therealnews--2020-04-25--Climate Crisis: Oil Below Zero, Planet of the Humans, Earth Day At 50

This story is part of Covering Climate Now , a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story and a week of coverage focused on Climate Solutions to mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day .
Welcome back to TRNN ’ s Climate Crisis News Roundup .
In recent weeks , this column has focused heavily on the intersection between COVID-19 and the climate crisis , and that will continue as the pandemic sweeps through the world .
But climate change and the politics of tackling the issue are still happening outside of the context of COVID-19 , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those stories , too .
If you have a story you think deserves a spot in the roundup or story pitches in general , get in touch with me at [ email protected ] or on Twitter at @ SteveAHorn .
You can read last week ’ s edition here .
The global price of oil has reached below zero on the global market .
Yes , below zero .
This is due to the combination of the earlier oil price war waged between Saudi Arabia and Russia , as well as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ oil in light of the COVID-19 global pandemic .
It is also directly related to the way the oil trading market is structured , which is based on both short and long-term bets made by speculators .
Few could have guessed that a global pandemic would be on the horizon .
But here we are .
Hundreds of oil companies now face the prospect of bankruptcy restructuring or worse , liquidation and total shutter .
For thousands of workers , this will likely mean unemployment , joining the already 26 million workers who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ restrictions began in March in the United States .
As previously covered here in the roundup , the situation has created a divide in the U.S. between Big Oil and Little Oil on the prospect of a federal bailout .
ExxonMobil , Chevron and ConocoPhillips have opposed it , but the smaller companies responsible for pioneering the fracking revolution over the past 15 years have lobbied the Trump Administration for a financial package .
Perhaps as a favor to his 2016 presidential campaign energy adviser and close ally , Harold Hamm—founder , former @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the top drillers in North Dakota and Oklahoma , Continental Resources—Trump tweeted on April 21 in support of making bailout money available .
“ The oil and gas industry spent millions to elect Trump in 2016 , and they ’ re getting exactly what they paid for , ” Greenpeace USA Senior Climate Campaigner Jack Shapiro stated in a press release in response to the news calling for no bailout money to go to oil companies .
“ But Trump ’ s energy policy has never had anything to do with American workers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allow his industry friends to continue profiting off the backs of vulnerable communities and future generations.
” Instead , Shapiro called for federal dollars to finance “ a massive , Green New Deal-style investment in low-carbon infrastructure to create the jobs of the future while rising to the challenge of climate change.
” But as we covered in last week ’ s roundup , the notion of a green stimulus has been completely taken off the table by Speaker of the House , Nancy Pelosi ( D-CA ) , and Senate Minority Leader @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The new documentary film Planet of the Humans , a harsh critique of the modern U.S. environmental and climate movement , has landed for free on YouTube .
Executive-produced by Michael Moore , the progressive documentary director of films such as Fahrenheit 9/11 , Bowling for Columbine , and Capitalism : A Love Story .
The film was directed by Moore ’ s longtime producer and collaborator , Jeff Gibbs .
Planet of the Humans can be thought of as both an expansion and a recap of Ozzie Zehner ’ s 2012 book @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Clean Energy and the Future of Environmentalism .
I interviewed Zehner , a producer of the film , for the media outlet TruthOut in 2013 .
In our conversation in which he slammed liberal climate groups for their “ productivist ” ethos .
He said then that “ the environmental movement has relegated itself to cheerleading and mindless chants ” supportive of production of alternative energy sources .
That quote is the film in a nutshell , a scathing look at the supply chains of often-touted energy sources like solar , wind , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as electric vehicles .
Instead of green capitalism , the film posits that we have too many people—particularly wealthy people in the western world—who consume too many resources .
And green energy , Gibbs argues in the film , acts as a religious-like salvation totem for the vast majority in the movement , a distraction from the root of the problem .
It ’ s not just naivete driving this ideology , Gibbs argues , but financial backing from billionaires like Michael Bloomberg , Jeremy Grantham , David Blood , and Richard Branson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ film has received over 1.5 million views on YouTube .
Though Moore is a progressive icon , the film has received criticism from Josh Fox , director of the documentary film Gasland , 350.org founder , Bill McKibben and others for say are factual errors and edging close to eco-fascism in calling for population control .
McKibben , one of the most prominent climate activists in the United States , comes under particularly harsh scrutiny in the film for previously supporting wood-based biomass energy and uncritically supporting the “ productivist ” viewpoint on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wrote on 350.org ’ s website that his views have changed on biomass energy over the years as he has learned more and he now opposes it .
He also says he reached out to Gibbs ’ team when he heard he was a major focus of the film in response to the critique , but that he never heard back .
“ That seems like bad journalism , and bad faith , ” wrote McKibben , who had previously written a book in 2007 that actually agreed with many of the points @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Planet of the Humans ” titled Deep Economy , which predated the foundation and growth of 350.org .
Fox , for his part , has published an open letter calling for the film ’ s retraction altogether : “ The film is dangerous , misleading and destructive to decades of progress on environmental policy , science and engineering , ” reads the letter .
“ We are demanding an apology and an immediate retraction by the films ’ producers , director , and advocates.
” San Diego County , the fifth largest in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to unveil a sweeping new mass transit plan later this year called the “ Five Big Moves.
” Add then COVID-19 happened .
Heavily reliant on funding from sales tax revenue and transit ridership , both of which are drastically reduced due to the county-wide stay-at-home order , the San Diego Association of Governments ( SANDAG ) , the agency overseeing the “ Five Big Moves , ” says they will soon face a major budget shortfall .
The transit plan is expected to cost at least $ 100 billion .
It is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the “ Five Big Moves ” proposal , but it certainly looks much different than it did when we last reported on it in June of last year .
In related news , the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System recently decided against pushing for a ballot initiative vote for the 2020 election cycle that would raise the sales tax by half a cent in order to boost revenue .
Chairman of the MTS Board , Nathan Fletcher , said that now , with the city and county struggling to pay for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not the time to ask taxpayers for money .
The news comes as San Diego has seen measurable clean air benefits , and thus likely , greenhouse gas emissions reductions , from having fewer cars on the roads during the COVID-19 outbreak .
In San Diego , over 70 % of overall greenhouse emissions are generated from mobile sources .
Here at The Real News , we spoke to Tia Nelson , who is the daughter of the founder of Earth Day , former Wisconsin Governor and U.S .
Senator , Gaylord Nelson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ environmentalism not as a matter of land conservationism for wealthy white people , but as an intersectional issue impacting all environments , and particularly in areas populated by people of color .
Though it is now a sanitized , corporate-friendly event , Nelson ’ s words exemplify the radical roots of Earth Day .
Some 20 million people hit the streets on the first Earth Day .
The movement ’ s founders called for measures such as a halt to ecological overshoot and unbridled economic growth .
The environmental movement itself , though @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Much of this has to do with reliance on either corporate funding streams or foundation funding , as critiqued in Mark Dowie ’ s 1996 book Losing Ground : American Environmentalism at the Close of the Twentieth Century , and in the 1996 book Washington Babylon by Ken Silverstein and Alexander Cockburn .
Washington Babylon argues that these dynamics have caused the Democratic Party to shift rightward on environmental issues .
And on the right , one year after the first Earth Day , soon-to-be U.S. Supreme Court Justice , Lewis Powell @ @ @ @ @ @ @ retaliation against Earth Day .
Known now simply as the Powell Memo and written when he was an attorney for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce , the memorandum titled “ Attack on the American Free Enterprise System ” served as a call to arms to the U.S. business community to mobilize in the fight against the environmental movement and other progressive issues .
Put into action by think-tanks , legal groups , and other moneyed interests , the Powell Memo has also pushed the Republican Party further to the right .
These two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Overton Window of policy and discourse on all issues , including those impacting the environment and climate , in a much more conservative direction .
It is this terrain on which those seeking to fight the climate crisis are now playing today , as Earth Day turns 50 .

This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story and a week of coverage focused on Climate Solutions to mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.
Welcome back to TRNN’s Climate Crisis News Roundup. In recent weeks, this column has focused heavily on the intersection between COVID-19 and the climate crisis, and that will continue as the pandemic sweeps through the world. But climate change and the politics of tackling the issue are still happening outside of the context of COVID-19, and we will use this space to tell those stories, too.
If you have a story you think deserves a spot in the roundup or story pitches in general, get in touch with me at steve@therealnews.com or on Twitter at @SteveAHorn. You can read last week’s edition here.
Oil Below Zero
The global price of oil has reached below zero on the global market. Yes, below zero. This is due to the combination of the earlier oil price war waged between Saudi Arabia and Russia, as well as the impacts of enormously reduced global consumption of oil in light of the COVID-19 global pandemic.
It is also directly related to the way the oil trading market is structured, which is based on both short and long-term bets made by speculators. Few could have guessed that a global pandemic would be on the horizon. But here we are.
Hundreds of oil companies now face the prospect of bankruptcy restructuring or worse, liquidation and total shutter. For thousands of workers, this will likely mean unemployment, joining the already 26 million workers who have filed for unemployment since COVID-19 workplace restrictions began in March in the United States.
As previously covered here in the roundup, the situation has created a divide in the U.S. between Big Oil and Little Oil on the prospect of a federal bailout. ExxonMobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips have opposed it, but the smaller companies responsible for pioneering the fracking revolution over the past 15 years have lobbied the Trump Administration for a financial package.
Perhaps as a favor to his 2016 presidential campaign energy adviser and close ally, Harold Hamm—founder, former CEO and Board Chairman of one of the top drillers in North Dakota and Oklahoma, Continental Resources—Trump tweeted on April 21 in support of making bailout money available.
Unsurprisingly, the climate movement reacted with horror:
“The oil and gas industry spent millions to elect Trump in 2016, and they’re getting exactly what they paid for,” Greenpeace USA Senior Climate Campaigner Jack Shapiro stated in a press release in response to the news calling for no bailout money to go to oil companies. “But Trump’s energy policy has never had anything to do with American workers — it’s a cover to allow his industry friends to continue profiting off the backs of vulnerable communities and future generations.”
Instead, Shapiro called for federal dollars to finance “a massive, Green New Deal-style investment in low-carbon infrastructure to create the jobs of the future while rising to the challenge of climate change.”
But as we covered in last week’s roundup, the notion of a green stimulus has been completely taken off the table by Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Senate Minority Leader, Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
“Planet of the Humans”
The new documentary film Planet of the Humans, a harsh critique of the modern U.S. environmental and climate movement, has landed for free on YouTube. Executive-produced by Michael Moore, the progressive documentary director of films such as Fahrenheit 9/11, Bowling for Columbine, and Capitalism: A Love Story. The film was directed by Moore’s longtime producer and collaborator, Jeff Gibbs.
Planet of the Humans can be thought of as both an expansion and a recap of Ozzie Zehner’s 2012 book Green Illusions: The Dirty Secrets of Clean Energy and the Future of Environmentalism. I interviewed Zehner, a producer of the film, for the media outlet TruthOut in 2013. In our conversation in which he slammed liberal climate groups for their “productivist” ethos. He said then that “the environmental movement has relegated itself to cheerleading and mindless chants” supportive of production of alternative energy sources.
That quote is the film in a nutshell, a scathing look at the supply chains of often-touted energy sources like solar, wind, biomass, and popular techtopian solutions such as electric vehicles. Instead of green capitalism, the film posits that we have too many people—particularly wealthy people in the western world—who consume too many resources. And green energy, Gibbs argues in the film, acts as a religious-like salvation totem for the vast majority in the movement, a distraction from the root of the problem. It’s not just naivete driving this ideology, Gibbs argues, but financial backing from billionaires like Michael Bloomberg, Jeremy Grantham, David Blood, and Richard Branson.
As of April 24, the film has received over 1.5 million views on YouTube. Though Moore is a progressive icon, the film has received criticism from Josh Fox, director of the documentary film Gasland, 350.org founder, Bill McKibben and others for say are factual errors and edging close to eco-fascism in calling for population control.
McKibben, one of the most prominent climate activists in the United States, comes under particularly harsh scrutiny in the film for previously supporting wood-based biomass energy and uncritically supporting the “productivist” viewpoint on non-fossil fuel energy.
Responding, McKibben wrote on 350.org’s website that his views have changed on biomass energy over the years as he has learned more and he now opposes it. He also says he reached out to Gibbs’ team when he heard he was a major focus of the film in response to the critique, but that he never heard back.
“That seems like bad journalism, and bad faith,” wrote McKibben, who had previously written a book in 2007 that actually agreed with many of the points raised about endless economic growth in “Planet of the Humans” titled Deep Economy, which predated the foundation and growth of 350.org.
Fox, for his part, has published an open letter calling for the film’s retraction altogether:
“The film is dangerous, misleading and destructive to decades of progress on environmental policy, science and engineering,” reads the letter. “We are demanding an apology and an immediate retraction by the films’ producers, director, and advocates.”
San Diego Transit Snag
San Diego County, the fifth largest in the country, was on the march to unveil a sweeping new mass transit plan later this year called the “Five Big Moves.” Add then COVID-19 happened.
Heavily reliant on funding from sales tax revenue and transit ridership, both of which are drastically reduced due to the county-wide stay-at-home order, the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), the agency overseeing the “Five Big Moves,” says they will soon face a major budget shortfall. The transit plan is expected to cost at least $100 billion.
It is not clear what the future will bring for the “Five Big Moves” proposal, but it certainly looks much different than it did when we last reported on it in June of last year.
In related news, the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System recently decided against pushing for a ballot initiative vote for the 2020 election cycle that would raise the sales tax by half a cent in order to boost revenue. Chairman of the MTS Board, Nathan Fletcher, said that now, with the city and county struggling to pay for the current transit services it provides, is not the time to ask taxpayers for money.
The news comes as San Diego has seen measurable clean air benefits, and thus likely, greenhouse gas emissions reductions, from having fewer cars on the roads during the COVID-19 outbreak. In San Diego, over 70% of overall greenhouse emissions are generated from mobile sources.
Earth Day at 50
Finally, Earth Day turned 50 on April 22.
Here at The Real News, we spoke to Tia Nelson, who is the daughter of the founder of Earth Day, former Wisconsin Governor and U.S. Senator, Gaylord Nelson. She discussed how her father viewed environmentalism not as a matter of land conservationism for wealthy white people, but as an intersectional issue impacting all environments, and particularly in areas populated by people of color.
Though it is now a sanitized, corporate-friendly event, Nelson’s words exemplify the radical roots of Earth Day. Some 20 million people hit the streets on the first Earth Day. The movement’s founders called for measures such as a halt to ecological overshoot and unbridled economic growth.
The environmental movement itself, though, has since become far less radical. Much of this has to do with reliance on either corporate funding streams or foundation funding, as critiqued in Mark Dowie’s 1996 book Losing Ground: American Environmentalism at the Close of the Twentieth Century, and in the 1996 book Washington Babylon by Ken Silverstein and Alexander Cockburn. Washington Babylon argues that these dynamics have caused the Democratic Party to shift rightward on environmental issues.
And on the right, one year after the first Earth Day, soon-to-be U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Lewis Powell, wrote the road map to the retaliation against Earth Day. Known now simply as the Powell Memo and written when he was an attorney for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the memorandum titled “Attack on the American Free Enterprise System” served as a call to arms to the U.S. business community to mobilize in the fight against the environmental movement and other progressive issues. Put into action by think-tanks, legal groups, and other moneyed interests, the Powell Memo has also pushed the Republican Party further to the right.
These two trends have also helped to shift the Overton Window of policy and discourse on all issues, including those impacting the environment and climate, in a much more conservative direction. It is this terrain on which those seeking to fight the climate crisis are now playing today, as Earth Day turns 50.
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therealnews--2020-04-27--Stir Crazy! Episode #22: Another Day in Paradise

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Host, The Marc Steiner Show
Marc Steiner is the host of "The Marc Steiner Show" on TRNN. He is a Peabody Award-winning journalist who has spent his life working on social justice issues. He walked his first picket line at age 13, and at age 16 became the youngest person in Maryland arrested at a civil rights protest during the Freedom Rides through Cambridge. As part of the Poor People’s Campaign in 1968, Marc helped organize poor white communities with the Young Patriots, the white Appalachian counterpart to the Black Panthers. Early in his career he counseled at-risk youth in therapeutic settings and founded a theater program in the Maryland State prison system. He also taught theater for 10 years at the Baltimore School for the Arts. From 1993-2018 Marc's signature “Marc Steiner Show” aired on Baltimore’s public radio airwaves, both WYPR—which Marc co-founded—and Morgan State University’s WEAA.
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therealnews--2020-04-27--The Joint Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Ceremony

Co-hosted by Combatants for Peace and the Parents Circle - Families Forum .
Co-sponsored by over sixty peace organizations and religious institutions around the world Anat Marinin and Ahmed Aljaafri – Bereaved Israeli sister , Anat , who lost her two brothers , Pinchas ( Pinka ) and Yair , during the Yom Kippur War will hold a conversation with bereaved Palestinian , Ahmed , who lost his two uncles .
( Hebrew with English subtitles ) Ben Kfir – Bereaved Israeli father , who lost his daughter , Yael , in an attack at the Israeli military camp Tzrifin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ George Saada – Bereaved Palestinian father , who lost his daughter , Christina , who was shot by the Israeli army .
( Arabic with English subtitles ) Gili Meisler – Bereaved Israeli , who lost his brother , Giora , in the 1973 Yom Kippur War .
( English , without subtitles ) Aziz Abu Sara – Bereaved Palestinian , who lost his brother , Taiseer , who was beaten to death by the Israeli army .
( English with English subtitles for the hearing impaired ) Robi Damelin – Bereaved Israeli @ @ @ @ @ @ @ David , killed by a Palestinian sniper .
( English , without subtitles ) Rami Elhanan – Bereaved Israeli father , who lost his daughter , Smadar , in an attack in Jerusalem .
( English , without subtitles ) Layla Alsheikh – Bereaved Palestinian mother , who lost her baby son after being detained at a checkpoint .
( Arabic with Hebrew subtitles ) Ayelet Harel – Bereaved Israeli sister , who lost her brother , Yuval , in the Lebanon War .
( Hebrew with Arabic subtitles ) Jamil Qassas – @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the Deheishe refugee camp .
( Hebrew with Hebrew subtitles for the hearing impaired )

Co-hosted by Combatants for Peace and the Parents Circle – Families Forum. Co-sponsored by over sixty peace organizations and religious institutions around the world
Anat Marinin and Ahmed Aljaafri – Bereaved Israeli sister, Anat, who lost her two brothers, Pinchas (Pinka) and Yair, during the Yom Kippur War will hold a conversation with bereaved Palestinian, Ahmed, who lost his two uncles. (Hebrew with English subtitles)
Ben Kfir – Bereaved Israeli father, who lost his daughter, Yael, in an attack at the Israeli military camp Tzrifin. (Hebrew with English subtitles)
George Saada – Bereaved Palestinian father, who lost his daughter, Christina, who was shot by the Israeli army. (Arabic with English subtitles)
Gili Meisler – Bereaved Israeli, who lost his brother, Giora, in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. (English, without subtitles)
Aziz Abu Sara – Bereaved Palestinian, who lost his brother, Taiseer, who was beaten to death by the Israeli army. (English with English subtitles for the hearing impaired)
Robi Damelin – Bereaved Israeli mother, who lost her son, David, killed by a Palestinian sniper. (English, without subtitles)
Rami Elhanan – Bereaved Israeli father, who lost his daughter, Smadar, in an attack in Jerusalem. (English, without subtitles)
Layla Alsheikh – Bereaved Palestinian mother, who lost her baby son after being detained at a checkpoint. (Arabic with Hebrew subtitles)
Ayelet Harel – Bereaved Israeli sister, who lost her brother, Yuval, in the Lebanon War. (Hebrew with Arabic subtitles)
Jamil Qassas – Bereaved Palestinian, who lost his brother in the Deheishe refugee camp. (Hebrew with Hebrew subtitles for the hearing impaired)
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therealnews--2020-04-27--Has The Coronavirus Crisis Softened Hamas?

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therealnews--2020-04-27--‘A Progressive Bailout Includes A Freeze On Rent, Mortgages, And Utilities’

This is a rush transcript and may contain errors .
It will be updated .
Jamaal Bowman : My opponent has been in office for over 30 years .
Over those 30 years , my opponent voted for an unjust war in Iraq .
Eliot Engel : He has weapons of mass destruction .
Eliot Engel : We need to put more cops on the beat , build more prisons , and support the Crime Bill .
Jaisal Noor : Welcome to the Real News .
I ’ m Jaisal Noor .
And that ’ s Jamaal Bowman , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s 16th District , which is the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic .
The incumbent , the hawkish Eliot Engel has held office for more than three decades and his top donors include Wall Street and pro-Israel lobbyists .
Bowman has rejected corporate PAC money and won the backing of Progressive groups like Justice Democrats who helped Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez unseat 10-term Congressman Joseph Crowley in 2018 .
But Bowman , a longtime educator and community organizer , faces a different challenge , a pandemic that has crippled traditional campaigning .
Well , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ run is Jamaal Bowman , an educator and advocate for public schools for over 20 years , most recently served as the Principal for Cornerstone Academy for Social Action , or CASA , a public middle school he founded in 2009 .
Thank you so much for joining us .
Jamaal Bowman : Thank you for having me .
It ’ s great to be here .
Jaisal Noor : So New York ’ s 16th District is the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic .
We ’ re talking about mass graves , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are just overflowing , very , very hard hit .
In your opinion , has Congress , specifically the Democratically-controlled House , done enough for this country including your district ?
Jamaal Bowman : There are Progressives in Congress who have been pushing a people ’ s agenda and fighting for the working class and fighting for small businesses .
Unfortunately , they ’ re few and far between because the Democratically-controlled House unfortunately isn ’ t being led right now by Progressives .
So they fought for a few things that were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ far enough .
I mean , the first bailout package focused specifically on large corporations and the wealthy , and left small businesses and the working class to fend for themselves .
In addition , there are still hospitals struggling to receive PPEs .
There ’ s still not enough masks , there ’ s still not enough gloves , there ’ s still not enough testing with efficient quick results , there ’ s still not enough testing sites .
So a lot more needs to be done to put pressure on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those who are most vulnerable in our district receive all of the care and all of the resources they need .
And unfortunately that ’ s not happening right now .
Jaisal Noor : So we know corporations had been bailed out to a tune of something which will amount to something like $ 6 trillion , and that number is growing .
A lot of that has no strings attached , but as you said , the actual people have received very little except the $ 1200 one time stimulus payment … @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of people haven ’ t gotten that yet .
So what does a progressive bailout look like ?
We know that right now Congress and the Trump administration is implementing a shock doctrine .
What would be a progressive shock doctrine ?
Talk about what you would implement if you were in Congress right now .
Jamaal Bowman : Yeah , a progressive bailout includes a freeze on rent , a freeze on utilities , and a freeze on mortgages .
It includes at least $ 2000 per month not a one time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ includes efficient food production and distribution to those who are most vulnerable .
And as opposed to allowing big corporations to use most of their money to buy back their own stocks , any corporation that ’ s been behaving in that way , those corporations should be allowed to fail so that the people can have the resources they need not just to sustain the pandemic , but to build the infrastructure that we need going forward to make sure working class people and the care economy overall is at the center @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jaisal Noor : So whether we ’ re talking about the bailout or this upcoming election on June 23rd , I believe it was delayed because of the pandemic , we ’ re really seeing a fight within the Democratic Party between the corporate wing and then the Progressive wing .
You ’ re taking on a candidate that has the backing of Wall Street , the Israel lobby .
You have the backing of Progressive groups .
I know you ’ ve won , just in the last few days , you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ endorsements .
You ’ ve sworn off big money donations , but that means that you ’ re relying on working people for donations , people that are hit really hard by this crisis , so what kind of challenges are you facing and how are you working to overcome them ?
Jamaal Bowman : I mean , I ’ ve got to tell you , I ’ ve fallen in love with the people of this country throughout the campaign , but even more so during this pandemic .
Regardless of how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re still willing to support our campaign because they realize the stakes .
They understand if we ’ re able to beat someone like Elliott Engel who ’ s been in office for 31 years , who ’ s taken more money from weapons manufacturers than 144 Republicans in the House , and continues to support the military industrial complex , war and Wall Street , they understand that if we ’ re able to win this race , it transforms the psychology of our country .
It gives faith and hope to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ So people have been continuously supporting us .
Our first quarter fundraising actually beat the previous two quarters despite being in the middle of a pandemic because people are willing to help , people are willing to support .
I think the movement that Bernie Sanders has created across the country has really been helpful .
I think many who support candidates like Elizabeth Warren are more likely to lean into a campaign like ours .
So it ’ s been a challenge , but I ’ ve got to tell you , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ see change and they continue to support us no matter what .
Jaisal Noor : So I wanted to ask you , for communities like the Bronx , which are District 16 , some of the most disinvested communities in the country , we ’ re talking about urban communities that had been subjected to red lining and to high levels of air pollution , all types of other issues , how do you reach out to people that have given up on the political process and said , “ Look , we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decades that haven ’ t done anything to help us , ” how do you get them engaged in this process ?
Jamaal Bowman : Well , first of all , I am an example of them .
I am them .
I lived in the housing projects , I lived in public housing , I lived in rent stabilized apartments .
I was raised by a single mom along with my three sisters .
I had family members who struggled with addiction and in a variety of areas .
So I ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ community which I come from , that is similar to the community that I came from .
In addition , I ’ ve served this community for the last 10 years as a middle school principal so I know intimately the issues that our children and our families face on a day to day basis .
So when we started canvassing in early June , we were knocking on the doors of those most marginalized by our system throughout American history , but particularly for the last 50 years .
Jamaal Bowman : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , aggressively , and more importantly , we were listening to the issues that matter most to them .
So we were bringing them into the process from the very beginning .
And now that we ’ re doing most of it via Zoom call and phone banking , we ’ re just adding second and third touches to people who we were already able to meet throughout the campaign .
We were lucky to start our campaign with hundreds of volunteers making thousands of calls knocking on thousands of doors throughout the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now and it ’ s more challenging because of the distancing and social distancing but we were building those relationships and making the connections from the very beginning .
Jaisal Noor : And we know since AOC ’ s stunning defeat of Joseph Crowley , who ’ s been called the Democratic Boss from Queens , he was a really big party leader , we know the Centrist Democrats have learned those lessons and they ’ re trying to raise as much money and consolidate their power .
How are you going to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to add , we ’ ve seen that sometimes crises can be a moderating influence on elections , people want to choose a safe bet , they might think , “ Look , at least we know what we ’ re getting with the incumbent.
” How do you overcome those challenges ?
Jamaal Bowman : Well , the problem with the machine , whether in Queens or in the Bronx , is they haven ’ t done a good enough job of building relationships with working class people .
Unfortunately , many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interests and the wealthy in this country , which is why getting big money out of the politics and publicly financed elections is a huge issue , not just for our campaign but for Progressives across the country .
They have this myth and this shadow of having control and being entrenched in terms of elections and in terms of our political system but they haven ’ t done the work to build the relationships over time , which is why when we ’ re speaking to working class people and connecting with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ see Eliot Engel .
He is not present , he is not engaged , other than a field day or a one off event .
He ’ s not around so he doesn ’ t know the issues , he doesn ’ t know the concerns , he doesn ’ t have the relationships , and the machine overall doesn ’ t have those relationships .
And Eliot Engel has done a good job of serving maybe 7 % of the district , but there ’ s another 93 % that wants to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to and wants to be a part of this process .
So we ’ re fortunate enough to be connecting with that other 93 % .
Jaisal Noor : And finally , you ’ re coming to this race through the lens of an educator and we know that there ’ s a technology gap , there ’ s a resource gap , especially in places like the Bronx or in Baltimore where I ’ m talking to you from .
I ’ m just reading a tweet right now from the Baltimore @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Maryland superintendents showed that as many as 25 % of students in some districts had not signed in to the internet to do the lessons or hadn ’ t picked up packets of papers.
” What is needed now for public schools because we know that achievement gap starts really young , especially where you have working families that are essential workers that are going out into the front lines .
What does this country need to do now to make sure that young people have the resources they need to succeed despite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need a one-to-one student to technology ratio , so every student should have access to a laptop or an iPad .
We need wifi as a public utility , free at the point of delivery , so students can access a wifi and internet .
In terms of the one-to-one student to laptop or iPad ratio , that needs to be provided by our Department of Education , by our cities , by our states , and by our federal government .
In addition to that , there are many families who are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ children staring at a computer all day .
So cities and states in the country should provide stipends for those families to buy the books and resources they need from Barnes and Noble and places like that so that their children can work with paper and pencil and books if they choose not to use the technology .
But this is not a new issue .
What the coronavirus has revealed is the inequality that already existed within our nation .
Right here in this one district , we have a tale of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and resources in one area and abject poverty in another .
You have schools being funded two-to-one when you compare schools in the Bronx or Mount Vernon or Yonkers to schools in Bronxville , in schools in Scarsdale , to name a few .
So there was inequality already in the system .
Our schools were already underfunded , class sizes were already too high .
And the last thing I want to say is , education is where all of the other issues intersect .
So if a child is dealing with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ places to play , a lack of clean water or clean air or dilapidated public housing , that child is going to struggle in school because that trauma that comes from those other social issues impacts a child ’ s ability to learn and thrive academically .
So education is where all of the major issues intersect and Congress has to take responsibility and do more for those who are most vulnerable .
Jaisal Noor : All right , well , Jamaal Bowman , it ’ s a pleasure to talk to you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 16th District , which votes on June 23rd , if I ’ m correct .
Jamaal Bowman : Yes , but there ’ s going to be some early voting that happens prior to that , so stay tuned for those dates .
And the 16th District , I just want to mention , includes the North Bronx in Lower Westchester County , which includes cities like Yonkers , Mount Vernon , and New Rochelle .
Jaisal Noor : All right , well , we will check in with you for your race @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We ’ ll follow up on developments .
Thank you so much for joining us .
Jamaal Bowman : Thank you , sir .
Have a great day .
Jaisal Noor : And thank you for joining us at the Real News Network .

Public educator Jamaal Bowman wants to win the congressional seat of hawkish 30-year incumbent Eliot Engel. Justice Democrats, the group that helped elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, are with him.
Story Transcript
This is a rush transcript and may contain errors. It will be updated.
Jamaal Bowman: My opponent has been in office for over 30 years. Over those 30 years, my opponent voted for an unjust war in Iraq.
Eliot Engel: He has weapons of mass destruction.
Jamaal Bowman: Deregulating Wall Street, school privatization, and building more prisons.
Eliot Engel: We need to put more cops on the beat, build more prisons, and support the Crime Bill.
Jaisal Noor: Welcome to the Real News. I’m Jaisal Noor. And that’s Jamaal Bowman, a Progressive Congressional candidate running in New York’s 16th District, which is the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. The incumbent, the hawkish Eliot Engel has held office for more than three decades and his top donors include Wall Street and pro-Israel lobbyists. Bowman has rejected corporate PAC money and won the backing of Progressive groups like Justice Democrats who helped Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez unseat 10-term Congressman Joseph Crowley in 2018. But Bowman, a longtime educator and community organizer, faces a different challenge, a pandemic that has crippled traditional campaigning. Well, now joining us to discuss his Congressional run is Jamaal Bowman, an educator and advocate for public schools for over 20 years, most recently served as the Principal for Cornerstone Academy for Social Action, or CASA, a public middle school he founded in 2009. Thank you so much for joining us.
Jamaal Bowman: Thank you for having me. It’s great to be here.
Jaisal Noor: So New York’s 16th District is the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. We’re talking about mass graves, we’re talking about hospitals that are just overflowing, very, very hard hit. In your opinion, has Congress, specifically the Democratically-controlled House, done enough for this country including your district?
Jamaal Bowman: There are Progressives in Congress who have been pushing a people’s agenda and fighting for the working class and fighting for small businesses. Unfortunately, they’re few and far between because the Democratically-controlled House unfortunately isn’t being led right now by Progressives. So they fought for a few things that were needed, but didn’t go far enough. I mean, the first bailout package focused specifically on large corporations and the wealthy, and left small businesses and the working class to fend for themselves. In addition, there are still hospitals struggling to receive PPEs. There’s still not enough masks, there’s still not enough gloves, there’s still not enough testing with efficient quick results, there’s still not enough testing sites. So a lot more needs to be done to put pressure on the White House to make sure that those who are most vulnerable in our district receive all of the care and all of the resources they need. And unfortunately that’s not happening right now.
Jaisal Noor: So we know corporations had been bailed out to a tune of something which will amount to something like $6 trillion, and that number is growing. A lot of that has no strings attached, but as you said, the actual people have received very little except the $1200 one time stimulus payment …
Jamaal Bowman: One time.
Jaisal Noor: … and a lot of people haven’t gotten that yet. So what does a progressive bailout look like? We know that right now Congress and the Trump administration is implementing a shock doctrine. What would be a progressive shock doctrine? Talk about what you would implement if you were in Congress right now.
Jamaal Bowman: Yeah, a progressive bailout includes a freeze on rent, a freeze on utilities, and a freeze on mortgages. It includes at least $2000 per month not a one time payment of $1200, and it includes efficient food production and distribution to those who are most vulnerable. And as opposed to allowing big corporations to use most of their money to buy back their own stocks, any corporation that’s been behaving in that way, those corporations should be allowed to fail so that the people can have the resources they need not just to sustain the pandemic, but to build the infrastructure that we need going forward to make sure working class people and the care economy overall is at the center of our political and economic systems.
Jaisal Noor: So whether we’re talking about the bailout or this upcoming election on June 23rd, I believe it was delayed because of the pandemic, we’re really seeing a fight within the Democratic Party between the corporate wing and then the Progressive wing. You’re taking on a candidate that has the backing of Wall Street, the Israel lobby. You have the backing of Progressive groups. I know you’ve won, just in the last few days, you’ve picked up more and more endorsements. You’ve sworn off big money donations, but that means that you’re relying on working people for donations, people that are hit really hard by this crisis, so what kind of challenges are you facing and how are you working to overcome them?
Jamaal Bowman: I mean, I’ve got to tell you, I’ve fallen in love with the people of this country throughout the campaign, but even more so during this pandemic. Regardless of how much people are struggling, they’re still willing to support our campaign because they realize the stakes. They understand if we’re able to beat someone like Elliott Engel who’s been in office for 31 years, who’s taken more money from weapons manufacturers than 144 Republicans in the House, and continues to support the military industrial complex, war and Wall Street, they understand that if we’re able to win this race, it transforms the psychology of our country. It gives faith and hope to people who have been mostly disenfranchised. So people have been continuously supporting us. Our first quarter fundraising actually beat the previous two quarters despite being in the middle of a pandemic because people are willing to help, people are willing to support.
I think the movement that Bernie Sanders has created across the country has really been helpful. I think many who support candidates like Elizabeth Warren are more likely to lean into a campaign like ours. So it’s been a challenge, but I’ve got to tell you, the people of this country want to see change and they continue to support us no matter what.
Jaisal Noor: So I wanted to ask you, for communities like the Bronx, which are District 16, some of the most disinvested communities in the country, we’re talking about urban communities that had been subjected to red lining and to high levels of air pollution, all types of other issues, how do you reach out to people that have given up on the political process and said, “Look, we’ve had politicians in here for decades that haven’t done anything to help us,” how do you get them engaged in this process?
Jamaal Bowman: Well, first of all, I am an example of them. I am them. I lived in the housing projects, I lived in public housing, I lived in rent stabilized apartments. I was raised by a single mom along with my three sisters. I had family members who struggled with addiction and in a variety of areas. So I’m serving or running to serve a community which I come from, that is similar to the community that I came from. In addition, I’ve served this community for the last 10 years as a middle school principal so I know intimately the issues that our children and our families face on a day to day basis. So when we started canvassing in early June, we were knocking on the doors of those most marginalized by our system throughout American history, but particularly for the last 50 years.
Jamaal Bowman: We will knock on those doors consistently, aggressively, and more importantly, we were listening to the issues that matter most to them. So we were bringing them into the process from the very beginning. And now that we’re doing most of it via Zoom call and phone banking, we’re just adding second and third touches to people who we were already able to meet throughout the campaign. We were lucky to start our campaign with hundreds of volunteers making thousands of calls knocking on thousands of doors throughout the campaign. So it’s different now and it’s more challenging because of the distancing and social distancing but we were building those relationships and making the connections from the very beginning.
Jaisal Noor: And we know since AOC’s stunning defeat of Joseph Crowley, who’s been called the Democratic Boss from Queens, he was a really big party leader, we know the Centrist Democrats have learned those lessons and they’re trying to raise as much money and consolidate their power. How are you going to overcome that? And also I want to add, we’ve seen that sometimes crises can be a moderating influence on elections, people want to choose a safe bet, they might think, “Look, at least we know what we’re getting with the incumbent.” How do you overcome those challenges?
Jamaal Bowman: Well, the problem with the machine, whether in Queens or in the Bronx, is they haven’t done a good enough job of building relationships with working class people. Unfortunately, many of them have been co-opted by corporate interests and the wealthy in this country, which is why getting big money out of the politics and publicly financed elections is a huge issue, not just for our campaign but for Progressives across the country. They have this myth and this shadow of having control and being entrenched in terms of elections and in terms of our political system but they haven’t done the work to build the relationships over time, which is why when we’re speaking to working class people and connecting with them, they often say they never see Eliot Engel. He is not present, he is not engaged, other than a field day or a one off event. He’s not around so he doesn’t know the issues, he doesn’t know the concerns, he doesn’t have the relationships, and the machine overall doesn’t have those relationships.
And Eliot Engel has done a good job of serving maybe 7% of the district, but there’s another 93% that wants to be heard and wants to be listened to and wants to be a part of this process. So we’re fortunate enough to be connecting with that other 93%.
Jaisal Noor: And finally, you’re coming to this race through the lens of an educator and we know that there’s a technology gap, there’s a resource gap, especially in places like the Bronx or in Baltimore where I’m talking to you from. I’m just reading a tweet right now from the Baltimore Sun. “A recent survey of Maryland superintendents showed that as many as 25% of students in some districts had not signed in to the internet to do the lessons or hadn’t picked up packets of papers.” What is needed now for public schools because we know that achievement gap starts really young, especially where you have working families that are essential workers that are going out into the front lines. What does this country need to do now to make sure that young people have the resources they need to succeed despite this crisis?
Jamaal Bowman: We need a one-to-one student to technology ratio, so every student should have access to a laptop or an iPad. We need wifi as a public utility, free at the point of delivery, so students can access a wifi and internet. In terms of the one-to-one student to laptop or iPad ratio, that needs to be provided by our Department of Education, by our cities, by our states, and by our federal government. In addition to that, there are many families who are uncomfortable or don’t want their children staring at a computer all day. So cities and states in the country should provide stipends for those families to buy the books and resources they need from Barnes and Noble and places like that so that their children can work with paper and pencil and books if they choose not to use the technology.
But this is not a new issue. What the coronavirus has revealed is the inequality that already existed within our nation. Right here in this one district, we have a tale of two districts. We have incredible wealth and resources in one area and abject poverty in another. You have schools being funded two-to-one when you compare schools in the Bronx or Mount Vernon or Yonkers to schools in Bronxville, in schools in Scarsdale, to name a few. So there was inequality already in the system. Our schools were already underfunded, class sizes were already too high. And the last thing I want to say is, education is where all of the other issues intersect. So if a child is dealing with food insecurity, housing insecurity, unsafe places to play, a lack of clean water or clean air or dilapidated public housing, that child is going to struggle in school because that trauma that comes from those other social issues impacts a child’s ability to learn and thrive academically. So education is where all of the major issues intersect and Congress has to take responsibility and do more for those who are most vulnerable.
Jaisal Noor: All right, well, Jamaal Bowman, it’s a pleasure to talk to you. Running in New York’s 16th District, which votes on June 23rd, if I’m correct.
Jamaal Bowman: Yes, but there’s going to be some early voting that happens prior to that, so stay tuned for those dates. And the 16th District, I just want to mention, includes the North Bronx in Lower Westchester County, which includes cities like Yonkers, Mount Vernon, and New Rochelle.
Jaisal Noor: All right, well, we will check in with you for your race and see how things are going. We’ll follow up on developments. Thank you so much for joining us.
Jamaal Bowman: Thank you, sir. Have a great day.
Jaisal Noor: And thank you for joining us at the Real News Network.
Production: Genevieve Montinar, Taylor Hebden, Andrew Corkery
Studio: Taylor Hebden
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therealnews--2020-04-27--How Historical Trauma And Structural Inequality Help Spread COVID-19

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Jacqueline Luqman is a host and producer for TRNN. With more than 20 years as an activist in Washington, DC, Jacqueline focuses on examining the impact of current events and politics on Black, POC, and other marginalized communities in the US and around the world, providing a specific race and class analysis at the root of these issues. She is Editor-In-Chief and a co-host of the social media program Coffee, Current Events & Politics in Luqman Nation with her husband, and is active in the faith-focused progressive/left activist community.


therealnews--2020-04-28--Fired Amazon Worker Chris Smalls: Support May Day Strikers

This is a rush transcript and may contain errors .
It will be updated .
Hofsa Hassan : Another reason why we out here tonight is because Amazon is targeting specific people .
We are being told to stay six feet apart .
However , that rule does not apply for everyone .
We ’ ve seen management do it right in front of us .
We ’ ve seen safety that are supposed to keep us safe , do it .
Yet we as associates are being targeted .
Jaisal Noor : That ’ s Hofsa Hassan , one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ staged a walkout to protest unsafe working conditions and the loss of hazard pay at an Amazon warehouse in Shakopee , Minnesota on April 26th .
We can expect to see more walkouts and protests leading up to big actions on Mayday or International Workers Day , which is observed in most countries except the United States .
Despite its rich militant often bloody history of working class struggle that ’ s secured major victories like the eight hour workday .
But Mayday 2020 could see the reawakening of this more radical tradition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Target , Whole Foods and other retailers are holding mass sick outs and other protests to demand fair pay and workplace protections during the coronavirus pandemic .
Well now joining us to discuss this is Chris Smalls .
He was fired from Amazon in March after working there for five years .
Amazon said Smalls was fired for not social distancing , but his firing is widely seen as retaliation for organizing a walkout at the Staten Island Amazon warehouse where he ’ s worked .
Chris , thanks so much for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Oh absolutely .
Anytime .
Thank you for having me .
Jaisal Noor : So can you start off by talking about the workers you ’ ve been in touch with across the US and the world who are organizing and why ?
And maybe start with Hofsa Hassan .
We heard a clip of her earlier .
She was one of the workers that walked out in Minnesota just a few days ago .
Give us the latest .
Chris Smalls : Absolutely .
I spoke to her this morning and I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ actually opened up our eyes to another broader issue that ’ s going on with the company .
The company is ending their UPT policy on April 30th .
Jaisal Noor : And what is , what is UPT ?
Chris Smalls : Unpaid time .
Unlimited unpaid time that they were only offering during the pandemic is now coming to an end on April 30th and I believe that ’ s just a tactic for them to counteract the protest that we ’ re doing on May 1st .
They kind of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then not giving them the option to take off any more .
But we also got to think about religion .
It ’ s Ramadan as she stated , and Amazon has a large workforce that celebrates that holiday , that religion as well .
So they need to take that into consideration and they haven ’ t .
And this tells you how much little value we are to them .
They don ’ t care about what we have going on at home , our families , our livelihoods .
They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And she brought up a very strong argument and I ’ m so glad that I was able to connect with her because I stand behind her a hundred percent .
And she ’ s standing behind me a hundred percent and we ’ re going to continue to work together .
And this is the reason why I ’ m mobilizing on May 1st .
Jaisal Noor : Can you talk about some of the other workers you ’ ve been in touch with ?
Since you were fired by Amazon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all over the world that were inspired by your story and that you ’ ve been building with .
Who are some of the other people you ’ ve been even connecting with ?
Chris Smalls : I ’ ve been speaking with everybody from all over the world .
Even the ladies that they fired in Seattle , Emily and Mara Costa .
I ’ ve spoken with them as well .
I get emails every single day .
I just got off the phone with a union from Germany .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from France .
France already handled their business , but that ’ s just to tell you how much people are connecting and supporting the movement because we ’ re all in the same situation .
People in the states over here nationwide , I ’ ve been talking to numerous employees all over the country every single day , and we ’ re all coming together in solidarity .
We ’ ve been having conference calls every week to mobilize on May 1st .
They are on board on what I got @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And collectively all these companies that you mentioned , Target , Whole Foods , Instacart , even Uber and Lyft drivers , FedEx drivers , they all decided to speak up on this topic which is the pandemic and that the fact that these companies are not protecting us and we decided to all join forces .
We ’ re going to stand together on May 1st .
We ’ re going to come together and we ’ re going to protest in front of certain locations throughout the country , nationwide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also a press release statement of all our demands .
All the demands that the CEOs of all these companies need to hear and understand will be released to the public as well .
So they understand the reason why we are protesting .
We don ’ t want to do this .
We ’ re being forced to do this .
We ’ re not protected , we ’ re not paid correctly meaning there is no paid sick time or hazard pay .
You have to test positive to get quarantine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to us and this is the reason why we got to do what we have to do .
As you said this , this is a 20th century type of revolution and we ’ re just trying to continue that tradition and do it peacefully as well .
Jaisal Noor : And so we know that workers have tested positive in over 130 Amazon warehouses .
You warned about this in March .
That was one of the reasons that you were organizing , speaking out .
And so weeks have passed , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you were terminated .
Has Amazon or any of these companies addressed these dangers ?
Chris Smalls : Well , to be honest with you , it hasn ’ t even been a month yet .
It ’ s only been about three weeks .
That ’ s the scary thing about it .
Since I ’ ve been terminated , it ’ s been what you can say a skyrocket cases that have been happening throughout the nation .
And this is what I was warning .
You ’ re absolutely right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ happening because I know from being with the company since 2015 , I know what ’ s entitled when it comes to operations inside these warehouses .
You can ’ t avoid coming , interacting with somebody that may test positive , whether it ’ s in passing , whether it ’ s in and out the entrance of the building .
Whether it ’ s in and out the entrance of a restroom .
Whether it ’ s sharing a microwave in the break room .
You got to take all of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that you can not stop the spread of the virus once it ’ s in these type of facilities .
It ’ s not the buildings that hold the virus , it ’ s the people that ’ s spreading it .
They want to clean up and triple down on cleaning , whatever they say to the public .
They want to continue implementing safety guidelines .
They can do all of that , but everything they ’ re doing is very reactive .
It was very late to the game and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only way you stop the spread of this virus is stop spreading it out to people .
Stop having people come to work .
That ’ s the only option I see that ’ s going to work .
Chris Smalls : Until we get protection that we need , because consumers and employees should be on the same side .
We are doing a service for the consumers , but if we ’ re not healthy , we ’ re doing a disservice .
Meaning we ’ re bringing this virus back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to stay together in this aspect .
And for the consumers , don ’ t purchase anything from these type of companies until they protect us .
By doing that , you ’ re standing with us , you ’ re standing with your loved ones .
A lot of these people that support these companies are family members like stay at home mothers and wives , teachers , whoever ’ s home right now , they support delivery services .
And there ’ s no problem with that but obviously the major @ @ @ @ @ @ @ us , which mean they ultimately failed to protect their communities because we live in these communities .
We ’ re in the trenches .
And these CEO ’ s , the spokespeople for Amazon are the CEOs of billionaires , executives , they ’ re not in the trenches with us .
They are part of a different type of lifestyle that doesn ’ t relate to us and we need to understand that if you guys are really standing with us , the only way you can support us at this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they meet our demands .
Jaisal Noor : All right , Chris Smalls , thanks so much for joining us .
Jaisal Noor : I believe you ’ ll be joining us on May Day at five o ’ clock Eastern live on our broadcast and so we ’ ll make sure to link to that and link to all of our interviews with you .
I ’ ve had you on every couple of weeks now giving us an update on what workers are doing .
We appreciate the work you ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Noor : And thank you for joining us at the Real News network .

Frontline workers across the world are organizing wildcat strikes on May Day, demanding protective gear and hazard pay from companies making record profits.
Story Transcript
This is a rush transcript and may contain errors. It will be updated.
Hofsa Hassan: Another reason why we out here tonight is because Amazon is targeting specific people. We are being told to stay six feet apart. However, that rule does not apply for everyone. We’ve seen management do it right in front of us. We’ve seen safety that are supposed to keep us safe, do it. Yet we as associates are being targeted.
Jaisal Noor: That’s Hofsa Hassan, one of the dozens of Amazon workers who staged a walkout to protest unsafe working conditions and the loss of hazard pay at an Amazon warehouse in Shakopee, Minnesota on April 26th. We can expect to see more walkouts and protests leading up to big actions on Mayday or International Workers Day, which is observed in most countries except the United States. Despite its rich militant often bloody history of working class struggle that’s secured major victories like the eight hour workday. But Mayday 2020 could see the reawakening of this more radical tradition in the US as workers with Amazon, Target, Whole Foods and other retailers are holding mass sick outs and other protests to demand fair pay and workplace protections during the coronavirus pandemic.
Well now joining us to discuss this is Chris Smalls. He was fired from Amazon in March after working there for five years. Amazon said Smalls was fired for not social distancing, but his firing is widely seen as retaliation for organizing a walkout at the Staten Island Amazon warehouse where he’s worked. Chris, thanks so much for joining us again.
Chris Smalls: Oh absolutely. Anytime. Thank you for having me.
Jaisal Noor: So can you start off by talking about the workers you’ve been in touch with across the US and the world who are organizing and why? And maybe start with Hofsa Hassan. We heard a clip of her earlier. She was one of the workers that walked out in Minnesota just a few days ago. Give us the latest.
Chris Smalls: Absolutely. I spoke to her this morning and I commend her for her actions. She actually opened up our eyes to another broader issue that’s going on with the company. The company is ending their UPT policy on April 30th.
Jaisal Noor: And what is, what is UPT?
Chris Smalls: Unpaid time. Unlimited unpaid time that they were only offering during the pandemic is now coming to an end on April 30th and I believe that’s just a tactic for them to counteract the protest that we’re doing on May 1st. They kind of wanted to punish people in a sense then not giving them the option to take off any more. But we also got to think about religion. It’s Ramadan as she stated, and Amazon has a large workforce that celebrates that holiday, that religion as well. So they need to take that into consideration and they haven’t. And this tells you how much little value we are to them. They don’t care about what we have going on at home, our families, our livelihoods. They don’t care about our communities.
And she brought up a very strong argument and I’m so glad that I was able to connect with her because I stand behind her a hundred percent. And she’s standing behind me a hundred percent and we’re going to continue to work together. And this is the reason why I’m mobilizing on May 1st.
Jaisal Noor: Can you talk about some of the other workers you’ve been in touch with? Since you were fired by Amazon you’ve been connecting with workers all over the world that were inspired by your story and that you’ve been building with. Who are some of the other people you’ve been even connecting with?
Chris Smalls: I’ve been speaking with everybody from all over the world. Even the ladies that they fired in Seattle, Emily and Mara Costa. I’ve spoken with them as well. I get emails every single day. I just got off the phone with a union from Germany. I’m in contact with a union from France. France already handled their business, but that’s just to tell you how much people are connecting and supporting the movement because we’re all in the same situation. People in the states over here nationwide, I’ve been talking to numerous employees all over the country every single day, and we’re all coming together in solidarity. We’ve been having conference calls every week to mobilize on May 1st. They are on board on what I got going on, they all for it. And collectively all these companies that you mentioned, Target, Whole Foods, Instacart, even Uber and Lyft drivers, FedEx drivers, they all decided to speak up on this topic which is the pandemic and that the fact that these companies are not protecting us and we decided to all join forces.
We’re going to stand together on May 1st. We’re going to come together and we’re going to protest in front of certain locations throughout the country, nationwide and we’re going to release also a press release statement of all our demands. All the demands that the CEOs of all these companies need to hear and understand will be released to the public as well. So they understand the reason why we are protesting. We don’t want to do this. We’re being forced to do this. We’re not protected, we’re not paid correctly meaning there is no paid sick time or hazard pay. You have to test positive to get quarantine pay. It’s not fair to us and this is the reason why we got to do what we have to do. As you said this, this is a 20th century type of revolution and we’re just trying to continue that tradition and do it peacefully as well.
Jaisal Noor: And so we know that workers have tested positive in over 130 Amazon warehouses. You warned about this in March. That was one of the reasons that you were organizing, speaking out. And so weeks have passed, five or six weeks have passed since you were terminated. Has Amazon or any of these companies addressed these dangers?
Chris Smalls: Well, to be honest with you, it hasn’t even been a month yet. It’s only been about three weeks. That’s the scary thing about it. Since I’ve been terminated, it’s been what you can say a skyrocket cases that have been happening throughout the nation. And this is what I was warning. You’re absolutely right. I tried to prevent this from happening because I know from being with the company since 2015, I know what’s entitled when it comes to operations inside these warehouses. You can’t avoid coming, interacting with somebody that may test positive, whether it’s in passing, whether it’s in and out the entrance of the building. Whether it’s in and out the entrance of a restroom. Whether it’s sharing a microwave in the break room.
You got to take all of that into consideration. The simple fact that you cannot stop the spread of the virus once it’s in these type of facilities. It’s not the buildings that hold the virus, it’s the people that’s spreading it. They want to clean up and triple down on cleaning, whatever they say to the public. They want to continue implementing safety guidelines. They can do all of that, but everything they’re doing is very reactive. It was very late to the game and it’s not working. The only way you stop the spread of this virus is stop spreading it out to people. Stop having people come to work. That’s the only option I see that’s going to work.
Jaisal Noor: Chris, what’s your message to consumers?
Chris Smalls: Until we get protection that we need, because consumers and employees should be on the same side. We are doing a service for the consumers, but if we’re not healthy, we’re doing a disservice. Meaning we’re bringing this virus back to the communities. So we need to stay together in this aspect. And for the consumers, don’t purchase anything from these type of companies until they protect us. By doing that, you’re standing with us, you’re standing with your loved ones. A lot of these people that support these companies are family members like stay at home mothers and wives, teachers, whoever’s home right now, they support delivery services. And there’s no problem with that but obviously the major problem is that they failed to protect us, which mean they ultimately failed to protect their communities because we live in these communities. We’re in the trenches.
And these CEO’s, the spokespeople for Amazon are the CEOs of billionaires, executives, they’re not in the trenches with us. They are part of a different type of lifestyle that doesn’t relate to us and we need to understand that if you guys are really standing with us, the only way you can support us at this moment is not support these companies until they meet our demands.
Jaisal Noor: All right, Chris Smalls, thanks so much for joining us.
Chris Smalls: Anytime.
Jaisal Noor: I believe you’ll be joining us on May Day at five o’clock Eastern live on our broadcast and so we’ll make sure to link to that and link to all of our interviews with you. I’ve had you on every couple of weeks now giving us an update on what workers are doing. We appreciate the work you’re doing. Thank you.
Chris Smalls: Absolutely. Anytime. Thank you.
Jaisal Noor: And thank you for joining us at the Real News network.
Studio: Bababtunde Ogunfolaju
Production: Bababtunde Ogunfolaju, Andrew Corkery
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therealnews--2020-04-28--Stir Crazy! Episode #23: The Empire State


therealnews--2020-04-28--White Collar Criminals, Celebrities, Wealthy Use Privilege For Early Release Amidst Pandemic

Michael Cohen and Michael Avenatti were released , and some Los Angeles prisons offer pay-to-stay rooms for celebrities .
But @ @ @ @ @ are still imprisoned and at risk of COVID-19 just because they can ’ t afford @ @ @

Michael Cohen and Michael Avenatti were released, and some Los Angeles prisons offer pay-to-stay rooms for celebrities. But a huge number of people are still imprisoned and at risk of COVID-19 just because they can’t afford cash bail.
Story Transcript
This is a rush transcript and may contain errors. It will be updated.
Eddie Conway: I’m Eddie Conway coming to you from Baltimore for this episode of Rattling the Bars for The Real News Network. Everybody is aware that there’s always been a two-tier prison system, one for white collar prisoners or high profile prisoners, and the other for everyone else. Well, since this COVID-19, apparently a number of those high profile prisoners has been requesting release clemency, et cetera, and they have been getting different treatment than the rest of the prison population.
So joining me today to look at this and to look at the-two tier prison system itself is Paul Wright and Brandon [Gurr 00:10:18]. So Paul and Brandon, thanks for joining me.
Paul: Thanks for having us on the show.
Brandon: Thank you, thanks for having us.
Eddie Conway: This a question for both of you, what do you make of the special treatment for high profile white collar, or whatever crime prisoners, that they’re receiving?
Brandon: I could jump in, I’m not sure what the evidence is for special treatment. Prisoners in all types of settings are extremely vulnerable to COVID. And it’s terrifying what’s happening in our minimum security prisons and our maximum security prisons and our local jails everywhere in our criminal system where people are exposed, because it’s not a system where people are allowed to stay at home obviously.
One thing we see is that people who have resources, who have good lawyers, can sometimes more effectively, using connections, just using good lawyers, push for clemency. Clemency is highly discretionary. And so in some states you can really appeal to the governor, or maybe your connections can help making such an appeal. In other states there may be an administrative body that does pardons.
Unfortunately in most states, because of tough sentencing laws passed in the 90s, and sometimes in some states earlier, there is no parole. But there are more sentences where there are life without parole sentences or extremely long sentences. And as a result we have vast numbers of prisoners across the country that are elderly, extremely vulnerable to COVID, and have no options.
I think if there was special treatment or more fortunate treatment for more fortunate white collar offenders, it may just be because they often don’t have a criminal history, they may have very good lawyers, and they may get lower sentences than people sentenced who don’t have those privileges or who get convicted of more serious offenses. And so in the news today, they were reporting how Michael Cohen, including an exchange for his cooperation, was sentenced to a low security setting.
That said, COVID has exploded in that setting and the Federal Bureau of Prisons has decided to release everyone there. So it wasn’t his special connections, but it was a facility where a thousand plus people are all being released. What I think that’s also a symptom of though, is that a lot of the releases that we’ve been seeing in response to COVID have been facilities like that, or low level offenders, people in for parole violations, people who are about to be released anyway, who didn’t have much time left on their sentences.
And we’re seeing a lot of States do triage and the only people who are being released tend to be people who are convicted of lower level offenses, who’ve mostly served their time. They aren’t doing taking more aggressive action to think about limiting the prisoner jail population in response to COVID.
Paul: Yeah, I tend to agree with that commentary and that analysis, and I think that the critical thing here is that the advantage that I think the wealthy defendants have in the setting of the corona virus is that they already have lawyers. They have counsel on retainer, lawyers that are ready to swing into action as soon as something happens. And the reality is that the vast majority of people in America’s prisons and jails are poor and they’re so poor, they can’t afford counsel and they have to rely on lawyers.
And generally, the right to counsel doesn’t attach after people are convicted, especially once they have been sentenced, that are doing their sentence, especially on guilty pleas, they don’t have a lawyer. There is no right to counsel and I think the difference is the Michael Cohens and the Michael Avenattis of the world, they have attorneys, they have retained counsel, so that even after they have pleaded guilty, you don’t have to have no appeals pending, they can readily hire a lawyer and obtain counsel.
And I think we’re seeing this already too. There’s lawyers around the country that are advertising to represent people for COVID releases and such. So I think this a situation where if you have money and you have resources, regardless of anything else, you can hire a lawyer, they can at least make the case for you either in front of a judge, or for clemency in front of the governor, or administratively in front of the agency, to seek your release under this.
One other thing that’s also worth noting is that many of the low security prisons are dormitories. They are not cells where prisoners are isolated, and so it’s a one-two punch where the prisoners in these low security facilities, which are open dormitory, similar to army barracks and things like that, are the ones where people are most vulnerable to COVID, because it’s impossible to isolate people.
But it’s interesting though that in the South, especially, and pretty much all the former Confederacy States, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, they actually have maximum security prisons that are open dormitories. And in these facilities, warm but extremely dangerous, but this comes down to the desire to lock up a lot of people and do so as cheaply as possible.
And you have prisoners in these maximum security facilities, many with serious health issues, that are being locked up in these dormitories and they are not being released. So I think to the extent that we’re seeing the two-tier system of criminal justice at work, one for the rich and one for the poor, I think right now what that’s translating into is, who can afford counsel and who can’t, who can hire a lawyer to get in and advocate for them quickly and who cannot. And I think that’s where that’s playing out.
And then after that, because it doesn’t matter what your criminal history is or what your health conditions are, if you don’t have anyone that can advocate for you either in front of a court, or a person in a position of power that can actually do something about the sentence.
Eddie Conway: Okay. Well, in California now, I understand they have a prison system where you can pay to stay in a better prison environment than the average prisoner. It’s like a two-tier prison system. Brandon, can you talk a little bit about the two-tier prison system? The information you just gave is very important. But I wouldn’t… I guess I would say I wasn’t aware of it. I knew there was special treatment in country clubs and Fed camp release centers and so on, but it sounds like it’s more. Brandon, can you talk a little bit about that?
Brandon: Sir, I haven’t heard of what you’re talking about in terms of California prisons and two tiers, I’m not sure what that’s all about. I wanted to mention something that is more pervasive in the country, that we haven’t talked about yet, where money really matters. And that is, we’ve talked about prison so far, but there’re also jails. And there are a huge number of people in our jails every day, and in many states, what decides whether you are detained in jail versus realeased is whether you can pay cash bail, or whether you can make a payment to a bondsman.
And that’s a quite direct way that if you have the resources, then you’re not in a jail setting. Jail settings are extremely dangerous in terms of COVID, lots of open settings, lots of people held and in groups, and lots of turnover. There’s enormous turning in jails. On average jail stays, people may be in jail for a few days, maybe a few weeks, it may depend on the charges, or if they can make the cash bail. And so it’s an enormous number of people that are all together and then going back to the community. So it’s an enormous public safety risk to the community.
And again, in many parts of the country, what decides whether you are in jail or not is whether you can make cash bail. Now, in some States they have actually addressed this during the emergency. So the California Supreme Court said that bail can now be set at zero, other jurisdictions have said, “Look, we’re just going to cut way back on arrests. We’ll start giving citations as an alternative to arrest.” So in some places you see that jail populations are way down compared it to how they were a few months ago.
But in other places you still see people in jail for pretty minor offenses. And in fact, you see people in jail specifically because of poverty, because you have people in jail held in, basically, contempt type situations where they haven’t paid fines and fees. And so that’s another way that poverty can land people in jail. Some states have said, “Okay, we’re going to do emergency relief. We’re going to suspend fines and fees and court debt during this emergency.” Those types of measures should be taken more firmly.
But again, when you turn from prisons to jails, you’re also looking at an incredibly dangerous situation. The places where COVID has spread the fastest, the epicenters of COVID, are places like the Cook County Jail in Chicago, obviously people were all worried about Rikers in New York City and the rapid spread of COVID there. And again, people are often in jail because they’re poor.
Eddie Conway: Okay. Paul, there’s information out there that some families are being charged exorbitant rates to receive phone calls from their loved ones or support people in prison, can you talk about that a little bit?
Paul: Sure. The prison phone market is controlled mostly by two companies called Securus and Global Tel Link. And these companies, their entire business model is based on monetizing human contact between prisoners and their families, and they charge ridiculous rates for their phone calls. Up to 15 and $20 for a 20-minute phone call is what prisoners families are paying.
One of the things that’s interesting is that in reaction to the COVID crisis, as part of the CARERS Bill that was passed by Congress, one of the provisions in there is the Federal Bureau of Prisons is allowing prisoners to make free telephone calls. And that’s been one of the few signs of decency that we’ve seen out of the Federal Bureau of Prisons during this crisis, and it’s one that we’re hoping that states and jails would follow and allow prisoners to remain in touch with their family without financially exploiting them.
But this prison phone industry, basically it’s a $2 billion-a-year industry, and it exists solely to gouge and exploit prisoners’ families by basically making them pay if they want to stay in touch with their loved ones. I do want to go back to your prior question though, I think some of the points that were made about bail I think are worth emphasizing is that around the country, 30 to 40% of jail populations are people being held in jail because they cannot afford a bail of $1,000 or less.
And the bail bond industry is another industry like the prison phone industry that exists to monetize and financially exploit poor people that’s caught up in the system. And we also see lots of people that, in addition not being able to pay bail, are also being held for noncriminal offenses. I think Prison Legal News a few years ago, we did a story that on any given day around the United States, over 50,000 people are being held in jail, not because they’re accused for crime, but because they’re too poor to pay child support.
And that’s an enormous number, 50,000 people. That’s the size of the entire Ohio prison system, for example. One of the things you did ask about jails, pay-to-stay jails in California, Prison Legal News has reported extensively on that phenomenon. And basically what they are is these are city jails in and around the Metropolitan Los Angeles area, CO Beach is one of the ones that comes to mind, where basically if people can afford to pay 150 or $200 a day, they get to stay in the jail.
And they get a cell to themselves, they keep their laptops, they keep their cell phones, and basically they can do sentences of less than a year being “in jail,” whereas they’re not risking their lives and their safety being in the Los Angeles Men Central Jail. And a lot of celebrities have stayed in these pay-to-stay jails, including Dr Dre, the famous rapper, and a lot of other celebrities have done this.
And I think that one of the things that this does is it makes it extremely difficult, I think, to achieve any type of meaningful criminal justice reform, when you have rich people that are basically not subjected to the same rules or conditions that poor people are. When the four people have to fend for their lives and hope for the best, whether it’s COVID or violence, or lack of medical care and sanitation in general, in places like the Cook County Jail or the Los Angeles Central Jail, the rich people literally buy their way out by staying in literally plush jail conditions that are more akin to a private facility. I think it makes it a lot harder to argue on the need for that because I think…
The extent, I think, that one of the things that we see is for people to reform things, they need to think, “I don’t want this to happen to me or my loved ones or my family member,” but if you’re so rich and you think, “You know what, even if I get accused of a crime, even if get convicted of a crime, this isn’t going to happen to me. The really bad stuff is only going to happen to other people. And generally, they’re poor people, they don’t look like me, they don’t talk like me, they’re not in my social circles of friends and acquaintances,” then I think it’s really easy to let those conditions continue and fester as they have in this country for the past 40 or 50 years.
Eddie Conway: Okay. Thank you for that information. Brandon, do you have any last comments that you want to share with the public?
Brandon: Sure. I know that all this is really important and powerful information. I think if folks are thinking about, “Where is COVID?” People have heard about how COVID has spread, in this epidemic way, on cruise ships and nursing homes, many of our prisons are nursing homes. They’re elder care facilities. There are enormous numbers of people that never would have received life sentences, life without parole sentences, or even 20 year sentences, in decades past.
And so we have an aging population in our prisons. The quality of the medical care is often and not good, and the quality of the medical resources, beds, hospitals, in the rural communities where many prisons are located can’t support what’s going to happen once COVID starts to spread in these facilities. And I think people like us have been warning that this is a terrible, terrible threat for a couple of months now, and we’ve seen only halting action around the country.
Even apart from the question whether people who are better connected with good lawyers can, here and there at the margins, get released, for the most part, we’re going to have many thousands of people who are already getting exposed to COVID, already getting extremely sick and not able to get care in our prisons and jails. The problem is exploding. And perhaps if there were better connected people, and if criminal justice was a topic of greater public concern, maybe it would be higher up on everyone’s list of things to respond to aggressively. So far that’s only happened very, very slowly.
And so, just big picture, our prisons and jails are the new epicenter for this COVID virus. The results are already tragic for both people in these facilities who are incarcerated, for the people who work there, for judges and lawyers, for family members. And in some places it’s already too late and COVID has exploded, but in most places it’s just beginning, and there’s still time just to take aggressive action. And I just hope that more places do respond like they should to dramatically change how people are treated in these facilities, or I’ll let them out before it’s too late.
Eddie Conway: Okay. Before I ask you, Paul, if you have any last comments, let me just make one statement. Here in Maryland, several hundred prisoners have been released, or going to be released according to Governor Hogan. But it seems that they are short term prisoners with less than four months on their sentence. Similar actions have taken place in New York, in California, and to me it appears to be a PR stunt.
Most of the people that are at risk in high security prisons, they’re aged, they have at least several years, if not decades left on their sentence, they’re not getting released. And so, as we look around and see that Cook County released this, or Rikers Island released that, or California, I think it’s important that we don’t get rocked to sleep with the short term sentence releases. But anyway, Paul, you have a final comment?
Paul: Yes, I think it’s worth noting that basically what’s happening with COVID right now has been 50 years in the making. For those who’ve been reporting on and covering an advocating for prisoners rights and prison conditions in this country, which I’m going to date myself and say I’ve been doing it for 30 years, which I know you’ve been doing it longer than I have Eddie, but this is not a surprise.
And I just look back at all the previous epidemics that have swept through American prisons and jails, whether it’s hepatitis C, HIV AIDS, drug resistant tuberculosis, MRSA, and I think it’s important to know that people who run our country’s prisons and jails, they’re not medical experts, and frankly as far as I’ve seen in the past decades, they don’t really care about the medical opinions or views or practices. They’ve totally dropped the ball, they’ve always been incapable of providing anything approximating adequate medical care in our prisons and jails.
And I think that the only thing that COVID is illustrating is their base incompetence of doing anything other than locking people up and caging them. And I also think that, as you know, Eddie, this tepid response of letting a few people out, as I see it, the story isn’t going to be the 10 or 20 or 30,000 prisoners that were let out in response to COVID, but the two-and-a-half million that weren’t let out.
And I think that the irony is going to be that the greatest decarceration that may take place in the United States is going to be for prisoners dying of medical neglect from preventable disease. And I’m hoping that’s not the case, but I’d say the way things are headed, I think that will be the case that is likely to happen. But I think one thing we need to be thinking about is, who’s going to be held accountable? Who’s going to be responsible for making the decisions to keep people locked up and prevent them from getting medical care?
We’re getting reports where prisoners are being denied basic things like cleaning supplies. They can’t get masks, for example, there’s no sanitizer available, and these are all government decisions that are being made. And I think we can contrast this to other countries. The Islamic Republic of Iran, who has a horrendous human rights record with regards to its prison system, they’ve unilaterally released 85,000 prisoners. That’s over a third of their prison population, has been released because they are admitting that they cannot keep their prisoner population safe under the conditions that they have in Iran.
And the fact that other countries are taking dramatic steps to reduce and protect their prison population, I think, should come as no surprise. And I think this is one of the things that all it does is just illustrate, I think, the poverty of the response of the United States government and its local entities. But again, it shouldn’t be a surprise. We built a police state that’s caged two and a half million people, which both in terms of percentage of our population and in raw numbers, is the biggest mass incarceration that the world has ever seen at any point in its history, more than Stalinist Russia, more than Nazi Germany.
Eddie Conway: That’s the last word on that. So thank you, Brandon, Paul, thanks for joining me.
Brandon: Thank you so much.
Paul: Thank you very much, Eddie.
Eddie Conway: And thank you for joining this episode of Rattling the Bars for The Real News.
Studio: Cameron Granadino
Production: Cameron Granadino, Ericka Blount Danois
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