Saturday, March 02, 2024

Like when fighting the Nazis in WWII, the US has to resort to air drops to feed the starving victims

D. Parvaz (NPR) reports:

The U.S. military on Saturday said it began dropping food over the Gaza Strip, a war-torn enclave desperate for humanitarian aid.

A "a combined humanitarian assistance airdrop into Gaza" of over 38,000 meals along the coastline using C-130 aircraft was conducted by U.S. and Jordanian air forces, U.S. Central Command said in a statement.

"We are conducting planning for potential follow-on airborne aid delivery missions," CENTCOM said.

President Biden on Friday said the U.S. would carry out airdrops in coming days, "redouble our efforts to open a maritime corridor, and expand deliveries by land."

Now remember,  when Brazil's president Lula da Silva points out similarities between the Nazis and Netanyahu, some people go into apoplexy.  So please, nobody bring up Operation Chowdown.

Huh?

You don't know that one.  Well, so we're all on the same page:

Operation Manna and Operation Chowhound were humanitarian food drops to relieve a famine in the German-occupied Netherlands undertaken by Allied bomber crews during the final days of World War II in Europe. Manna (29 April – 7 May 1945), which dropped 7,000 tonnes of food into the still Nazi-occupied western part of the Netherlands, was carried out by British RAF units and squadrons from the Australian, Canadian, New Zealand and Polish air forces. Chowhound (1–8 May 1945), which dropped 4,000 tonnes, was undertaken by the United States Army Air Forces. In total, over 11,000 tonnes[1] of food were dropped over one and a half weeks with the acquiescence of the occupying German forces[2] to help feed Dutch civilians in danger of starvation.

After it was realised that Manna and Chowhound would be insufficient, a ground-based relief operation named Operation Faust was launched. On 2 May, 200 Allied trucks began delivering food to the city of Rhenen, behind German lines. 


Here's video.




The first video was the food drop today.  The second video was Operation Mana and Chowdown.  Today, the UN Security Council issued a statement:

Members issued a statement on Saturday expressing their deep concern over reports that "more than 100 individuals lost their lives, with several hundred others sustaining injuries, including gunshot wounds...in an incident involving Israeli forces at a large gathering surrounding a humanitarian assistance convoy southwest of Gaza City."

They noted that an Israeli investigation is underway.

The Council stressed the need to take all necessary measures to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, adding that all parties to conflicts must comply with their obligations under international law.

Parties were urged to refrain from depriving civilians in Gaza of basic services and humanitarian assistance.

The Council expressed grave concern that the entire population, more than two million people, could face alarming levels of acute food insecurity.

Members reiterated their demand for parties “to allow, facilitate, and enable the immediate, rapid, safe, sustained and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale to the Palestinian civilian population throughout the Gaza Strip”.

They urged Israel to keep border crossings open for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, to facilitate the opening of additional crossings to meet humanitarian needs at scale, and to support the rapid and safe delivery of relief items to people across the enclave. 


Meanwhile, protests took place around the world.  CNN notes, "Pro-Palestinian protesters interrupted US first lady Jill Biden at least four times during a campaign speech on Saturday in Arizona. It's just the most recent example of the tense political climate at play in the Democratic Party. In January, President Biden was interrupted more than a dozen times by people protesting the war in Gaza."  THE TRIBUNE REVIEW reports:


Demonstrators took to the streets in downtown Pittsburgh on Saturday, March 2, 2024 to demand a ceasefire in the war in Gaza, and that Israel stop military operations in Rafah, the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Rafah, which is located near the border with Egypt, is where the majority of displaced Palestinians have fled.

The march for peace in Gaza drew a crowd of hundreds.

It was organized locally by Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice For Peace and also drew other independent activists.

Saturday’s protest was one of many staged simultaneously around the world, according to an event coalition that includes the Palestinian Youth Movement, the International Peoples’ Assembly and numerous other organizations.


Protests took place in England.  THE SOCIALIST WORKER notes:

Palestine groups across Britain responded to Rishi Sunak’s attacks on the movement by taking to the streets on Saturday.

Around 1,000 Palestine supporters marched in Birmingham to rage against Israel’s genocide and Tory Islamophobia.

Ali, the chair of Friends of Palestine in Birmingham, is disgusted by Tory Islamophobic attacks. “For me, it is ‘extremist’ that Sunak didn’t call out people like Lee Anderson, Suella Braverman, and many other right wing racist Islamophobes in his party,” he said. 

“Instead, he’s calling us—peace-loving humanitarians, calling for an end to the bloodshed—the extremists. This is the era, the times that we live in. Unfortunately, the Tory party is in the gutter with the sewage”.


Gaza remains under assault. Day 148 of  the assault in the wave that began in October.  Binoy Kampmark (DISSIDENT VOICE) points out, "Bloodletting as form; murder as fashion.  The ongoing campaign in Gaza by Israel’s Defence Forces continues without stalling and restriction.  But the burgeoning number of corpses is starting to become a challenge for the propaganda outlets:  How to justify it?  Fortunately for Israel, the United States, its unqualified defender, is happy to provide cover for murder covered in the sheath of self-defence."   CNN has explained, "The Gaza Strip is 'the most dangerous place' in the world to be a child, according to the executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund."  ABC NEWS quotes UNICEF's December 9th statement, ""The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. Scores of children are reportedly being killed and injured on a daily basis. Entire neighborhoods, where children used to play and go to school have been turned into stacks of rubble, with no life in them."  NBC NEWS notes, "Strong majorities of all voters in the U.S. disapprove of President Joe Biden’s handling of foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war, according to the latest national NBC News poll. The erosion is most pronounced among Democrats, a majority of whom believe Israel has gone too far in its military action in Gaza."  The slaughter continues.  It has displaced over 1 million people per the US Congressional Research Service.  Jessica Corbett (COMMON DREAMS) points out, "Academics and legal experts around the world, including Holocaust scholars, have condemned the six-week Israeli assault of Gaza as genocide."   The death toll of Palestinians in Gaza is grows higher and higher.  United Nations Women noted, "More than 1.9 million people -- 85 per cent of the total population of Gaza -- have been displaced, including what UN Women estimates to be nearly 1 million women and girls. The entire population of Gaza -- roughly 2.2 million people -- are in crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse."  NBC NEWS notes that the death toll is now "past 30,300 amid surging fears of starvation in the north of the territory. More than 70,300 have been injured, and thousands more are missing and presumed dead."  Months ago,  AP  noted, "About 4,000 people are reported missing."  February 7th, Jeremy Scahill explained on DEMOCRACY NOW! that "there’s an estimated 7,000 or 8,000 Palestinians missing, many of them in graves that are the rubble of their former home."  February 5th, the United Nations' Phillipe Lazzarini Tweeted:







And the area itself?  Isabele Debre (AP) reveals, "Israel’s military offensive has turned much of northern Gaza into an uninhabitable moonscape. Whole neighborhoods have been erased. Homes, schools and hospitals have been blasted by airstrikes and scorched by tank fire. Some buildings are still standing, but most are battered shells."  Kieron Monks (I NEWS) reports, "More than 40 per cent of the buildings in northern Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, according to a new study of satellite imagery by US researchers Jamon Van Den Hoek from Oregon State University and Corey Scher at the City University of New York. The UN gave a figure of 45 per cent of housing destroyed or damaged across the strip in less than six weeks. The rate of destruction is among the highest of any conflict since the Second World War."   


In today's violence, Aurora Alemndral (NBC NEWS) reports, "Eleven people were killed and about 50 others injured, the Gaza Health Ministry said today, following a strike on tents housing displaced people in the southern city of Rafah. The tents were next to the gate of the Emirati Maternity Hospital, and the dead included a paramedic and a nurse, as well as children, the ministry added."   CNN's Richard Roth and Mohammed Tawfeeq report:

 UN Women, a United Nations organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, called the war in Gaza "also a war on women."

In a statement Friday, the organization estimated 9,000 women have been killed in Gaza since the October 7 attack.

"As the war on Gaza approaches its five-month mark, Gazan women continue to suffer its devastating impact," the statement read. "While this war spares no one, UN Women data shows that it kills and injures women in unprecedented ways."

UN Women reported an average of 63 women are killed every day in Gaza, with an approximate 37 mothers who are killed daily, "leaving their families devastated and their children with diminished protection."

"More than 4 out of 5 women (84 per cent) report that their family eats half or less of the food they used to before the war began, with mothers and adult women being those tasked with sourcing food, yet eating last, less, and least than everyone else," the statement added.



The following sites updated:

Tlaib Introduces Bill to Address Youth Homelessness

 

Tlaib Introduces Bill to Address Youth Homelessness 

Feb 23, 2024
Ending Poverty
Housing is a Human Right
Justice for All

DETROIT Today, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) introduced the Youth Homelessness Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Act. This bill establishes a new way to address youth homelessness in our country. The bill will launch a pilot program providing direct cash assistance to emancipated minors and young adults under 30 years old experiencing homelessness in the amount of $1,400, or the adjusted fair market rent, for 36 months and then studies the effects of the program on housing and health outcomes, among other impacts. 

“We can’t keep repeating the same policy approaches that haven’t ended the youth homelessness crisis. By providing direct cash assistance, we can address our housing crisis while respecting the autonomy and dignity of the folks receiving assistance,” said Congresswoman Tlaib. “This bill came directly from young people with lived experience. They helped craft the bill to ensure that it meets the real needs of our unhoused neighbors. In the richest country in the history of the world, it’s time to eradicate homelessness. The Youth Homelessness Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Act brings us closer to that goal.”

In a given year, over 3.5 million young adults and roughly 700,000 young people experience some form of homelessness, with specific groups facing a much higher risk than others. Black young people, for example, have an 83 percent greater risk of being unhoused, while LGBTQ+ youth have a 120 percent higher likelihood of experiencing homelessness compared to others. From 2022-2023, the number of unhoused young adults between the ages of 18 to 24 increased 17 percent.

Recent studies providing cash assistance to unhoused people have found that they improved housing and employment outcomesdid not lead to increased substance abuse, and saved money by reducing reliance on the shelter system. However, the study of cash assistance is relatively rare in the U.S., and recent studies of cash assistance to address homelessness have been small, geographically targeted, and have not specifically focused on young people. It is time to demonstrate the benefits of direct cash assistance for young people experiencing homelessness, which is why the Youth Homelessness Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Act is needed. More importantly, participants in past cash assistance programs have described the impact as life changing. Cash assistance provides individuals with the freedom to make their own choices about how to address their unique circumstances.

This legislation is cosponsored by: RepresentativesCori Bush (MO-01), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Barbara Lee (CA-12), and Jan Schakowsky (IL-09).

This legislation is endorsed by: A Way Home America, Detroit Justice Center, Homeless Action Network of Detroit,  Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness, MiSide Community Impact Network, Ruth Ellis Center, National Homelessness Law Center, Center for Popular Democracy, Campion Advocacy Fund, Community Solutions, Corporation for Supportive Housing, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, Point Source Youth, True Colors United, Youth Collaboratory, Larkin Street Youth Services, Mockingbird Society, and SaySo.

“As the Executive Director of A Way Home America, an organization that places great value on lived experiences, I am sincerely honored to stand at the forefront of national advocacy, fervently championing the cause of direct cash transfers,” said Marcella Middleton, Executive Director, A Way Home America. “Our shared ambition is to proactively prevent the hardships faced by our most vulnerable youth, while simultaneously offering them the essential ingredients of stability, empowerment, and a promising future.”

“The Youth Homelessness Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Act is a welcomed first step towards addressing the ongoing issue of homelessness and the manner in which unhoused residents are disproportionately impacted by the criminal system,” said Nancy Parker, Executive Director, Detroit Justice Center. “Our current system fails to address known root causes, and instead, substitutes prisons and jails for actual policies that address the confluence of indigency and egregiously high housing costs in this country. This bill represents a long overdue shift away from the flawed carceral approach towards a more just city.”

The full text of the bill is available here.

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Congressional Delegation Statement on Trip to Israel and the Palestinian Territories

 February 29, 2024

Congressional Delegation Statement on Trip to Israel and the Palestinian Territories

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Representatives Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Mark Takano (CA-39), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Sean Casten (IL-06), and Becca Balint (VT-AL), released a statement on their recent trip to Israel and the Palestinian Territories and outlining changes for future U.S. policy.

“What happened in Israel on October 7th was horrifying. On our recent trip to Israel, we saw firsthand the remnants of the violence that innocent people were subjected to on that dark day. The world must not forget that there are still over 130 hostages being held by Hamas – they must be freed immediately. Hamas is ultimately responsible for this war and must be defeated.

“Through our travels around Israel and the Palestinian Territories, we saw the impacts of October 7th and Israel’s response following that dark day. We learned how leaders and residents are preparing for the ‘day after’ this deadly conflict. We went to the site of the Supernova Sukkot Gathering music festival that Hamas attacked and saw the memorial to over 300 that were murdered. We went to Kibbutz Be’eri and saw the homes where so many were massacred. And we visited the Hostage Square and met with families of those taken hostage by Hamas. We then went to Khirbet Zanutah, a Palestinian village in the West Bank where settlers destroyed homes and a school. We were briefed from Gaza by UNRWA, which has lost 154 staff to the violence. 

“We are deeply worried that Prime Minister Netanyahu is moving toward the total destruction of Gaza and has demonstrated an utter disregard for Palestinian lives. Nearly 30,000 Palestinians have been killed – with almost 70,000 more injured and thousands missing. He has shamefully been unwilling to allow humanitarian services in at the scale needed.

“The Prime Minister’s plan for Gaza foresees Israel with a permanent occupation of Gaza and rejects any role for the Palestinian Authority. It makes it impossible for moderate Arab states to play a future role. 

“With the defeat of Hamas, the Palestinian people must have a strong vote and voice in their future. A two-state solution is the only path that gives the Israeli and Palestinian people hope, dignity, and security. Prime Minister Netanyahu opposes a two-state solution. That puts him in direct conflict with President Biden and virtually all Arab states. 

“We found all parties working for change are looking for greater U.S. leadership and welcome the major steps President Biden has taken. The President must continue to lead on humanitarian assistance and ending settler violence, building off the executive order.  

“We believe that the changes outlined in this statement are necessary to bring us toward our ultimate goal: an end to this conflict, an end to the suffering, and lasting security and peace for all Palestinians and Israelis.

“This trip created an opportunity for us to hear diverse views on what must happen going forward in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, and the Middle East. Throughout every stop and meeting on our trip, it was evident that major changes are needed in order to bring security and peace to Israelis and Palestinians:

  • “An immediate end to violence in Gaza and the West Bank:
    • An immediate, sustained pause in fighting of at least six weeks to allow for an increase in humanitarian assistance and to protect Palestinian civilians. This pause must include the release of all hostages that continue to be held by Hamas.
    • Recognition that the current level of civilian loss of life in Gaza is unacceptable and far beyond what is necessary to defeat Hamas. The Israeli government must take every step possible to prevent the loss of civilian life and deconflict military action with humanitarian deliveries. 
    • The Israeli government must bring an end to settler violence, which predated October 7th and then surged after October 7th
  • “Providing humanitarian aid and security for refugees:
    • A dramatic increase in the level of humanitarian aid into Gaza. There is currently a need to more than double the number of trucks to at least 500 trucks of aid per day and a re-start to commercial shipments. 
    • Sustained funding to UNRWA alongside accountability for any UNRWA workers who participated in the October 7th attacks. If UNRWA is no longer funded, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza will worsen substantially. 
    • Israel’s military response has killed thousands of innocents – too many of which were avoidable – and worsened a humanitarian crisis that has put millions at risk of starvation. Any Israeli offensive on Rafah must include a radically different plan for refugees.  To date, no such plan has been provided.
  • “’Day After Plan’ and Reconstruction:
    • Meaningful reforms to strengthen the Palestinian Authority so that it can represent the Palestinian people and a Palestinian state, including new elections of new leadership.
    • Increased regional cooperation among Arab states that can support new Palestinian leadership to help lead to a two-state solution. 
    • Reforming the Palestinian Authority’s current prisoners’ payments program, allowing a resumption of aid to the Palestinian Authority in line with the Taylor Force Act. 
    • Increased efforts by the U.S. and Israel to bring an end to settler violence – including by greater accountability for perpetrators, expanding the use of President Biden’s Executive Order, and reinforcing that the West Bank and Gaza are “occupied territory” under international law. 
  • “Promoting long-term regional stability:
    • Joining with U.S. allies in pushing back on the Iranian government for supporting the Houthis and other proxy groups and militias in the region. 
    • Stronger U.S. leadership to bring security and peace to the Middle East.
    • Regional security assurances for Israel to live side-by-side with an independent Palestinian state.
    • Constructive participation by the Israeli government in planning for a future Palestinian state.
    • Commitment to the long-term and ultimate goal of security, peace, and hope for all Palestinians and Israelis.”

Congresswomen Bush, Tlaib Urge President Biden to Prevent Rafah Invasion, Facilitate Lasting Ceasefire

February 29, 2024

Congresswomen Bush, Tlaib Urge President Biden to Prevent Rafah Invasion, Facilitate Lasting Ceasefire

 

With death toll rising to over 30,000, Bush, Tlaib reiterate their calls for immediate, lasting ceasefire as Rafah invasion looms

 

Latest polling shows 77% of Democrats support ceasefire

 

Washington D.C. (Feb. 29, 2024) — Today, Congresswoman Cori Bush (MO-01) and Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) sent a letter to President Biden urging the President to decisively oppose any invasion by Israeli forces or further bombardment in Rafah, and to facilitate an immediate, lasting ceasefire to save lives. The Israeli government has already killed over 30,035 Palestinians – 70% of which are women and children – and injured more than 70,457. Currently, 1.5 million people are trapped in Rafah – the last so-called “safe zone” – as Israeli forces prepare an invasion. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly declared Israel will invade Rafah with or without a temporary ceasefire deal, which will have devastating human consequences. In the Congresswomen’s letter, they request a direct meeting with President Biden before the State of the Union on March 7 to discuss this urgent and dire humanitarian crisis.

“We ask you to utilize every avenue possible to achieve this end, including ending the use of the U.S.’ veto in the UN Security Council to protect Netanyahu, a partial or full cessation of offensive support to Israel, and an end to any additional transfer of funds, weapons, military equipment, and any other material support,” wrote the Congresswomen. “We must use our full power and leverage to secure the release of all the hostages and others arbitrarily detained, and support a drastic surge in humanitarian aid. This is only achievable with a lasting ceasefire.”

The latest polling shows that the majority of Americans – including 77% of Democrats – continue to support a lasting ceasefire. This is in addition to the United Nations, the majority of world leaders across the globe, and nearly every major human rights organization.

“There is nothing fringe or radical about supporting basic human rights,”  the Congresswomen continued. “That’s why the majority of Americans support a ceasefire. We still have an opportunity to save the lives left in Gaza.”

A copy of the letter can be found HERE.

Today, Congresswoman Bush first announced that she and Congresswoman Tlaib would be sending the letter to President Biden at a press conference focused on the humanitarian crisis in Rafah. Congresswoman Bush has remained a steadfast advocate for peace and a lasting ceasefire.

  • On October 16, 2023, Congresswoman Bush, alongside Congresswoman Tlaib, and Representatives AndrΓ© Carson (IN-07), Summer Lee (PA-12), and Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), introduced the Ceasefire Now Resolution, which urges the Biden Administration to call for an immediate ceasefire in Israel and occupied Palestine, to send humanitarian aid to Gaza, and to save as many lives as possible. Since its introduction, the Ceasefire Now Resolution has secured a total of 19 co-sponsors, and over 60 other members of Congress have also come forward to publicly support a ceasefire.
  • Over the past four months, Congresswoman Bush has held several press conferences with different groups of people, including veterans, rabbis, doctors and unions, to highlight the breadth of the ceasefire movement. 
  • Last month, Congresswoman Bush and Tlaib both expressed support of South Africa’s case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) alleging Israel violated the Genocide Convention, and released a joint statement on the ICJ’s provisional measures ruling.
  • On January 12, 2024, Congresswoman Bush released a statement celebrating the St. Louis City’s Board of Aldermen’s unanimous passage of a resolution calling on President Biden to work toward a ceasefire in Gaza.

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Senator Baldwin Introduces Bill to Crack Down on Big Corporations Shrinking Products Without Reducing Prices

 02.28.2024

Senator Baldwin Introduces Bill to Crack Down on Big Corporations Shrinking Products Without Reducing Prices

Earlier this week, Senator Baldwin also introduced bill to stop big corporations from price gouging consumers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced the Shrinkflation Prevention Act to crack down on corporations that deceive consumers by selling smaller sizes of their products without lowering the prices.

“Whether it’s a bag of chips, paper towels, or coffee, we are seeing the same disturbing trend: big corporations are shrinking the size of their product but continuing to charge Wisconsin families the same price. Wisconsin families work hard, but when they check out at the grocery store, they are being ripped off by this corporate greed and we’ve got to put an end to it,” said Senator Baldwin. “Our bill will hold these greedy corporations accountable when they shortchange Americans, bring some basic transparency to the ‘shrinkflation’ that’s hurting Wisconsinites, and work to lower household costs for families.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, big corporations took advantage of the crisis to prey on consumers through greedflation: raising prices by even more than necessary to cover increases in their costs, and hiding behind inflation and supply chain disruptions to do it. Now that the market shock of the pandemic has largely abated, corporations’ costs are coming down and profits are rising. But for American families, prices remain high. Now, ‘shrinkflation’ is contributing to the problem. 

For example, food products like name-brand cereals, chips, and crackers shrank the sizes of some of their products, while keeping the price stable. In the case of Cocoa Puffs, General Mills reduced its “Family Size” from 19.3 ounces to 18.1 ounces of cereal while charging the same price. Frito-Lay also reduced the size of a bag of Doritos from 9.75 ounces to 9.25 ounces, while their profits increased 9 percent from 2021 to 2022. Meanwhile, Mondelez International shrunk a family size box of Wheat Thins from 16 ounces to 14 ounces, but kept the price the same.

Consumers are also feeling the squeeze with common products used around the house. Charmin Ultra Soft Mega rolls decreased from 264 double-ply sheets a roll to 244 sheets, while Ultra Soft Super Mega rolls have decreased from 396 sheets to 366. Walmart’s Great Value paper towels also shrank from 168 two-ply sheets per roll to 120, while Proctor & Gamble, the makers of Dawn, reduced the formerly 7-ounce dish soap to 6.5 ounces but left the bottle the same physical size with the same price.

The Shrinkflation Prevention Act would:

  • Direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to promulgate regulations to establish shrinkflation as an unfair or deceptive act or practice, prohibiting manufacturers from engaging in shrinkflation;
  • Authorize FTC to pursue civil actions against corporations who engage in shrinkflation; and
  • Authorize state attorneys general to bring civil actions against corporations engaging in shrinkflation.

This legislation is led by U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) and also cosponsored by U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Bernie Sanders (I-VT). The bill is endorsed by Groundwork Collaborative, Public Citizen, Consumer Federation of America, and WorkMoney.

Senator Baldwin has been leading the charge to keep costs down for Americans and hold big companies accountable for price gouging consumers. Earlier this month, she introduced the Price Gouging Prevention Act, legislation to crack down on corporate price gouging and protect American families from corporate greed with a new federal ban on grossly excessive price increases. Earlier this year, she launched an investigation into the extremely high prices four large pharmaceutical companies charge for inhalers and successfully advanced her bipartisan bill to bring basic transparency to drug pricing in the Senate. Last year, Senator Baldwin led the Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act to crack down on profiteering by Big Oil and give working families relief.

More information about the Shrinkflation Prevention Act can be found here.

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In Senate Floor Speech, Murray Calls for Israel to Change Course in Gaza and End Collective Punishment of Civilians; Reiterates Support for Mutually Negotiated Ceasefire and Condemns Far-Right Netanyahu Administration

In Senate Floor Speech, Murray Calls for Israel to Change Course in Gaza and End Collective Punishment of Civilians; Reiterates Support for Mutually Negotiated Ceasefire and Condemns Far-Right Netanyahu Administration

Murray has repeatedly pressed for surge in humanitarian aid to Gaza, called for mutually negotiated ceasefire

Senator Murray: “I come to the floor as someone who feels very strongly that Israel absolutely must change course—the collective punishment in Gaza has got to stop… I don’t know how you call it targeted when there are babies and children being pulled from the rubble.”

***WATCH: Senator Murray’s Floor Speech***

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, took to the Senate floor calling for Israel to change course in the prosecution of its war effort and stop the collective punishment of civilians as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens by the day. Murray also discussed the efforts she has taken over the last few months pushing for a surge in humanitarian aid to Gaza and holding the line as a lead negotiator of the Senate supplemental package to ensure the legislation included desperately-needed humanitarian aid, engaging with the administration for months to ensure international law is being followed, and supporting continued diplomacy toward a mutually-negotiated ceasefire and the safe return of all hostages. Murray has sharply condemned the far-right Netanyahu government’s execution of the war in Gaza and reiterated the U.S.’s longstanding policy in support of a two-state solution. Watch her full floor speech HERE.

“The barbarity of October 7th should not be brushed aside, and cannot ever be excused… As I have said repeatedly—Israel has a clear right to defend itself and its people, against the very real and continued threat that Hamas poses to Israeli civilians,” Senator Murray said on the Senate floor today. “As I have also said many times—that must be done in accordance with the laws of armed conflict and international humanitarian law… As Israel seeks to eliminate the threat posed by Hamas, it must make every effort to protect innocent civilians in Gaza—who make up the vast, overwhelming majority of people in the Gaza strip.”

“But as we have watched this conflict escalate, it has become increasingly clear that is not what is happening,” Murray continued. “I come to the floor today as a friend of Israel—I understand the very real threats Israel—home to nearly half of the world’s Jews—faces outside its borders and in keeping its population safe. And I come to the floor as someone who feels very strongly that Israel absolutely must change course—the collective punishment in Gaza has got to stop and Israel must do more to protect civilian life, we need a mutually agreed upon ceasefire and end to the fighting as soon as possible, the return of all hostages by Hamas, and a massive surge in humanitarian aid.”

“Israel needs to understand that the casualties they’ve inflicted on the people of Gaza—the devastation they have caused—cannot continue. It is not in line with American interests, nor does it make Israel safer. The prosecution of this war so far by Netanyahu’s far-right government has been nothing short of an unquestionable strategic failure,” Murray said, noting that families of hostages in Israel have been consistently protesting Netanyahu, sharply criticizing his Gaza offensive and calling for a mutually-negotiated ceasefire to see their loved ones safely returned.

Senator Murray called attention to the fact that there are 1.7 million people facing imminent starvation in Gaza, most of the water in Gaza is unfit for consumption, and more than half of the hospitals are no longer operating. Over two million people in Gaza have been displaced from their homes. Murray also described firsthand accounts she had heard from doctors working on the ground in Gaza performing emergency C-sections, on rubble, or in tents—without anesthesia, and women bleeding out because they couldn’t get medical care.

“We all understand that war is not a simple thing, but I’ll just say I don’t know how you call a military operation targeted when there are 29,000 deaths. I don’t know how you call it targeted when there are babies and children being pulled from the rubble. Who does this serve? It cannot continue this way,” Murray said.

“The situation in Gaza—and in the West Bank where there has been a disturbing rise in brazen violence from right-wing Israeli settlers against Palestinian families—does not lead to peace and security for Israelis or Palestinians. It just doesn’t. And the rhetoric and stated policies of the Netanyahu regime—like abandoning a two-state solution—have been nothing short of deeply dangerous and wildly counterproductive.

Murray noted her strong support for President Biden’s Executive Order allowing sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank who threaten or perpetrate violence against Palestinians, and continued: “I want to make crystal clear now: indefinite Israeli control over Gaza is unacceptable, as is any contraction of territory for the Palestinians. And I have made including humanitarian aid for Gaza in our national security package a red line for me as the Senate put together our bill—even as Republicans tried over and over to chisel away at it.”

Murray also emphasized that the taxpayer-funded military aid the U.S. provided to Israel for self-defense is subject to the Leahy Law, which prevents U.S. assistance from going to foreign military units suspected of committing gross human rights violations. “I have insisted throughout many conversations that this law is implemented as intended, that civilians are protected, and that international law is followed,” Murray said.

Murray ended her speech by talking about the troubling rise in antisemitism and anti-Arab hate—including many troubling acts of hatred in Washington state—since October 7th“While this war may be happening across the world—it has been painful for our Arab and Jewish communities here at home. They are seeing, not just horrific news—including sometimes about relatives and friends—but also a horrific rise in anti-Arab and antisemitic violence. Synagogues in my state have faced bomb threats. A six-year-old Palestinian boy in Illinois was stabbed to death. And across the nation there have been other disturbing reports of violence and threats against people perceived to be Arab, Muslim, or Jewish. It is heartbreaking. And it is incumbent upon all of us to stand against this hatred.

Our North Star has to be valuing the humanity in others, and listening to the humanity in ourselves,” Murray concluded.

Since the Israel-Hamas war began, Senator Murray has made numerous calls for humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians, and has urged President Biden to lead the international community in addressing the immediate humanitarian needs in the West Bank and Gaza. Senator Murray called for a humanitarian pause in the war in November.

Earlier this month, Senator Murray voiced her strong support for President Biden’s Executive Order allowing and deploying new sanctions on Israeli settlers involved in violent attacks against Palestinians, applauded the Biden Administration’s new National Security Memorandum aimed at ensuring all U.S. security assistance is used in line with international humanitarian law, and joined her colleagues in urging the administration to encourage Israeli officials to take specific steps to significantly increase urgently needed humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza. Murray also joined her colleagues in a letter to President Biden expressing support of the ongoing U.S. diplomatic efforts to secure the release of Israeli hostages in tandem with the restoration of a mutual ceasefire agreement in Gaza.

As Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Murray led Senate passage of a comprehensive national security supplemental package earlier this month that includes aid to our allies in Israel and Ukraine and humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians—Murray fought hard to ensure that humanitarian aid remained in a supplemental package despite Republicans’ attempts to leave it out.

Senator Murray’s full remarks, as delivered, are below:

“Thank you, M. President. It has been several months now since Hamas carried out a truly heinous terrorist attack against Israel. 

“The barbarity of October 7th should not be brushed aside, and cannot ever be excused. We are talking about terrorists gunning down innocent civilians, including in their homes, committing horrible acts of torture and sexual violence, and taking hostages—among them women, and elderly people, and infants.

“As I have said repeatedly—Israel has a clear right to defend itself and its people, against the very real and continued threat that Hamas poses to Israeli civilians. 

“As I have also said many times—that has to be done in accordance with the laws of armed conflict and international humanitarian law.

“M. President, I appreciate that this is a tough, emotional topic—war always is. But at times like this, we cannot let passion kill compassion, we cannot let the horrors of the present end the hope for a brighter future.

“As Israel seeks to eliminate the threat posed by Hamas, it must make every effort to protect innocent civilians in Gaza—who make up the vast, overwhelming majority of people in the Gaza strip.

“But as we have watched this conflict escalate, it has become increasingly clear that is not what is happening. 

“Just consider—hundreds of Palestinians were injured or killed today after Israeli troops fired on civilians crowded near aid trucks desperate for something to eat. While we are still learning more about the details—you have to believe that this kind of bloodshed should be completely avoidable.

“I come to the floor today as a friend of Israel—I understand the very real threats Israel—home to about half of the world’s Jews—faces outside its borders and in keeping its population safe. 

“And I come to the floor as someone who feels very strongly that Israel absolutely must change course—the collective punishment in Gaza has got to stop and Israel must do more to protect civilian life.

“We need a mutually agreed upon ceasefire and end the fighting as soon as possible, we need the return of all hostages by Hamas, and we need a a massive surge in humanitarian aid.

“Israel needs to understand that the casualties they’ve inflicted on the people of Gaza—the devastation they have caused—cannot continue. It is not in line with American interests, nor does it make Israel safer. 

“The prosecution of this war so far by Netanyahu’s far-right government has been nothing short of an unquestionable strategic failure. Many of the families of hostages have been protesting Netanyahu themselves, demanding a mutually negotiated ceasefire to see their loved ones safely returned.

“Let’s consider what is actually happening in Gaza, the human reality on the ground. 

“There are over 2 million people in Gaza who have been displaced from their homes, and 1.7 million people facing imminent starvation. Most of the water in Gaza is unfit for consumption and two-thirds of the hospitals are no longer operating—there are only 11 left. 

“Think about that—think about what that means for the countless people who are starving, who are sick, and who are scared—the survivors. 

“Or better yet, listen to the firsthand accounts. I did. 

“There are more than 150,000 pregnant and lactating women in harm’s way. Doctors who had worked on the ground in Gaza spoke to me about performing emergency C-sections, on rubble, or in tents—without anesthesia—and women bleeding out because they couldn’t get medical care. 

“Since the start of the war, 66,000 thousand Palestinians have been injured, and 29,000 have been killed—more than half of them women and children. 

“We all understand that war is not a simple thing, but I’ll just say I don’t know how you call a military operation targeted when there are 29,000 deaths. I don’t know how you call it targeted when there are babies and children being pulled from the rubble. 

“Who does this serve? It cannot continue this way. 

“The situation in Gaza—and in the West Bank where there has been a disturbing rise in brazen violence from right-wing Israeli settlers against Palestinian families—does not lead to peace and security for Israelis or Palestinians. It just doesn’t.

“And the rhetoric and stated policies of the Netanyahu regime—like abandoning a two-state solution—have been nothing short of deeply dangerous and wildly counterproductive. 

“I have voiced my strong support for the President’s Executive Order to allow sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank who threaten or perpetrate violence against Palestinians.

“I also want to make crystal clear now: indefinite Israeli control over Gaza is unacceptable, as is any contraction of territory for the Palestinians. 

“M. President, as someone who voted against the war in Iraq, I am acutely aware of the mistakes our country made.

“You cannot defeat terrorism through sheer military force alone—that much is clear. And it is my hope that Israel can heed that lesson. Winning a war against terrorism isn’t a matter of how many people you kill. That approach isn’t just bloody and brutal—it can be self-defeating.

“Terrorists don’t care how many people you kill—they certainly don’t care how many civilians you kill.  Because terrorism is not a human enemy of flesh and blood—it is an idea, it is a hatred, a violence, and it thrives on suffering. 

“So while Israel must work to eliminate the threat posed by Hamas—that fight must be targeted if it is to be successful. 

“You have to fight the hopelessness extremism feeds on. You have to fight the sprawl of violence that entrenches conflict. And you have to stay clear-eyed and strategic in pursuit of justice—and in pursuit of lasting peace. 

“I may be just one of 100 Senators here—but I have been using my voice to help move things in that direction. 

“On humanitarian aid, I have pressed the Biden Administration repeatedly, in many conversations, to take steps that would dramatically increase aid to Gaza.

“And I made including humanitarian aid for Gaza in our national security package a red line for me as the Senate put together our bill—even as Republicans tried over and over and over again to chisel it away. 

“I also want to be clear about the fact that the taxpayer-funded military aid we provided to Israel for self-defense—is subject to the Leahy Law. I have insisted throughout many conversations that this law is implemented as intended, that civilians are protected, and that international law is followed. 

“And finally, on moving towards a lasting peace.

“As President Biden recently noted—talks are ongoing and productive toward a mutually agreed upon ceasefire, and the safe return of all hostages. 

“Recent developments like the deaths we saw today in Gaza City will likely make that more difficult. But diplomatic efforts must continue—even after this conflict—to ensure a lasting peace. 

“That’s why I have backed efforts to reiterate America’s longstanding policy of support for a two-state solution—and will rebuff any statements by Netanyahu or his government that reject Palestinian sovereignty.

“And, it’s why it’s important to me that we don’t just talk about fighting the enemy, and winning the war. But that we also talk about facing the hatred—the Islamophobia and Antisemitism that have been on the rise in the wake of this conflict, and doing the work of peace—creating a future that ensures dignity and security for both Palestinians and Israelis alike.

“I want to close by saying a bit about what’s been happening here—in America, and in my home state of Washington.

“Because while this war may be happening across the world—it has been painful for our Arab and Jewish communities at home. They are seeing, not just horrific news—including sometimes about relatives and friends—but also a horrific rise in anti-Arab and antisemitic violence.

“Synagogues in my state have faced bomb threats. A six-year-old Palestinian boy in Illinois was stabbed to death. And across the nation there have been other disturbing reports of violence and threats against people perceived to be Arab, Muslim, or Jewish.

“It is heartbreaking. And it is incumbent upon all of us to stand against that hatred.

“Our North Star has to be valuing the humanity in others, and listening to the humanity in ourselves.

“That is my message today M. President, and it is a message I am going to keep working to see put into action.

“Thank you.” 

###

Iraq snapshot

Friday, March 1, 2024.  Marianne Williamson delivers a major speech in San Francisco, THE NEW YORK TIMES mythical rape 'report' continues to fall apart, instead of answering questions about that report the paper is trying to figure out who is speaking to the press, and much more.


Marianne Williamson announced Wednesday that she was unsuspending her campaign for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination and was back in the race..  She spoke at an event in San Francisco last night.


Excerpt.

Marianne Williamson:   The Battle of Gettysburg was the battle at which it was decisive.  Once the North won that battle, it was decisive that the Union would in fact survive.  So Abraham Lincoln himself went to the battlefield.  And his words, of course, in The Gettysburg Address is that the men who died there -- for the North -- he said that they had given their last full measure of devotion so that a government of the people and by the people and for the people would not perish from the earth.  My message to you is, once again, although we don't already know this, is it's perishing now.  It's perishing on our watch because we are for all intents and purposes a government of the corporations and by the corporations and for the corporations.  And ever since particularly CITIZENS UNITED and the unlimited permission given to corporate forces to flood our political system with the undue influence of their money, at this point, they hold Washington hostage. Washington is a system of legalized bribery.  I can tell you from being in the belly of that beast, this is how the system operates.  If you don't have, I mean huge money -- I don't mean money, I mean huge money -- Remember the President has a billion dollars for this campaign. If you don't have either huge amounts of money or access to people with huge amounts of money, you don't have a chance of being anywhere near the pinnacles of power in this country.  And that's why you might ask yourself, 'Well given all the things we've been talking about tonight, why don't they pass policies in Washington that make it better?  Why don't they pass policies that help the average American?"  That's because there are so few average Americans in that place.  And how much power is exerted to make sure the average American either doesn't get in or once they do get in they're manipulated to the point where there's just more suckers for the same establishment?  There's only one way to override this at this point. And that is for a peaceful revolution -- a peaceful revolution at the ballot box. John F. Kennedy said that those who keep us from peaceful revolution make violent revolution inevitable. So I believe that we are at a crossroad.  I think we all know that we're at a crossroad. But like I said before, this is a moment for data analysis.  I didn't say anything tonight that everybody here doesn't already know.  I mean maybe I gave a statistic or two that you might not have considered.  But in general it's like the dots are scrambled.  It's not like the dots aren't there.  And it's not that we're stupid people.  It's that we've been trained -- we've been trained to expect too little.  We've been trained to farm out our best critical thinking.  And we've been -- even those of us who are Democrats -- we've been trained to give up the democratic process.  We've returned to Tammany Hall politics -- to men around a table a hundred years ago who got together with cigars and decided who the candidates would be and would come up with these ridiculous policies like, "Oh, no, no, we don't primary an incumbent president." Tell that to those of us who remember Lyndon B. Johnson because Eugene McCarthy primaried him, Bobby Kennedy Sr. primaried him.  We didn't think that was weird.  We thought it was democracy.  People primary sitting senators all the time.  People primary sitting Congress people all the time. But we've just been 'oh! oh! oh!'  This is codependency now.  Because the DNC said "Oh, no, we have to go with Joe.  The DNC says we're going with Joe."  Who the hell is the DNC?    I'll tell you something, political parties are not mentioned in the Consitution. And George Washington, in his farewell address, warned us about them.  He said, he predicted -- and, man, this one rings true -- he said they could form factions of men who were more loyal to their party than to their country.  John Adams would then say he saw political parties as the greatest threat to our democracy.  And I -- many of us in this room -- grew up in a time when political parties sat in the background.  We still honored that democratic principal that political power lies in the hands of the people.  The people would make a decision in a primary who to nominate.  The party would have nothing to do with it until the people had chosen and then they would step in.  But, of course, they decided once Bernie Sanders came along, "Oh, we're not going to have any of that." And then they got away with that.  And then they did it the next time and they got away with that.  And now they don't even pretend. Now they don't even pretend. And we're just going along.  So I ran for president because I feel that we need an economic u-turn -- an economic u-turn in this country. Because I feel we're like a ship headed for the iceberg here and that one major party just heads right towards it and another major political party heading more slowly and will hit it at a different angle.  We have one major political party representing a total nose-dive for our democracy because you can't have a thriving democracy where you don't have a thriving middle class. And the other major political party is moving in the direction of a managed decline. These political parties do not just chop wood and carry water for these corporate forces, they are huge corporate forces.  So seems to me we need to turn the ship around. Now I was very enthralled by Franklin Roosevelt's Economic Bill of Rights which would include universal healthcare, Medicare For All, tuition free college and tech school, a complete elimination of the college loan debt by using   The Higher Education Act.  It would include all of the things we've mentioned.  It would include things like ramping down fossil fuel extraction rather than ramping it up which all of those presidents of the modern era -- Democrats and Republicans -- end up falling in line with Big Oil.  Now one of them pretends not to.  See, one of them has learned what we want to hear so will say things like "I'm the Climate President" and will even make sure that there are healthy investments in green energy in The Inflation Reduction Act and we say, "Oh, that's so good! There are these wonderful, wonderful, very beneficial in the Inflation Reduction Act.  Oh, yes.  Oh, yes."  Guess what?  It's a classic purse thief distraction technique.  That same president has given more oil drilling permits than even Trump did.  That same president okayed The Willow Project.  That same president must know that all of the investment in dirty energy completely nullifies the investments in healthy, green energy.  We are suckers if we're okay with that. And all of the presidents in the modern era -- Republican or Democrat -- are willing to fall in line -- obviously -- with the defense industries.  And so what we need is a guaranteed living wage.  What we need is guaranteed sick pay.  All of those things.  And we need to repudiate the permanent war machine.   Americans are figuring this out.  We need to play peace games, not just war games.  We need a peace academy, not just military academy.  We need armies of peace builders just like we have armies of military personnel. We need a peace academy, not just a military academy, because we need to learn to wage peace.  Even Donald Rumsfeld said we need to learn to wage peace. 


The speech was broadcast live on YOUTUBE (2,844 views -- those may not include live views) and TWITTER (9448 views).  (TWITTER -- I don't work for Elon Musk and I don't have to indulge him.)

It was a major speech covering many important topics and explaining why she was back in the race -- a candidate unsuspending their campaign is news -- it's always news in the rare times that it happens.  Most infamously, it happened in 1992 when H Ross Perot came back into the race.

So news outlets can hire reporters to cover just Taylor Swift or just Beyonce, but there's no one who could cover a speech in a major US city -- one also broadcast live over the internet?

That's rather sad and one more sign of a democracy in peril.

And I'd rather money be spent covering the arts than covering sports so let's add in all the reporting that took place after the Superbowl ended.  I think everyone who wanted to see it, watched it.  The coverage in the days after the game was not needed.






Gaza.

ELETRONIC INTIFADA continues to cover the mythical rapes of October 7th that have still not been documented.  And the revelations that THE INTERCEPT and others have turned up in the last days.




New doubts are emerging about the New York Times’s coverage of sexual violence during the October 7 Hamas-led attack — and the paper owes its readers an open and transparent explanation. 

What’s more, its reporting on this issue has become so questionable that it should assign new reporters to go over the entire story again.

The latest questions are centered around Anat Schwartz, an Israeli who co-authored several of the paper’s most widely circulated reports, including the now well-known and scrutinized December 28 article headlined: “‘Screams Without Words’’ How Hamas Weaponized Sexual Violence on Oct. 7.

Independent researchers scrutinized the online record, and raised serious questions about Schwartz. First, she has apparently never been a reporter but is actually a filmmaker, who the Times suddenly hired in October. You would expect the paper to look for someone with actual journalistic experience, especially for a story as sensitive as this one, written during the fog of war. Surely the paper had enough of its own correspondents on staff who could have been assigned to it.

Next, the researchers found that Schwartz had not hidden her strong feelings online. There are screenshots of her “liking” certain posts that repeated the “40 beheaded baby” hoax, and that endorsed another hysterical post that urged the Israeli army to “turn Gaza into a slaughterhouse,” and called Palestinians “human animals.”

(Just this morning, more evidence emerged online; Schwartz apparently also served in Israeli Military Intelligence.)

Finally, one of her co-authors on two of the reports was Adam Sella, who is her nephew. ********* [see note added below]*****

Let’s pause here. What would happen if the Times suddenly hired a Palestinian filmmaker with no journalistic background, who had recently publicly “liked” posts that called for “pushing Israeli Jews into the sea,” to co-write several of its most sensitive and contested reports? 

(We don’t have to speculate. The Times fired Palestinian photojournalist Hosam Salam in 2022 after one of the pro-Israel media watchdog groups protested about his social media posts.)

After Anat Schwartz’s online history became public, she locked down her accounts and then deleted much of the incriminating content.

The New York Times imposes strict rules on its reporters to maintain the appearance of objectivity. Reporters are not supposed to attend demonstrations of any kind, wear campaign buttons, or post opinions on social media. By hiring Anat Schwartz, the paper clearly violated its own guidelines, and it should publicly explain and apologize.


***********[Added 3/1/24 2:49 PM EST, not her nephew.  Jeremy Scahill explained that on today's DEMOCRACY NOW!

And her partner in this, Adam Sella, is the nephew of Anat Schwartz’s partner, and they’re not married. In fact, Amy, The New York Times, they requested a correction from us, because we had initially said that it was her nephew, which I think in the context of America and other countries you would say. If you’re somebody’s longtime life partner, you would say, “Oh, yeah, this is my nephew.” OK, they’re not blood relatives, and they emphasize that she’s not married. Fine, we corrected that.

My question is: Where are the corrections in The New York Times piece? The New York Times has grave, grave mischaracterizations, sins of omission, reliance on people who have no forensic or criminology credentials to be asserting that there was a systematic rape campaign put in place here. And to publish this article at a moment when Israel was intensifying, after that brief pause where captives were exchanged — intensifying its genocidal attack against the people of Gaza, this played a very, very significant role. And the more we learn about this, the more we discover that the reporting tactics that The New York Times used are certainly not up to the standards that the newspaper claims to be promoting. They will not issue any corrections on what has already been documented to be very problematic sins of commission and omission in this piece.

Use the link for Jeremy and Ryan Grimm's discussion with Amy Goodman on today's DEMOCRACY NOW!]



Jeremy Scahill, Ryan Grim and Daniel Boguslaw (INTERCEPT) reported Wednesday: