February, 03 2015, 09:00am EDT
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Sierra Club Statement on Steelworkers' Strikes
WASHINGTON
Over the weekend, oil refinery workers represented by the United Steelworkers went on strike in nine different locations.
In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune released the following statement:
"Oil refinery workers do hard, dangerous work as bulwarks protecting our communities from devastating explosions, spills, and releases. They deserve to be treated with respect, and to work in healthy and safe conditions. Instead, oil companies have created conditions that endanger not only the safety and health of their own employees, but that of nearby communities.
"As Steelworkers International Vice-President Gary Beevers said, this stoppage is in part to protect workers and communities from the 'dangerous conditions the industry continues to ignore.' Its a pattern we've seen again and again - oil executives prioritizing their own profits over the well-being of everyone else.
The Sierra Club and the United Steelworkers co-founded the BlueGreen alliance and have jointly spoken out to make it clear that the health and safety of workers and communities and the protection of the environment are inextricably linked. Whether it's been the Deepwater Horizon disaster, an explosion at the BP refinery in Texas, or another at the Tesoro refinery in Washington, the tragic examples of oil companies and oil executives not following the laws meant to protect our air, our water, and their workers have shown just how real that connection is. Each of these tragedies is an example of how disaster could have been presented if these oil companies abided by legal safeguards. If they had learned their lesson then, they likely wouldn't be facing this strike today."
The Sierra Club is the most enduring and influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. We amplify the power of our 3.8 million members and supporters to defend everyone's right to a healthy world.
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Trump Bloodied But 'Fine' After Apparent Assassination Attempt
"Political violence is absolutely unacceptable," said Sen. Bernie Sanders after the apparent shooting.
Jul 13, 2024
This is a developing story... Please check back for possible updates...
Update (9:45 pm):
President Joe Biden spoke on Saturday evening about the shooting at former President Donald Trump's campaign rally, saying the attack, like all political violence, was "sick" and "one of the reasons we have to unite this country."
"We cannot condone this," said Biden. "The bottom line is, the Trump rally was a rally that should have been able to be conducted peacefully without any problem... Everybody must condemn it."
When asked if he believed the shooting was an assassination attempt, Biden said, "I have an opinion, but I don't have any facts."
Associated Press reporter Seung Min Kim said on social media on Saturday night that law enforcement agents had recovered "an AR-style rifle" at the scene.
Earlier:
Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, was reportedly in "fine" condition after being wounded in an apparent assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania on Saturday.
The former president appeared to be bleeding from near his ear as he was hurried off stage after a series of pops that sounded like gunshots were heard at the event. The Secret Service then brought him to his motorcade.
A spokesperson for Trump, Steven Cheung, said in a statement that the former president was being examined at a local medical facility.
Richard Goldinger, district attorney for Butler County, Pennsylvania, told the Associated Press that the suspected gunman was dead and that at least one rallygoer had been killed.
The apparent shooting happened just minutes into the campaign event, where Trump had been talking about border crossings and immigration just before the shots rang out.
President Joe Biden was briefed on the incident at about 7:15 pm.
Police cordoned off a section of the bleachers at the rally after the apparent shooting, and the New York Times reported that the Secret Service began "kicking out the press and declaring it a crime scene."
Shortly after the incident, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle issued statements condemning the apparent act of violence against a presidential candidate.
"Violence has NO place in our democracy," said California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a surrogate of the Biden campaign. "My thoughts are with President Trump and everyone impacted at the rally today."
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called the attack "absolutely unacceptable."
"I am absolutely appalled by the gunshots fired at Donald Trump," said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.). "Violence is never acceptable in our democracy. I pray he was not seriously hurt and for our deeply divided nation."
Federal agencies including the Department of Justice, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives were mobilizing Saturday evening to assist the Secret Service in responding to the incident.
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Group Behind Project 2025 Already Claiming Election Interference by Biden
The Heritage Foundation is "stoking irresponsible inflammatory fear of election fraud," said one journalist.
Jul 13, 2024
One election law expert warned this week that the right-wing Heritage Foundation is already baselessly claiming that President Joe Biden is likely to respond to the voting results as his predecessor, presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump, did in 2020: by refusing to accept the will of American voters.
"This is gaslighting and it is dangerous in fanning flames that could lead to potential violence," Rick Hasen, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, toldHuffPost Friday.
The Heritage Foundation, the think tank that has spearheaded the drafting of Project 2025—a policy agenda threatening mass deportation and immigrant detention, the dismantling of federal agencies, and the consolidation of power with the president should Trump win a second term—said in a report released Thursday that Biden may try to continue his presidency "by force" even if he loses in November.
The claim has no basis in statements made by Biden, who has said he will accept the election results.
In May, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated that Biden "will accept the will of the American people." Trump has not made the same commitment.
Nevertheless, the Heritage Foundation report went on to say that "the lawlessness of the Biden administration—at the border, in staffing considerations, and in routine defiance of court rulings—makes clear that the current president and his administration not only possesses the means, but perhaps also the intent, to circumvent constitutional limits and disregard the will of the voters should they demand a new president."
Mike Howell, executive director of the group's Oversight Project, said at a press conference that "as things stand right now, there is a 0% chance of a free and fair election in the United States of America... I'm formally accusing the Biden administration of creating the conditions that most reasonable policymakers and officials cannot in good conscience certify an election."
"This is gaslighting and it is dangerous in fanning flames that could lead to potential violence."
Such comments show, saidNew York Daily News columnist Mike Lupica, that "these people are the insurrectionists. Or election terrorists."
Howell's comments echoed Trump's baseless warnings ahead of the 2020 election that voting would be "rigged" by widespread use of mail-in ballots amid the coronavirus pandemic. Trump relentlessly attacked voting by mail despite admitting that he had used mail-in ballots to vote in numerous elections.
The Heritage Foundation has conducted "role-playing exercises" that it says show "left-wing efforts to interfere with the election" are possible in 2024, HuffPost reported.
The report said voters should "reflexively disbelieve and challenge the intelligence community's allegations regarding Trump, foreign interference, and Republican efforts to legally win the White House."
Hasen told HuffPost that the group appeared to be trying to create doubt among the electorate about institutions that "give voters truthful information they need to evaluate evidence before them."
Journalist Jane Mayer said the group was "stoking irresponsible inflammatory fear of election fraud."
Political scientist Don Moynihan of Georgetown University added that the Heritage Foundation's baseless accusations against Biden likely preview how the Trump campaign could respond to the election results if he loses, four years after the former president urged his supporters to violently attempt to stop the certification of Biden's victory.
"The end game is to allow men in suits finish what the January 6th rioters started," he said.
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At Least 90 Palestinians Killed in Israeli Massacre in 'Safe Zone' of al-Mawasi
"Israel's far-right government carries out this mass slaughter of Palestinians secure in the knowledge that it will be supported and excused by the Biden administration," said one rights advocate.
Jul 13, 2024
The United Nations' top expert on human rights in Palestine condemned the Israeli military as it resorted to a familiar excuse for the killing of nearly 100 Palestinians on Saturday in an area that had been designated as a "humanitarian zone"—just the latest massacre of dozens of people whom the Israel Defense Forces dismissed as collateral damage in attacks they claimed were targeting Hamas.
"The justification is always the same: 'targeting Palestinian militants,'" said Francesca Albanese, U.N special rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories. "When is the world going to stop this death machine?"
Albanese was referring this time to the bombardment of al-Mawasi, a coastal area west of Khan Younis where hundreds of thousands of Gaza residents have been sheltering after fleeing cities including Rafah.
Al Jazeera reporter Tareq Abu Azzoum described the attack as "a new massacre committed by the Israeli military," with "five bombs and five missiles" hitting the area where Palestinians have been sheltering in makeshift tents for months.
Gaza's Ministry of Health reported that at least 90 people had been killed in the attack, which the IDF claimed was based on "precise intelligence" and targeted Hamas commanders Mohammed Deif and Rafa Salama.
"We have seen time and time again attacks on areas where there are displaced Palestinians in the tens of thousands," reportedAl Jazeera's Hamdah Salhut. "This is a tactic that is commonly used by Israeli forces, saying civilians are being used as 'human shields' for Hamas figures, using that as justification for killing dozens of civilians."
The Washington Post reported that it was "unclear" whether Deif, who has survived multiple assassination attempts by Israel, was killed in the attack.
Paramedics and children were reportedly among nearly 300 people who were wounded, and an official at Nasser Hospital told Al Jazeera that the facility had no more capacity to treat wounded patients.
The British charity Medical Aid for Palestine reported that it was "forced to temporarily evacuate one of our medical points near the area, which is intended to provide primary healthcare services, due to the insecurity."
"MAP’s Mohammed Al Khatib in Khan Younis reports: 'Al-Mawasi is heavily crowded and has a big market where people move around to try and secure their basic needs,'" said the group. "We have been warning for months that there is no safe place for anyone in Gaza amid Israel's military bombardment."
"A number of victims are still under the rubble and on the roads, and ambulance and civil defense crews are unable to reach them," the Health Ministry told the Associated Press.
The AP assessed footage that showed a "huge crater" in the area where thousands of people had been ordered to evacuate to when the IDF began its full-scale assault on Rafah in May. Burnt-out cars, household belongings, and charred tents—like those seen in previous attacks on so-called "humanitarian zones" in al-Mawasi and Rafah—were left after the bombings.
Academic and writer Ori Goldberg said it was "impossible to exaggerate the level of criminality, immorality, and crass, murderous stupidity that come together in the massacre Israel carried out in al-Mawasi this morning."
"Israel used wildly disproportionate force [to] assassinate two people," said Goldberg. "Israel pushed the displaced Palestinians to Mawasi, defining it a 'safe zone.' Then, assuming it had a chance to assassinate Muhammad Deif, one of the most senior Hamas leaders supposedly hiding there, Israel bombed the 'safe zone.' Dozens were killed. The death of a single person does not legitimize the slaughter of dozens."
Goldberg noted that the massacre came shortly after U.S. President Joe Biden announced Hamas and Israel were inching closer to a truce, with both sides agreeing to a "framework" for a cease-fire.
"There is a hostage deal on the table. Deif's death will not bring about the collapse of Hamas; it will only make Hamas less willing to compromise," said Goldberg. "Israel forces 'evacuation,' Israel bombs, Israel knows, Israel attacks and kills, Israel sets conditions, Israel balks. Israel has run out of options. It knows only death."
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said that as with previous attacks on designated safe zones, the IDF's massacre was made possible partially by the political and material support of the United States and other Western countries.
"Israel's far-right government carries out this mass slaughter of Palestinians secure in the knowledge that it will be supported and excused by the Biden administration and that American bombs and taxpayer funds will continue to flow," said Nihad Awad, national director of CAIR. "President Biden's continuing support for and silence about the genocide gives a green light for more Israeli abuses and war crimes. President Biden must stop enabling these daily massacres and end our nation's complicity in genocide."
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