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For Immediate Release
November, 02 2011, 01:05pm EDT
Contact:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167
* Oakland General Strike * "Veterans of the 99%"
AP is reporting this morning: "Oakland prepared Wednesday to again become the epicenter of the Occupy Wall Street movement as local organizers aided by labor unions and advocacy groups finalized plans for a broad-based call to action that was expected to include marches, pickets outside banks, school shutdowns and an attempt to close the nation's fifth-busiest port." For more, see: OccupyOakland.org
WASHINGTON
AP is reporting this morning: "Oakland prepared Wednesday to again become the epicenter of the Occupy Wall Street movement as local organizers aided by labor unions and advocacy groups finalized plans for a broad-based call to action that was expected to include marches, pickets outside banks, school shutdowns and an attempt to close the nation's fifth-busiest port." For more, see: OccupyOakland.org
SCOTT CAMPBELL, angrywhitekid at gmail.com
Campbell is a social media officer at a nonprofit who was arrested during the police raid on Occupy Oakland on Tuesday morning, when former Marine and Iraq War vet Scott Olsen sustained a skull fracture when he was hit by a police projectile. For more, see his website Angry White Kid and his twitter, @AngryWhiteKid
MELVYN DUBOFSKY, dubof at binghamton.edu
Distinguished professor emeritus of history and sociology at the State University of New York at Binghamton. Dubofsky's books include "The State and Labor in Modern America." He argues that general strikes "have rarely been successful in the U.S. -- especially when they are not accompanied by a specific set of demands and absent some sort of organization." For more, see his faculty profile".
BOOTS RILEY, bootsriley1 at gmail.com
Riley is an American musician, writer and front man for the political hip hop group the Coup. Riley is an organizer of the Occupy Oakland protests, including the general strike and mass day of action today. He said today: "The success of today's actions is that we're ushering in a new phase in organizing. It's a one-day general strike. It's a warning shot. It's beyond saying that 'we are the 99 percent.' This is showing that the 99 percent can be organized, that we won't be limited to the rules and regulations that unions have confined themselves to in the last 60 years. We can build a broad consensus and we don't need the bosses any more." Riley appeared on Democracy Now this morning: DemocracyNow.org -- also, listen to: KPFA's live streams .
ROBBIE CLARK, robbie at cjjc.org
Clark is Oakland Housing Organizer for Causa Justa :: Just Cause (CJJC) -- a multi-racial, grassroots organization building community leadership to achieve justice for low-income San Francisco and Oakland residents. Today, the group is planning on protesting and occupying banks in Oakland and participating in the general strike and marching on the Oakland port this afternoon. For more, check out Causa Justa's "Mass Day of Action" news bite.
ANDREW JOHNSON, via Matt Smucker, jmattsmucker at gmail.com
President of the New York City chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War, Johnson said today: "As veterans who have served our country in the military, we now have a unique opportunity to continue serving here at home through our participation in this civic movement for change. We want to connect with other veterans, to advocate for veterans, and to spotlight veterans' involvement in this movement." Johnson is part of a new group, "Veterans of the 99%" will walk in uniform to Occupy Wall Street. Other members of the group are also available for interviews and will participate at a news conference at the center of the Occupy Wall Street encampment. The group notes: "Veterans who served in Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, and even World War II have participated in the movement, speaking out for the 99%, and raising the movement's visibility in the process. Most recently, the unconscionable treatment of Marine veteran Scott Olsen in Oakland has drawn national attention to veterans' participation in the Occupy Wall Street movement."
For more: OccupyTogether.org, CommonDreams.org/Occupy
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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Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday that he will not allow a vote to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the month, solidifying his party's decision to let tens of millions of Americans face massive premium increases in the new year.
Speaking to reporters, Johnson acknowledged that some swing-district Republicans pushed him for a vote on the ACA subsidies as people across the country face sticker shock, with premiums more than doubling on average.
"We looked for a way to try to allow for that pressure release valve, and it just was not to be," Johnson said of the ACA tax credit vote. "We worked on it all the way through the weekend, in fact. And in the end there was not an agreement."
Johnson's comments, which sparked angry backlash from some of his GOP colleagues, came less than a week after Senate Republicans voted down a Democratic measure that would have extended the enhanced ACA subsidies for three years.
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) called Johnson's obstruction of a subsidy vote "bullshit" and "political malpractice."
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The ACA open enrollment period ended Monday for those with coverage starting start January 1, 2026.
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Ahead of next week's holiday recess, House Republicans are expected to vote on legislation that cobbles together various GOP healthcare ideas that experts say wouldn't do much to lower healthcare costs. Even if the bill—which would not extend the ACA tax credits—passes the House, it stands no chance of getting the necessary 60 votes in the Senate.
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Last-ditch, bipartisan efforts to force Johnson to allow a vote using a discharge petition also appear unlikely to garner enough support. NBC News noted that "even if a discharge petition secured the votes to pass, which is far from certain, it would take time to reach the House floor," effectively guaranteeing "it’ll be pushed into next year, with Republicans hoping to adjourn after this week."
Brad Woodhouse, president of the advocacy group Protect Our Care, said in a statement Tuesday that "Mike Johnson is running out the clock while millions of families face higher premiums and the loss of affordable coverage in just a couple of weeks."
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The International Rescue Committee on Tuesday released its annual humanitarian crisis forecast, along with a stark warning that civilians in the countries on its watchlist "are on the front lines of a disintegrating international order and global action is needed to reverse course."
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The world has retreated from humanitarian aid—but violence, hunger and climate threats haven't slowed down. We must not forget about the people for whom crisis is a daily reality. This is our 2026 Emergency Watchlist: www.rescue.org/watchlist2026
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— International Rescue Committee (@rescue.org) December 16, 2025 at 6:28 AM
IRC continued:
This “New World Disorder” is replacing the post-WWII international system once grounded in rules and rights. Defined by intensifying geopolitical rivalries, shifting alliances, and transactional deal-making, this disorder is driving a cascade of crises and eroding global support for the world’s most vulnerable. Global cooperation is unraveling; together with major aid cuts, the [United Nations] Security Council has seen a surge in vetoes, stalling responses to atrocities in Sudan, Syria, and the occupied Palestinian territory. Conflict is increasingly used as a tool for power and profit. In Sudan, warring parties and their backers are profiting from the gold trade, deepening violence and devastating civilians. Meanwhile, impunity is enabled on a dangerous scale. 2025 is on track to be the deadliest year for humanitarians. Attacks on schools have risen nearly 50%, and in Gaza, hospitals, shelters, and essential infrastructure have been bombed or cut off from aid.
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Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces—a paramilitary militia born from the Janjaweed co-perpetrators of the first Darfur genocide—continues, with all warring parties, especially the RSF, committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to human rights groups. The conflict in Sudan has fueled one of the world’s most acute humanitarian catastrophes, with more than 12 million people displaced and famine confirmed in Darfur's largest refuge camp last year. More than 20 million people are facing acute hunger.
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Gaëlle Dusepulchre of the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights also argued that the vote "sets a serious precedent for EU policymaking by signaling a clear prioritization of corporate interests over the protection of people and the planet."
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