Dear John, Vice President Kamala Harris is in Dubai, a glittering symbol of oil wealth, for the annual world climate gathering COP28.
One thing the world leaders gathered in the petro-state likely won’t be talking much about? The finding from U.S. and U.K researchers that the oil-guzzling U.S. military owes the world billions in climate reparations.
The bill for climate reparations by the U.S. military? $106 billion.
Back in the U.S., daily protests of Israel’s renewed assault on Gaza continue. Meanwhile, the Senate is working on a request from President Biden for weapons and aid for the war in Ukraine, Israel’s assault on Gaza, and even a possible future war with China. The total war request? Also $106 billion. The coincidence is eye-popping. As is the fact that only one of these proposals - the funding for weapons and war - is currently under serious consideration by Congress.
Protesters continue to demand both peace in Gaza, and real solutions on climate. Among those, one of us (Ashik) just returned from a five-day hunger strike at the White House calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza (see the photo below). These movements have had breakthroughs. The weeklong ceasefire in Gaza and the return of hostages shows what negotiation can do. The next ceasefire can’t come soon enough.
And at COP28, a few wealthy nations agreed on the first contributions to a brand new and much-needed climate loss and damage fund for poor countries. But the U.S. donation stops far short of what’s needed. Neither of these breakthroughs are near enough, but they show the way forward. Taking the next steps depends on people around the world demanding better. In solidarity, Lindsay, Ashik, Alliyah, & the NPP team |
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TRADEOFF: DEPORTATIONS VS. CARE
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The holiday season is all about gathering with loved ones, right? Well, that’s the exact opposite of what extra border funds for ICE and CBP will do for immigrant communities. These punitive agencies – already receiving $26 billion in 2023 – are responsible for detentions and deportations that separate immigrant families. $26 billion could instead fund all of these: 230,000 registered nurses, early childhood education for more than half a million kids, and solar farms to power half the nation’s households.
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From left to right: DE State Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton, Bita iuliano (activist, grassroots organizer), Ashik Siddique, Sumaya Awad (author/activist, Adalah Justice Project), Rana Abdelhamid (organizer and former congressional candidate), Cynthia Nixon (actor/director), NY State Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani, Amani Al-Khatahtbeh (Founder, Muslim Girl). Photo Credit: Eman Mohammed. |
HUNGER STRIKE FOR A PERMANENT CEASEFIRE
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Last week, I was proud to join a group of activists and state legislators in a 5-day hunger strike outside the White House, to demand a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. For two months, Israel’s attacks have taken 15,000+ Palestinian lives — with unquestioning support from President Biden and most of Congress. After weeks of massive public pressure, a temporary “pause” was finally announced. But after only 7 days of some reprieve for people on the ground, Israel resumed its assault.
Depriving ourselves of food for almost a week was challenging, but it was a small price to pay to focus attention on the immeasurably dire conditions faced by people in Gaza at this moment. We had a choice to stop if it got to be too much — Palestinians in Gaza have no choice. Day after day, we stationed ourselves through cold and rain, rallying with Palestinian organizers as well as Jewish, Black and Indigenous allies, labor leaders, actors like Cynthia Nixon, and members of Congress including Rashida Tlaib, Cori Bush, & Jamaal Bowman. We closed each day with a nightly candlelight vigil, reading out the names and ages of Palestinians who were killed.
We ended the hunger strike on Friday backed up by 541 people fasting remotely in solidarity, and more than 3,000 phone calls made to members of Congress — and a labor solidarity rally where the United Auto Workers (UAW) announced their support for a permanent ceasefire, along with unions representing 454,000 workers across the US. Very excitingly for NPP, the UAW announcement committed to exploring a just transition for US workers from war to peace.
We will keep organizing on the streets, pressuring elected office, and all across the country to demonstrate how out of touch this administration is with millions of Americans who demand a permanent ceasefire— and to organize power against those who aid and abet atrocities, to win the world we need. —Ashik
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The Pentagon has failed its financial audit for the sixth year in a row. It is the only major federal agency to never pass an audit.
In its most recent try, the Pentagon was only able to account for half of its assets - the weapons, equipment, facilities and other expenses that cost hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars every year. That amounts to $1.9 trillion in unaccounted-for assets - bigger than the entire federal discretionary budget this year.
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