June, 15 2021, 04:59pm EDT
Statement on Lina Khan as Federal Trade Commission Chair
Following the news that President Biden will name Lina Khan as Chair of the Federal Trade Commission, Demand Progress issued the following statement from executive director David Segal:
WASHINGTON
Following the news that President Biden will name Lina Khan as Chair of the Federal Trade Commission, Demand Progress issued the following statement from executive director David Segal:
"Lina Khan has proven herself as one of the fiercest and most effective critics of Big Tech. She not only understands the threat these monopolies impose, but how to utilize the tools of government to hold them accountable and break them up. We need strong champions like Lina throughout the government--most notably at the FTC, FCC, and DOJ--and hope this is a sign that the administration will move to fill these other key roles in a timely manner. We look forward to working alongside her to hold Big Tech accountable, and we encourage the Biden administration to swiftly fill out the Commission with a strong fifth commissioner, so that the FTC can fully wield its power."
Demand Progress amplifies the voice of the people -- and wields it to make government accountable and contest concentrated corporate power. Our mission is to protect the democratic character of the internet -- and wield it to contest concentrated corporate power and hold government accountable.
LATEST NEWS
'Wannabe Dictator' Donald Trump Won't Commit to Accepting Election Results
"His candidacy remains an existential threat to our democracy and the very communities he scapegoats on the campaign trail," said one campaigner.
Jun 28, 2024
Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump on Thursday refused to commit to accepting the results of his looming rematch with incumbent President Joe Biden, the latest indication that the former president is bent on sowing potentially violent chaos as he seeks another four years in the White House.
Asked several times during Thursday night's debate in Atlanta whether he would accept the outcome of the November election, Trump demurred, veered off course, downplayed the January 6, 2021 insurrection as "a relatively small number of people that went to the Capitol," and repeated lies about election fraud.
Eventually, Trump said in response to a yes-or-no question from CNN's Dana Bash that he would accept the results "if it's a fair and legal and good election," suggesting he would only view the contest as legitimate if he wins.
"I would have much rather accepted these but the fraud and everything else was ridiculous," said Trump, falsely insisting the 2020 election was stolen. "If you want, we'll have a news conference on it in a week."
Bash: The question was will you accept the results of the election?
Trump: If it’s a fair and legal and good election, absolutely. I would’ve much rather accepted these but the fraud and everything else was ridiculous pic.twitter.com/SQpup59HM5
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 28, 2024
Alejandra Gomez, executive director of Living United for Change in Arizona, said Trump's election remarks make clear he is "still the same wannabe dictator he was during his first term" and that "his candidacy remains an existential threat to our democracy and the very communities he scapegoats on the campaign trail."
"If Donald Trump wins in November he will unleash an all-out attack on our institutions from the media to our Justice Department," Gomez added, referring to the former president's threat to weaponize arms of the federal government against his political opponents.
Stand Up America's Christina Harvey echoed Gomez's warning, saying in a statement that Thursday night's debate underscored "the extraordinary danger that Donald Trump poses to our democracy."
"Trump refused to denounce the January 6 insurrection, would not promise to accept the election results, bragged about ending Roe v. Wade, and spewed endless lies and conspiracy theories," said Harvey. "The stakes in this year's election are enormous, and the future of our democracy and our fundamental freedoms are on the line. We cannot let Trump ever step foot in the Oval Office again."
The dire threat Trump and his far-right allies pose to U.S. democracy, fundamental freedoms, the climate, workers, and more served to amplify concerns among Democratic insiders and outside progressives about Biden's stumbling performance Thursday night, which solidified for many that he is the wrong person to take on the former president in November.
"I'm not saying that Joe Biden is going to lose the presidential election because of tonight's debate. The race is still ridiculously too close to call at this point," saidZeteo's Mehdi Hasan following the Atlanta event. "But it's not looking good. And what I am saying is that you're deluded if you believe Joe Biden, at this stage of his life, is the best person Democrats have to offer against Donald Trump, against a fascist."
"Small-d American democracy, if it is to survive, needs Democrats—big-d Democrats—to put their big boy pants on and get their act together," Hasan added.
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Israeli Officials Hiding Data About Forced Starvation of Gaza Prisoners: Report
Former detainees say the Israel Prison Service "has significantly reduced their food rations, to the point of starvation, causing them to shed dozens of kilograms."
Jun 27, 2024
Israeli prison officials are concealing information about reductions in food rations for Palestinians held in the Gaza Strip, where detainees—who have also reported horrific abuse including alleged rape and deadly torture—have been deliberately driven "to the point of starvation," according to a report published Thursday.
Security sources
told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that the Israel Prison Service (IPS) is intentionally cutting Palestinian prisoners' caloric intake, a move confirmed by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who called the policy a "deterrent."
"The Palestinian detainees will receive the minimum rights and the minimum food, and I will ensure that this policy is implemented," Ben-Gvir, who leads the far-right Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party,
said Thursday in response to a query from Israel's Supreme Court.
"There is no starvation, but my policy does call for reducing conditions, including food and calories," Ben-Gvir added.
"The IPS has been deploying a policy of starvation towards Palestinian prisoners and detainees."
However, dozens of Palestinians held by Israel, including so-called security prisoners and detainees unaffiliated with Hamas, have testified that the IPS "has significantly reduced their food rations, to the point of starvation, causing them to shed dozens of kilograms."
One unidentified security source told Haaretz: "Since the start of the war, there's been a deliberate policy of indiscriminate reduction of food. To put it mildly, this policy has raised factual questions about the figures provided by the prison service, to such an extent that it is impossible to get the full picture and to determine whether what is going on is legal at all."
"This is not just a legal question, it can cause security issues with serious implications," the source added.
According to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, which, along with the Israeli human rights group Gisha, filed a petition in the High Court of Justice earlier this year:
Since October 7, 2023, the IPS has been deploying a policy of starvation towards Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Recently released prisoners testified that they suffered from constant and extreme hunger and very poor quality of food. Among the testimonies presented in the petition were those of a diabetic prisoner who ate toothpaste to raise blood sugar, and of prisoners who lost tens of kilograms in weight in recent months.
The petition argued that the food reduction policy amounts to starvation and torture, and contravenes Israeli and international law. It violates the constitutional right of security prisoners to dignity and health, constitutes a policy of collective punishment, and violates the IPS' obligation to provide detainees in its custody with appropriate prison conditions.
At a hearing on Wednesday, the High Court of Justice slammed the reduction of Palestinian prisoners' food rations as "unacceptable."
Appalling conditions have been widely reported in Israeli military lockups since the start of Israel's bombardment and invasion of Gaza in retaliation for the Hamas-led attacks that left more than 1,100 Israelis and others dead—at least some of whom were killed by so-called "friendly fire"—and over 240 others kidnapped on October 7.
According to Israeli whistleblowers who worked at the notorious Sde Teiman prison camp in the Negev Desert, Palestinian detainees there are tortured not to "gather intelligence," but "out of revenge" for October 7.
Often referred to as "Israel's Abu Ghraib"—the infamous U.S. military prison in Iraq where dozens of detainees died, some of them tortured to death—Sde Teiman has been described by former detainees as hell on Earth. Palestinians held there and at other detention sites described being electrocuted, mauled and even raped by dogs, and starved, among other abuses.
One Sde Teiman physician said that all patients at the camp's field hospital are handcuffed by all four limbs, 24 hours a day, regardless of how dangerous they are deemed. The doctor said that more than half of his patients at the camp have suffered cuffing injuries, including some that have required "repeated surgical interventions."
"Two prisoners had their legs amputated due to handcuff injuries, which unfortunately is a routine event," he toldHaaretz.
Last month, Haaretzrevealed that 27 detainees have died in custody at the Sde Teiman and Anatot camps or during interrogation by Israeli forces since October 7. While some were Hamas or other militants captured or wounded while fighting IDF troops, others were civilians, including some with preexisting health conditions like the diabetic laborer who was not suspected of any offense when he was arrested and sent to his death at Anatot.
One former Sde Teiman detainee also claimed that he personally witnessed Israeli troops execute five prisoners in separate incidents.
Photos and videos of Israeli troops abusing Palestinians—both alive and dead—have been published by perpetrators on social media. According to testimonies collected by the Geneva-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, Israeli officers brought Israeli civilians into detention centers and allowed them to witness Palestinian prisoners being tortured.
Former detainees said groups of 10-20 Israeli civilians were allowed to record torture sessions in which the men, stripped nearly naked, were beaten with metal batons, electrocuted, and had hot water poured over their heads. The ex-prisoners said some of the Israelis laughed while filming their torture.
The new Haaretz report comes as the International Court of Justice is weighing whether Israel is committing genocide, in part by blocking food aid from reaching starving Gazans, dozens of whom have died of malnutrition.
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan is also seeking to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity including forced starvation of Gazans and extermination. Khan is also pursuing warrants to arrest three Hamas leaders.
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Big Win in California as Big Oil Drops Effort to Drill Near Schools and Homes
"Big Oil spent tens of millions of dollars trying to fool voters," said one campaigner, "but it was no match for the groundswell of people power and community support."
Jun 27, 2024
Environmental, climate, and public health advocates on Thursday cheered what one green group called a "historic win" as a Big Oil industry group dropped a California ballot measure challenging a law banning oil drilling near homes, schools, and businesses.
The Sacramento Beereported that the California Independent Petroleum Association (CIPA) will withdraw its ballot measure seeking to overturn the state's ban on drilling for oil within 3,200 feet of residential, educational, and commercial buildings.
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill—introduced by then-state Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-80)—in September 2022.
"We just won our David vs. Goliath battle," the Protect California Communities campaign said on social media. "Big Oil officially withdrew their deceitful initiative!"
"Our law is safe and will finally take effect," the group added. "We just protected California neighborhoods from toxic oil drilling!"
CIPA chairman Jonathan Gregory issued a salty statement following the ballot measure's withdrawal.
"Supporters of the energy shutdown can make unfounded claims in the press and in paid advertisements, but they can't make those claims in court without evidence," he said, according to the Bee. "That's why we are pivoting from the referendum to a legal strategy."
However, Newsom said CIPA's move "ends harmful drilling in our communities and enforces common-sense pollution controls."
"Big Oil saw what they were up against—and they folded, again," the governor said on Thursday. "No parent in their right mind would vote to allow drilling next to daycares and playgrounds. This is a huge win for all Californians, especially the two million living within a half-mile of these operations."
Food & Water Watch California director Chirag Bhakta said in a statement that "while this is a moment to celebrate the power of people coming together to take on Big Oil, we must continue to get toxic oil drilling out of neighborhoods, as well as all fossil fuel infrastructure, which also poses a huge risk to public health and causes pollution to our water and air."
Bhakta added that Newsom must now "immediately shut down the dangerous Aliso Canyon gas storage facility which was the site of the biggest methane blowout in U.S. history almost a decade ago and is an ongoing threat to nearby residents."
Communities for a Better Environment Darryl Molina Sarmiento said that "Big Oil spent tens of millions of dollars trying to fool voters, using the profits made at the expense of community health, but it was no match for the groundswell of people power and community support we were able to unite all across California."
Food & Water Watch's Bhakta said that public opposition to repealing the law "proves once again that Californians do not want dangerous and polluting oil rigs in their backyards, near where their children go to school and play or near hospitals."
"We will not sacrifice our communities anymore," he vowed. "This victory is due to the dedication of so many, and particularly frontline communities who are experiencing the brunt of the oil industry's pollution and have been advocating for years to get dirty oil drilling out of their backyards."
Nalleli Cobo is one of those people. The 22-year-old activist—who helped found the grassroots group People Not Pozos (Spanish for wells)—is recovering from illness related to growing up alonside an oil well and has been tirelessly fighting against Big Oil's plans to drill near residential communities.
"When I was about 11, I was diagnosed with asthma. By the time I turned 19, we had shut down the drilling in our South L.A. neighborhood, but not before I was diagnosed with stage 2 reproductive cancer," Cobo explained. "I lost my ability to bear children as a result. After three surgeries, eight minor procedures, three rounds of chemotherapy, and six weeks of radiation, I was cancer-free as of two years ago, at 20."
"My experience, like that of others who live in neighborhoods polluted by oil drilling, is a constant reminder that those in power do not value our health and wellbeing," she added. "It's a signal that some communities are expendable, that our lives don't matter as much as the fossil fuel industry's profits."
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