October, 28 2022, 11:31am EDT
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Shocking Oil Profits Demand Crackdown (2022)
Fossil fuel behemoths Exxon and Chevron announced astounding earnings this week due to the year's oil and gas price surge. Exxon reported its most profitable quarter ever, netting earnings of $19.7 billion - nearly triple the $6.8 billion during the third quarter of 2021. Chevron posted earnings of $11.2 billion during the third quarter. Adding the earnings report from Shell, the three top oil companies have recorded $104 billion for the year to date, more than triple last year's levels.
WASHINGTON
Fossil fuel behemoths Exxon and Chevron announced astounding earnings this week due to the year's oil and gas price surge. Exxon reported its most profitable quarter ever, netting earnings of $19.7 billion - nearly triple the $6.8 billion during the third quarter of 2021. Chevron posted earnings of $11.2 billion during the third quarter. Adding the earnings report from Shell, the three top oil companies have recorded $104 billion for the year to date, more than triple last year's levels.
Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, issued the following statement:
"We don't need to be suckers. Consumers are paying as Big Oil is gobbling up more than $100 billion in profits by doing nothing other than watching world prices soar due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The solution is simple: A windfall profits tax that extracts Big Oil's unjust enrichment and returns the money to the people.
"Let's be clear: Booming oil and gas production and sky-high prices are driving inflation for ordinary people, and Big Oil executives are pocketing the profits. The cost of getting oil and gas out of the ground remains the same. Still, the price of gasoline, home heating and gas-fired electricity production have skyrocketed, allowing fossil fuel giants to virtually print money unchecked.
"Fossil fuel giants are doing everything they can to ensure this situation lasts as long as possible. They're ramping up oil and methane gas exports, driving up prices for U.S. consumers and further exposing us to international turmoil. They pretend that more drilling will help. But they know that starting exploration and drilling now will have no impact on supplies any time soon. And they know that more oil and gas drilled in the U.S. will be exported - and that does virtually nothing to lower prices for Americans.
"It's past time for Congress to put an end to this madness. A windfall profits tax with rebates to taxpayers would offset the pain at the pump and limit Big Oil's egregious rip-offs. Even Shell's CEO, Ben van Beurden, acknowledges that it makes sense for governments to tap the industry to aid struggling consumers.
"Oil and gas executives, and lawmakers, should follow this rare bit of common sense from an executive at an industry that has done so much damage to our planet and consumers."
Public Citizen is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that champions the public interest in the halls of power. We defend democracy, resist corporate power and work to ensure that government works for the people - not for big corporations. Founded in 1971, we now have 500,000 members and supporters throughout the country.
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Amnesty Condemns Israel's 'Mass Incommunicado Detention and Torture' of Palestinians
The head of the human rights group said Israel's Unlawful Combatants Law is enabling "rampant torture" of Palestinian detainees and "institutionalizes enforced disappearance."
Jul 18, 2024
Israel is using its dubious Unlawful Combatants Law to arbitrarily detain Palestinians from the Gaza Strip—including women and children—indefinitely without charge and trial, according to an Amnesty International report published Thursday.
All 27 former detainees interviewed by the rights group described being tortured by Israeli forces.
Amnesty documented the cases of 21 men, five women, and one 14-year-old boy taken from Gaza and held in indefinite incommunicado detention in facilities including the notorious Sde Teiman camp in Israel's Negev Desert for periods of up to four-and-a-half months, without access to lawyers or contact with their families.
"All those interviewed by Amnesty International said that during their incommunicado detention, which in some cases amounted to enforced disappearance, Israeli military, intelligence, and police forces subjected them to torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment," the report states.
"Israeli authorities are using the Unlawful Combatants Law to arbitrarily round up Palestinian civilians from Gaza and toss them into a virtual black hole."
Israel's Unlawful Combatants Law allows the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to detain anyone from Gaza that they suspect of being engaged in the fight against Israel or posing a threat to its national security indefinitely without charge, trial, or evidence. Last December, the law was amended to allow the IDF to hold suspects for up to 96 hours without a detention order, up to 75 days without being brought before a judge, and up to three months without seeing a lawyer.
"While international humanitarian law allows for the detention of individuals on imperative security grounds in situations of occupation, there must be safeguards to prevent indefinite or arbitrary detention and torture and other ill-treatment," Amnesty International secretary general AgnèsCallamard said in a statement. "This law blatantly fails to provide these safeguards. It enables rampant torture and, in some circumstances, institutionalizes enforced disappearance."
"Our documentation illustrates how the Israeli authorities are using the Unlawful Combatants Law to arbitrarily round up Palestinian civilians from Gaza and toss them into a virtual black hole for prolonged periods without producing any evidence that they pose a security threat and without minimum due process," Callamard added. "Israeli authorities must immediately repeal this law and release those arbitrarily detained under it."
According to the report, "those detained included doctors taken into custody at hospitals for refusing to abandon their patients; mothers separated from their infants while trying to cross the so-called 'safe corridor' from northern Gaza to the south; human rights defenders, [United Nations] workers, journalists, and other civilians."
Former detainees at Sde Teiman said they were blindfolded and handcuffed for their entire imprisonment, forced to remain in painful stress positions for hours on end, and prevented from speaking to other prisoners or even raising their heads.
Said Maarouf, a 57-year-old pediatrician kidnapped by Israeli troops during an attack on al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City in December 2023, was detained for 45 days at Sde Teiman. He described being constantly blindfolded and handcuffed, beaten, starved, and forced to sit on his knees for long periods.
A 14-year-old boy taken from his home in Jabalia in January was held for 24 days at Sde Teiman. He told Amnesty that he was jailed with more than 100 adults in a single barrack and was kicked, punched in the head, and repeatedly burned with cigarettes. Amnesty observed bruises and burns on the child's body when it examined him in February. Like other detainees interviewed by the rights group, the boy said he was always blindfolded and handcuffed and was not permitted to see a lawyer or his relatives.
Earlier this year, Israeli medics working at Sde Teiman said amputations of hands and feet due to injuries from constant handcuffing were "a routine event."
The five women interviewed by Amnesty were initially jailed at a military detention center in an illegal Israeli settler colony in the occupied West Bank, then at Dimon women's prison in northern Israel. All five said they were beaten during transport.
One woman taken on December 6 said she was separated from her two children—ages 4 and 9 months—and initially held alongside hundreds of male prisoners. She was beaten, forced to remove her veil and photographed without it, and subjected to the mock execution of her husband.
"On the third day of detention, they put us in a ditch and started throwing sand," she said. "A soldier fired two shots in the air and said they executed my husband and I broke down and begged him to kill me too, to relieve me from the nightmare."
Another woman said guards threatened: "We will do to you what Hamas did to us. We will kidnap and rape you."
These and other accounts are consistent with the testimonies of Israeli whistleblowers and former prisoners at Sde Teiman and other Israeli detention facilities.
Former detainees and human rights defenders have described Sde Teiman as "Israel's Guantánamo" and "more horrific than Abu Ghraib"—the notorious U.S. military prison in Iraq where prisoners were tortured and dozens died. Palestinians held at Sde Teiman and at other detention sites described being electrocuted, mauled and even raped by dogs, constantly beaten, starved, and subjected to other torture and abuse. Other former Sde Teiman detainees said they witnessed a prisoner raped to death, possible executions, and other atrocities.
IDF officials told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz last month that the IDF is investigating the in-custody deaths of dozens of detainees, including 36 who died or were killed at Sde Teiman since October, when Israel began its retaliatory war following the attack by Hamas-led militants that left more than 1,100 Israelis and foreign nationals dead—some of whom were killed by Israeli troops.
Over 240 other people, mostly Israelis, were kidnapped and taken to Gaza. A Human Rights Watch report published Wednesday details war crimes and crimes against humanity including murder and rape perpetrated by members of five Palestinian armed groups that took part in the October 7 attacks.
Since October, Israel's siege, bombardment, and invasion of Gaza has left at least 139,000 Palestinians dead, maimed, or missing, around 90% of Gaza's 2.3 million people forcibly displaced, and starvation—sometimes deadly—running rampant.
Israel is on trial for genocide at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan has also applied for warrants to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including "extermination."
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Report Shows How Lawmakers in GOP-Dominated South Harm Workers
"It will be important for Southerners from all backgrounds," one expert wrote, "to stand together and build the coalitions needed to demand policymakers create a new economic development model."
Jul 18, 2024
"For at least the last 40 years, pay and job quality for workers across the South has been inferior compared to other regions—thanks to the racist and anti-worker Southern economic development model."
That's according to a Thursday report by Chandra Childers, a senior policy and economic analyst at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). The new publication is part of her "Rooted in Racism and Economic Exploitation" series.
Previous documents in the series have discussed how "Southern politicians claim that 'business-friendly' policies lead to an abundance of jobs and economic prosperity" but in reality, their failed model is designed "to extract the labor of Black and brown Southerners as cheaply as possible" and has resulted in "economic underperformance."
"Because of the political opposition to unions, when workers try to organize, employers know that they can illegally intimidate them, refuse to recognize the union, or negotiate a contract in bad faith."
Thursday's report dives into various elements of the Southern economic development model, which "is characterized by low wages, limited regulations on businesses, a regressive tax system, subsidies that funnel tax dollars to the wealthy and corporations, a weak safety net, and staunchly anti-union policies and practices."
Childers uses a U.S. Census Bureau definition of the South, which includes: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
The EPI report highlights that "Southern states have lower median wages than other regions," "low-wage workers make up a larger share of the workforce across the South," and "every state that lacks a state minimum wage" is in the region.
The publication also points out the decline of coverage from employer-provided health insurance and pensions in the South, as well as how workers there "have less access to paid leave than their peers in other regions" and "Southern state lawmakers have also disempowered local communities."
"Across the South, most states have passed so-called right-to-work laws, with the exceptions of Delaware, Maryland, and the District of Columbia," Childers detailed. "Right-to-work laws do not, in any way, guarantee workers will have access to a job if they want one. They simply make it harder for unions to be financially sustainable."
"In addition to right-to-work laws and the overall opposition from political leaders across the region, workers seeking to organize a union typically face intense opposition from employers," she continued. "Further, because of the political opposition to unions, when workers try to organize, employers know that they can illegally intimidate them, refuse to recognize the union, or negotiate a contract in bad faith—with little to no fear of being held accountable by political leaders."
While "there are city and county officials who support higher minimum wages and access to pensions and paid leave for workers" in the South, she explained, their ability to take action is limited by preemption, which "is when state policymakers either block a local ordinance or dismantle an existing ordinance" intended to help the working class.
Childers' report doesn't explicitly point fingers at particular political parties, but the region has been largely dominated by Republican officials during the past four decades covered by the analysis.
While the Republican presidential campaign of former President Donald Trump is clearly making a play for working-class voters by selecting Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) as the vice presidential candidate and inviting International Brotherhood of Teamsters general president Sean O'Brien to speak at this week's convention—provoking criticism from progressive politicians and labor leaders—Southern GOP leaders continue to display disdain toward efforts to organize workers.
As Volkswagen employees in Tennessee began voting on whether to join the United Auto Workers in April, six Southern GOP governors put out a joint statement saying they were "highly concerned about the unionization campaign driven by misinformation and scare tactics that the UAW has brought into our states."
EPI said at the time that the governors' anti-union statement "clearly shows how scared they are that workers organizing with UAW to improve jobs and wages will upend the highly unequal, failed anti-worker economic development model of Southern states."
The Chattanooga vote was a success, but the following month organizers faced a tough loss at a pair of Mercedes-Benz plants in Alabama, where the UAW is now seeking a new election. Meanwhile, regional GOP policymakers have ramped up attacks on unions, advancing legislation that makes organizing harder.
"To begin to work toward changing the Southern economic development model," Childers argued, "it will be important for Southerners from all backgrounds—across race, ethnicity, gender, immigrant statuses, and income levels—to stand together and build the coalitions needed to demand policymakers create a new economic development model."
The expert urged people across the South to fight for a model that includes a living wage, guaranteed health insurance, pensions, and paid leave.
"Finally, and perhaps most important, workers must be able to come together in a union to demand fair wages and benefits, a safe working environment, and the ability to have a say about their workplace—even when politicians are intransigent," she stressed. "This is a model that would serve the interests of all Southerners."
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Israel's Water War Crimes in Gaza
"Israel is exterminating life in Gaza, and making the conditions unlivable," said one public health advocate. "Those supporting Israel are supporting genocide."
Jul 18, 2024
Since Israel began its bombardment and near-total blockade on humanitarian aid in Gaza almost 10 months ago, accounts of Palestinians spending hours each day searching for clean water and images of young children hauling jugs to fill up have been seen across the world, as aid groups document what Oxfam calls Israel's "water war crimes" in a new report of the same name.
The 66-page report, released Wednesday, documents how since October, Israel has systematically reduced the water available in Gaza by 94%, with just 4.74 liters per resident obtainable each day—less than a third of the recommended minimum amount in emergencies.
With Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant's announcement in October of a "complete siege" on Gaza—home to 2.3 million people, about half of whom are children—Israel began not only blocking humanitarian aid including water deliveries from its national water company, Mekorot, but also commenced air and ground attacks on Gaza's water infrastructure.
An average of five of Gaza's water and sanitation sites have been taken out of service every three days, Oxfam found, reducing water production from sources in the Gaza Strip by 84% by late May.
Gaza City, the enclave's most populous city before it was largely destroyed by the bombardment, has lost 88% of its water wells.
With Israel blocking fuel deliveries as well as food, medical, and other necessary aid, 100% of the city's water desalination plants have been put out of service, making it impossible to treat seawater and brackish water to make it safe to drink.
Seventy percent of sewage pumps and 100% of wastewater treatment plants have also been destroyed throughout the enclave.
In a video accompanying the report, Oxfam showed a worker named Ghada, based in the Gaza Strip, standing in front of polluted water.
"The sanitation situation is really dire," said Ghada. "This is sewage-contaminated water. The smell is overpowering and it is almost impossible for anyone to endure."
🚨 WATER WAR CRIMES: Israel's use of water as a weapon of war in #Gaza has cut water supply by 94%. The UK government has allowed arms sales to Israel, which could be used in targeted destruction of water systems. Sign the petition to #StopArmingIsrael:➡️ https://t.co/ekFBpX8c7N pic.twitter.com/fWwxHqZnLy
— Oxfam (@oxfamgb) July 18, 2024
Israel's "weaponizing of water," said Oxfam water and sanitation specialist Lama Abdul Samad, "is already having deadly consequences" for people in Gaza.
Sewage-contaminated water contains pathogens that can cause cholera, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid, and other easily preventable diseases.
By late May, according to the report, 727,909 people had reported cases of water- and sanitation-related diseases, including 485,000 cases of acute diarrhea—the third-leading cause of death among children worldwide.
The number of fatalities from waterborne diseases is not available currently, said Oxfam, but "as the risk of famine persists across Gaza, where more than two million people face dangerous food insecurity, malnourished children under five with diarrheal diseases are at an increased risk of mortality."
Withholding water and forcing people, including young children, to rely on contaminated water supplies, "is what genocide looks like," said Yipeng Ge, a public health practitioner.
"Water is life," said Ge. "Israel is exterminating life in Gaza, and making the conditions unlivable. Those supporting Israel are supporting genocide."
Abdul Samad noted that the Israeli government had been "depriving Palestinians across the West Bank and Gaza of safe and sufficient water for many years" before the IDF's bombardment began in retaliation for a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel in October.
In March 2023, Palestinians had 82.7 liters of water per person, per day—below the World Health Organization's recommended minimum. Groundwater was "severely contaminated due to over-extraction and contamination from seawater intrusion and sewage infiltration, leaving 97% of it polluted."
Now, said Abdul Samad, "the widespread destruction and significant restrictions on aid delivery in Gaza impacting access to water and other essentials for survival underscores the urgent need for the international community to take decisive action to prevent further suffering by upholding justice and human rights, including those enshrined in the Geneva and Genocide Conventions."
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