period. That\u2019s why we need to tell Congress to invest in renewables instead. Will you join us? https://t.co/pdjL7jbwfK\nhttps://t.co/QnyjaS18t6\u201d— Food & Water Watch (@Food & Water Watch) 1684796470
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