We need your calls today to be sure that Congress stands strong with the American people

		Friend, This morning, the U.S. House is holding another vote on Fast Track authority for the TPP. Last week, we lifted our voices together and stopped the Fast Track--but we knew they would try to ram it through again. This is another all-hands-on-deck moment for good paying jobs, our economy, and retirement security. The same Wall Street billionaires that have been trying to cut our Social Security system have been working overtime to twist as many arms as they can since our victory last Friday. We need your calls today to be sure that Congress stands strong with the American people. Call the House of Representatives switchboard now at (202) 224-3121, ask for your Representative and tell her or him to vote “NO” on Fast Track. Because our elected officials have heard from us, we’ve been able to slow them down from passing Fast Track and bad trade deals. And if we can unite our voices together today, we can stop a bad deal from going through. But that can only happen if you call your lawmakers now and tell them to vote “no” on Fast Track. Call the House of Representatives switchboard now at (202) 224-3121, ask for your Representative and tell her or him to vote “NO” on Fast Track, then click here to share what they said. This is do-or-die. Pharmaceutical companies and Wall Street are pushing as hard as they can against us. But if your Representative knows that you're watching them, we can win. Call the House of Representatives switchboard now at (202) 224-3121, ask for your Representative and tell her or him to vote “NO” on Fast Track, then click here to share what they said. Thank you, Michael Phelan Social Security Works P.S. We only win when we fight together. If you want to give a donation to help us keep fighting you can do so here.

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

They're holding a new vote on this job-killing corporate giveaway

Dear Friend,

Late last night, House Speaker John Boehner and the House Republicans decided to change the rules. 

They didn't like losing last Friday's vote to advance Fast Track—a bill supported by powerful international corporations—so they're calling a do-over. And THIS MORNING, they're holding a new vote on this job-killing corporate giveaway.¹

They can only pass this bill with the help of Democrats, including your member of Congress, Representative Scott Peters. Unfortunately, Rep. Peters voted FOR the Fast Track/TPA bill last Friday—which is why he must hear from you now.

Can you call Rep. Peters right now? You can say something like: "Fast Track is a fast way to put corporate interests ahead of the rest of us. Don't vote with the Republicans to pass this corporate giveaway. Say no to TPA." 

Here's where to call: 

Representative Scott Peters
Phone: (202) 225-0508

Then click here to tell us how the call went.

Last Friday, some Democrats claimed they supported Fast Track because they also wanted to pass a bill known as TAA, which provides support for training workers displaced by corporate trade deals. This time around, TAA isn't even part of the equation.

This is a straight-up vote to support a corporate giveaway that will hurt jobs, consumers, the environment, and financial regulations—and rush massive deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) through Congress. There's no question that Rep. Peters needs to vote no.

The vote is TODAY.  Call now—and tell him not to vote with Republicans or side with corporations. Tell him to stand with fellow Democrats and vote NO on Fast Track.

Thanks for all you do.

–Justin K., Ben O., Nick, Jo, and the rest of the team 

Justin Krebs, MoveOn.org Civic Action

P.S. The horrific tragedy in South Carolina demands a response. We'll be working on that in the days ahead. In the meantime, Republicans aren't postponing this vote, so we can't delay action. 

Source:

1. "Trade Bill's Fate Rests on What's Been Missing in Congress: Trust" The New York Times, June 17, 2015  

http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=304793&id=120717-19913724-fOLm4Xx&t=2

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

Scheduled a vote for today on Fast Track, even after last Friday's clear defeat of a package including Fast Track

Friend,

House Republicans just won't quit. They've scheduled a vote for today on Fast Track, even after last Friday's clear defeat of a package including Fast Track. It's all a sneaky series of maneuvers by Speaker Boehner to eke out a victory for his corporate backers. Scarier still, there's a real chance he could succeed this time.

Your representative voted for Fast Track last week, in a vote that clearly put corporate profits over everyday people. But at least last week's package included protections for workers displaced by trade. Those worker protections have been stripped from the package being considered before Congress today, and all your Representative has is the word of Speaker Boehner that he'll add worker protections back in later. Do you think that's good enough? I certainly don't. 

Even if you've called before, your calls are urgently needed now, in the next few hours before the vote happens.

• Rep. Peters - (202) 225-0508

Here's a script you can use to make your call:

I am calling to express my concern about Fast Track, and to encourage Rep. Rep. Peters to vote against Fast Track today. Speaker Boehner's promises that he'll include vital protections for workers whose jobs are displaced due to trade deals later aren't good enough. The only option that's fair to workers is a 'no' vote on Fast Track. Thanks for passing along my message.

Once you've called, let us know how your call went.

Fast Track is an agreement to speed passage (or ‘fast track’) the TPP through Congress if it comes for a vote. Our elected officials will have no opportunity to amend or fix the deal. It’s the ultimate anti-democratic move, and something our representatives should want no part in.

Needless to say, there are a lot of powerful interests who are counting on the TPP to pad corporate profits at our expense. And since Fast Track needs to happen for the TPP to pass, the Obama administration, House Republican leadership and mega-corporations (talk about strange bedfellows!) are piling pressure onto our representatives to pass Fast Track ASAP.

But with every major corporation you can think of lined up in support of the bill, our Members of Congress know that their reelection coffers will be looking much more full if they forfeit their duty and grant the President Fast Track Authority. We need to stand up to mega-corporations and stop Fast Track in its tracks.

Even if you’ve called before, can you call your representative again? 

Thanks for all you do,
Kaytee and the rest of us

**********
More Information:

House GOP Eyes Clean Fast-Track Trade Bill Without TAA Funding, Huffington Post, 16 June 2015

 

SumOfUs is a worldwide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy. Please help keep SumOfUs strong by chipping in $3.

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

The vote will begin between 10-11 am

Hello all, 

The Fast Track bill will be introduced this morning.  They are cynically attaching Fast Track as a rider to a bill reps like for police and firefighter pension funding to try to trap them into voting for it.  Call your reps NOW.  The debates start at 9 am, and the vote will begin between 10-11 am 

Call Now:  1-855-980-2256 

Very simple script:

“As your constituent, I expect you to VOTE NO on the job-killing Fast Track bill.”  If you vote for fast track, I will remember in 2016.  This is the most important vote of your career, so make sure you get it right and Vote NO on Fast Track.” 

Let's work together to stop the corporate coup,

Harriet

Harriet Heywood

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

A grab bag of giveaways to Big Business

FRIEND,

John Boehner is a sore loser.

Last Friday, he and other corporate shills in the U.S. House of Representatives lost their latest bid to “Fast Track” the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) — a grab bag of giveaways to Big Business that is being secretly negotiated between the United States and 11 Asian-Pacific countries under the guise of “free trade.”

But Boehner and his buddies have already concocted a procedural maneuver to hold yet another vote — TODAY — that would Fast Track the TPP!

Well, if they are going to keep trying to force Fast Track and the TPP on us, we HAVE TO keep doing our part to block it.

Take action RIGHT NOW: Tell your representative to vote “No” whenever the House votes on John Boehner’s next ploy to Fast Track the TPP.

The TPP is barely about trade at all.

It is an insidious scheme by multinational corporations for unprecedented power to evade the laws and regulations that protect us from their reckless pursuit of profits.

Fast Tracking the TPP would make it easier to offshore our jobs and push down our wages by throwing Americans into competition with workers in Vietnam making less than 60 cents an hour.

And it would flood us with unsafe imported food, increase fracking, roll back Wall Street regulation, and on and on and on.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking the TPP is too complex or abstract to worry about.

You need to be worried about the TPP.

The TPP will affect every aspect of your day-to-day life.

It would do all of the damage NAFTA did to jobs, wages, food safety, the environment and more. But the damage would be even worse than NAFTA.

And Fast Tracking the TPP is the top priority of Big Business in this Congress.

Whether you’ve taken action against Fast Track before or are a newbie, email your representative IMMEDIATELY to block Fast Track and the TPP.

Thank you.

Onward,

Robert Weissman
President, Public Citizen

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

Bernie Surge Storms The South As Sanders Event

Bernie Surge Storms The South As Sanders Event 

By: Jason Easley 

Wednesday, June, 17th, 2015, 3:22 pm

The momentum behind the Bernie Sanders campaign for president is spreading from New Hampshire to South Carolina as interest was so high in Sanders’ message that the campaign was forced to move his upcoming speech in Charleston to a larger venue.
Politico reported:
Over the weekend, the state chapter of the AFL-CIO labor union group jumped the gun and effectively backed his candidacy before being forced to walk its message back. Last night, on the eve of Clinton’s arrival, Sanders’ campaign said it had to change the venue for his upcoming swing through Charleston due to overwhelming local interest. That announcement — which pointedly noted that the new venue is a high school gym located on President Street — came just hours before Clinton was set to unveil a new plan to combat youth unemployment through tax credits for businesses who hire apprentices.

The former secretary of state continues to maintain a commanding lead over the Vermont senator in most national and early state polling — including in South Carolina, where Sanders has no permanent staff. But the liberal challenger has been creeping toward her in New Hampshire polls and the energy and overflow crowds of his recent early state events are attracting notice.The Sanders campaign has a very good problem. Support for their candidate is much higher than expected, so they have to accommodate bigger crowds. Recent polling in New Hampshirehas finally convinced many in the media that the support for Sen. Sanders is real. There is an energy among Sanders supporters is very real, and it is pushing the Clinton campaign in the exact way that many hoped it would.

There is a pent-up desire for an authentic grassroots movement in response to the Great Recession. The desire to reclaim a country that is under threat from corporations and billionaires with a political agenda is palpable. Bernie Sanders spent parts of the last few years going to states like South Carolina and speaking to Democrats and progressives who are too often neglected and lumped in with their Republican rulers. Sen. Sanders has been working the grassroots of America’s discontent for a long time, and his efforts are paying off.

The Sanders movement isn’t so much about rejecting Hillary Clinton as it is a response to income inequality, real unemployment, Wall Street, Citizens United and political influence of a handful of conservative billionaires. The basic issues that Sanders talks about on the campaign trail resonate with voters in every state red or blue across this country.

Bernie Sanders is saying out loud what millions of Americans have been waiting years to hear. It’s no surprise that so many people would be interested in his message, but this is just the beginning. The Sanders campaign needs to start thinking about reserving many more bigger venues because the momentum looks to be just getting started.
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Shell Cleared For Exploration Off Nova Scotia

Shell Cleared For Exploration Off Nova Scotia

Jun 17th, 2015 

by John Donovan. 

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By Andy Tully: Posted on Wed, 17 June 2015

Shell Canada Ltd. is ready to begin exploratory drilling off the coast of Nova Scotia now that it has received conditional approval for the project from the country’s environmental minister.

Canada’s Environmental Assessment Agency issued the decision the night of June 15 after the environmental minister, Leona Aglukkaq, found that the project in the Shelburne Basin, 125 miles south of Nova Scotia’s southwestern coast, would not have a major impact on the local environment.

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Posted in: BP, Canada, Conoco Phillips, Gulf of Mexico, Oil, Oil Prices, Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
Tagged: BP · Canada · ConocoPhillips · Oil · Royal Dutch Shell Plc · Shell

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Low oil price hits $200 billion in mega-projects

Low oil price hits $200 billion in mega-projects

Jun 17th, 2015 

by John Donovan. 

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* Ernst and Young say more project delays likely

* Say at least 24 projects worth more than $1 bln put on ice

By Ron Bousso

LONDON, June 16 (Reuters) – Deepwater oil projects and complex gas facilities worth around $200 billion have been cancelled or put on hold worldwide in recent months due to the sharp drop in oil prices over the past year, consultancy Ernst and Young said on Tuesday.

Further project cuts and delays are likely as the industry braces for an extended period of lower oil prices as a result of a supply glut.

“The mind set in the industry at the moment is that prices are unlikely to be bouncing up materially in the near term,” the consultancy’s Andy Brogan said in a presentation. “There is an expectation that volatility is with us for a reasonable period of time to come and companies need to cope with that.”

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Posted in: BG Group, Gas, Oil, Oil Prices, Reuters, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Shell.
Tagged: BG Group · Gas · Oil · Oil Prices · Royal Dutch Shell Plc · Shell

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Shell Arctic Drill Rig Confronted at Sea by Indigenous Activists and Greenpeace Canada

Shell Arctic Drill Rig Confronted at Sea by Indigenous Activists and Greenpeace Canada

Jun 17th, 2015 

by John Donovan. 

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Press release from Greenpeace

June 17, 2015 – 4:51pm – By The Arctic Journal

Indigenous artist and activist Audrey Siegl today approached the 300-foot-tall Polar Pioneer drill rig in an inflatable boat launched from the MY Esperanza, while two Greenpeace Canada swimmers spread out in the water behind her to put their bodies in the way of the rig heading to the Arctic to drill for oil.

Siegl, dressed in the traditional regalia of the Musqueam people, stood at the front of the inflatable boat with her drum and feather out in front of her, signaling the Polar Pioneer to stop. Speaking from the action, she said:

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Posted in: Alaska, Arctic, Beaufort Sea, Canada, Chukchi Sea, Climate Change,Environment, Greenpeace, Oil Sands, Oil Spill, Pollution, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Shell,United States.
Tagged: Alaska · Arctic Ocean · Beaufort Sea · Canada · Chukchi Sea · Royal Dutch Shell Plc · Shell

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Judge Likens Shell Oil Rig Boarding to Piracy

Judge Likens Shell Oil Rig Boarding to Piracy

Jun 17th, 2015 

by John Donovan. 

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Article by PHILIP A. JANQUART published by Courthouse News Service, Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Judge Likens Shell Oil Rig Boarding to Piracy

(CN) – A federal judge refused to dismiss Shell Offshore’s lawsuit accusing Greenpeace protestors of illegally boarding its Alaska-bound oil rig on the high seas.

The protestors, including lone U.S. citizen Aliya Field, used inflatable boats launched from the Greenpeace ship Esperanza to chase down and scale Shell’s transport vessel the Blue Marlin, and chaining themselves to the oil rig Polar Pioneer.

They boarded the ship on April 5 to protest Shell’s Arctic exploration drilling this summer in the Chukchi Sea about 75 miles northwest of Alaska.

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Posted in: Alaska, Arctic, Chukchi Sea, Environment, Greenpeace, Oil Spill, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Shell.
Tagged: Alaska · Arctic Ocean · Chukchi Sea · Royal Dutch Shell Plc · Shell

The TRUTH will set you FREE.