Random Acts

Five Ways to Help the People of Egypt

2011-02-02T06:38:00.000-08:00

Today, millions of Egyptians took to the streets in the biggest day of protests yet. Their dictator’s response? “I’m not going anywhere.” The people of Egypt are surging towards political freedom, but with the internet blocked and the mobile networks deliberately throttled, they need us to stand with them more than ever. Almost 50,000 of us have taken an action in the last few hours. Here are 5 ways you can help wherever you are in the world:

1) HELP GET THE INTERNET BACK ON BY SIGNING THIS PETITION TO VODAFONE

The Egyptian government shut down of the Internet and mobile phone networks is an attempt to plunge the country into an information blackout. Sign this petition calling on the ISPs (including Vodafone) to open the internet and to the mobile operators (including Orange/France Telecom) to break the blackout and restore mobile service.
Sign here: https://www.accessnow.org/getegyptbackonline

2) TELL OBAMA TO MAKE AID CONDITIONAL

Sign Access’ petition calling on President Obama to make U.S. aid to Egypt conditional on Egyptian authorities reopening the channels of communication and honoring the Egyptian people’s demands for true democracy.
Sign here: https://www.accessnow.org/Democracy-NOT-Dictatorship

3) DONATE

In preparation for Egypt coming back online (and to help those who still have access), we’re setting up Tor-enabled servers that will help people reach blocked sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Gmail. The more money we have, the more people we can help to anonymously jump the firewall.
Donate here: https://www.accessnow.org/page/contribute/Help-Egypt-With-Tor

4) JOIN THE CLOUD BY ADDING YOUR COMPUTER TO THE TOR NETWORK

If you’re a little more technically minded, join the Global Proxy Cloud by downloading Tor, a free anti-censorship program developed by the Tor Project. The more people that donate their extra bandwidth to Tor, the easier and faster it will be for people to access blocked sites.
Download here: https://www.accessnow.org/proxy-cloud/page/join-the-cloud

5) WATCH ACCESS’ LIVE STREAMED SYMPOSIUM (this Thursday at 12PM EST at www.accessnow.org/live)

With so much going on across the region, many questions are being asked about the internet, revolution, and the Middle East. We'd like to you invite you to an online symposium that we’ll be live streaming on Thursday at noon EST featuring: Frank La Rue (UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression); Tarek Amr (Egyptian Blogger), Jillian York (from Harvard's Berkman Centre), Marietje Schaake (Member European Parliament), and others.
Watch here on Thursday: https://www.accessnow.org/live

With hope,
Brett, Jochai, Daniel, Joe, Aasil, and the Access Team

You can learn more about the Access global movement for digital freedom at https://www.accessnow.org/about

Action Alert: India's Dongria Kondh Sacred Mountain and Tribal Way of Life Threatened by Unwanted British Vedanta Mining

2010-07-14T05:23:00.000-07:00

Forests.org
July 13, 2010

Vedanta Resources, a British (or dubious origins) mining company, is set to destroy the forests, wildlife and way of life of the Dongria Kondh people. The Dongria Kondh have been struggling with all their might to protect their mountain but are being overpowered by the financial and political might of this multi-billion dollar company. They have been protesting locally for years, and have appealed for international support for their campaign to keep their sacred Niyamgiri Mountain ecologically and culturally intact...

Click Title to take Action

Naked Insecurity

2010-06-30T06:35:00.000-07:00

Posted by nimda in In the Public Interest
Nader.org
June 24, 2010

If you are planning to fly over the 4th of July holiday, be aware of your rights at airport security checkpoints...

Click Title for full article

There's No Time Like Now to Be an Activist

2010-05-17T16:47:00.000-07:00

Saturday 15 May 2010
by: Mickey Z., t r u t h o u t | Op-Ed

...When else in all of human history has there been a time when we were in better position to shape the future? Ecosystems are screaming for mercy and our land base is practically an endangered species. What we do (or don't do) in the next few years could quite possibly tilt us all toward either the point of no return or a far more sane form of society. In other words, each and every one of us can take part - right now - in creating the most important social changes ever imagined. Here's how:

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How to turn Congress Inc. back to just Congress

2010-05-11T17:07:00.000-07:00

By Katrina vanden Heuvel
Washington Post
Wednesday, May 12, 2010

What is the biggest scandal of 2010 so far?

Allegations of fraudulent misrepresentation from Goldman Sachs? An oil spill that poses a threat to our environment and economy for generations? Mining operators freely ignoring safety violations and treating workers as disposable?...

click Title for full article

Actress Q’orianka Kilcher on Climate Change Activism: Public Figures and Celebrities “Have a Responsibility to Help Give a Voice to the Voiceless”

2010-04-20T07:20:00.000-07:00

DemocracyNow!
April 20, 2010

Thousands of indigenous groups, grassroots activists and environmentalists began streaming into the World Peoples’ Summit on Climate Change and Rights of Mother Earth in Tiquipaya, Bolivia on Monday. Among them was the award-winning young Hollywood actress, Q’orianka Kilcher. “I really believe, and love, the saying ‘there comes a time when silence is betrayal,’” Kilcher says. “As public figures and as celebrities, we have a responsibility to be able to help give a voice to the voiceless.”

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On Languages of Power and Powerlessness

2010-03-07T09:26:00.000-08:00

Sunday 07 March 2010
by: Zygmunt Bauman,
t r u t h o u t | Op-Ed

Zygmunt Bauman is arguably the most important living sociologist in the world. And yet his work has not been given the recognition it deserves in North America. Bauman is one of those rare intellectuals who not only addresses many of the major theoretical insights and paradigms of our time, but also uses them as a resource to examine, critically engage and respond to many of the social problems facing the globe today.

Click Title to read article

2010-02-04T07:00:00.000-08:00

by Jeff Severns Guntzel
Utne
January 28, 2010

How you can use the open-source software TOR to volunteer your computer for global privacy....

How to Stop Complaining and Start Improving Government

2010-01-26T05:35:00.000-08:00

Utne

...In the next three months, the Technology for Transparency Network will produce 32 case studies of different good-governance projects and 16 blog posts highlighting other projects...The network plans to challenge project leaders to figure out how their work could create concrete, offline change...

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25 Intelligent Optimists

2010-01-25T07:18:00.000-08:00

Jurriaan Kamp | Jan/Feb 2010 issue
Ode Magazine

Ode asked 25 famous people–Hollywood actors, prominent politicians, scientists, authors–to nominate their favorite Intelligent Optimist, a person who isn't famous but should be for his or her work to create a better world. The result: 25 inspiring profiles of changemakers you've never heard of–yet...

Click on Title above for Full Story

Prosecutors Target Northwestern Journalism Students Working on Exonerating Wrongfully Convicted Prisoners

2010-01-12T11:05:00.000-08:00

DemocracyNow!
January 12, 2009

Prosecutors in Chicago are targeting a group of Northwestern University journalism students who have helped exonerate eleven wrongfully convicted prisoners, including five on death row. Cook County prosecutors have subpoenaed Northwestern and the Medill Innocence Project to hand over student grades, grading criteria, class syllabi, expense reports and email messages. Prosecutors are focusing on the students who conducted a three-year investigation into Anthony McKinney, who was convicted of fatally shooting a security guard in 1978. A judge is now reviewing McKinney’s case...

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Jews raise voices for brutalised Gaza

2010-01-10T07:47:00.000-08:00

By Linda S. Heard
Online Journal
January 6, 2009

...All those who stepped out of their comfort zones during the holidays to support the people of Gaza should be commended. But Epstein, Benjamin, Kasrils and Gottlieb, along with the other Jews who joined the march, have exemplified humanity’s best; people willing to prove the courage of their convictions even if this means encountering hostility from their own communities...

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Egypt Denies Gaza Freedom March Access to Border, Hundreds Protest in Cairo

2009-12-30T06:27:00.000-08:00

DemocracyNow!
December 29, 2009

In Egypt, hundreds of solidarity activists from around the world are being prevented by the Egyptian government from entering Gaza. Dubbed the Gaza Freedom March, organizers were planning to cross the border last Sunday to commemorate the first anniversary of Israel’s assault on Gaza that killed 1,400 Palestinians and thirteen Israelis. We get a report...

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Rich-Poor, North-South Divide Marks COP15’s Opening Week

2009-12-11T08:12:00.000-08:00

DemocracyNow!
December 11, 2009

As debates between rich and poor nations over emission cuts and funding continue on this fifth day of the COP15 climate summit here in Copenhagen, we begin with an overview of the week’s developments. The rich countries have proposed a climate fund of $10 billion a year from 2010 to 2012 to help developing countries adapt to climate change. Poor countries say that is too little. We hear from the climate negotiators from India, China, and Association of Small Island States, and get analysis from Kate Horner of Friends of the Earth.

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On 20th Anniversary of Killings of 6 Jesuit Priests by US-Backed Salvadoran Forces, Thousands to Protest “School of the Assassins” at Ft. Benning

2009-11-23T11:09:00.000-08:00

DemocracyNow!
November 20, 2009

Thousands are gathering at Fort Benning in Georgia this weekend for the annual protest to shut down the US Army training center dubbed by critics as the “School of the Assassins” for having trained some of the worst human rights violators in Latin America. This year’s protest will mark the twentieth anniversary of the murder of six Jesuit priests in El Salvador by the US-backed Salvadoran military. It comes days after the priests were posthumously bestowed El Salvador’s highest civilian award, marking the first time the Salvadoran government has honored the priests since their deaths. To talk about the priests and the overall state of Latin American affairs, we’re joined by Blase Bonpane, director of the Office of the Americas. A former Maryknoll priest, he has worked for more than four decades to promote human rights in Latin America...

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What Have We Done to Democracy?

2009-10-02T07:53:00.000-07:00

by Arundhati Roy
Web Exclusive, October 2009
Utne Reader

Of Nearsighted Progress, Feral Howls, Consensus, Chaos, and a New Cold War in Kashmir...

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Tell Your Senators You Want Patriot Act Reform

2009-09-23T15:54:00.000-07:00

American Civil Liberties Union
September 23, 2009

After eight years of the Patriot Act and the expansion of the government’s power to spy on Americans, we have an opportunity to bring the Patriot Act in line with the Constitution.

Our best chance of reforming the Patriot Act is making sure the Senate stongly supports the Feingold JUSTICE Act. Action on this critical issue could take place at any moment. Please contact your senator now and ask them to become a co-sponsor of the JUSTICE Act.

Click on Title above to take action!

Part II: Tim Robbins on Activism in Hollywood from the 1930s to the Present

2009-08-28T11:43:00.000-07:00

DemocracyNow!
August 27, 2009

Tim Robbins is the artistic director of the Actor’s Gang and an Academy-award winning actor, director, producer, and writer.
He won an Oscar for his role in “Mystic River” and is well-known for his roles in numerous films over the past two decades including “The Shawshank Redemption”, “The Player”, “Bull Durham”, and “Bob Roberts.” His best known directorial ventures include the award-winning “Cradle Will Rock” and “Dead Man Walking.”

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Meet dogs and young men saved from dogfighting

2009-08-14T09:26:00.000-07:00

Humane Society of the United States

There is so much that tears at our hearts in this bloody realm of dogfighting. But we must look forward and reach these kids before they step into the quicksand of street fighting. When we see the positive effects of our program, it is magical. A few of these moments are captured in our slideshow. None of us wanted to imagine that fate that awaited so many of these dogs. But then our experts and community organizers stepped in and ushered in a dramatically different outcome.

If you care about ending dogfighting, this is the program to get us there.

Click title above to continue...

Greenpeace: Getting in People’s Faces and Getting Results

2009-08-07T07:12:00.000-07:00

by Keith Goetzman
August 6, 2009
Utne

The environmental group Greenpeace often publicly shames corporations for their environmentally destructive ways, but it also works with them to improve if they have a change of heart as it has done with Kleenex, Nike, and Timberland.

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True-life superheroes, now in comic books

2009-07-06T10:31:00.000-07:00

Heather Wax | May 2009 issue
Ode Magazine

Is it a bird? A plane? No, it’s Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama... and Mahatma Gandhi, Anne Frank and Nelson Mandela. Read all about them in the Japanese comics promoting positive messages...

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Why is Tom Daschle undermining President Obama's health care plan on national television?

2009-06-20T10:56:00.000-07:00

Credo Action

Tom Daschle was President Obama's pick to be Secretary of Health and Human Services - and with his extensive healh care background, many lauded this as an excellent choice. Who knew he'd sell public health care down the river a few months later?

Of course, the nomination went south after it came to light that Daschle had over $100,000 in unpaid taxes on such things as a private car and full-time driver. So Daschle went back to his gig as one of the founders and board members of the Bipartisan Policy Center - a DC think-tank that Daschle founded with Bob Dole and two other former senators. And guess what? The BPC has extensive funding ties to the insurance and pharmaceutical industries.

Click on Title above to sign Petition...

Protect Your Drinking Water From Toxic Chemicals

2009-06-13T08:01:00.000-07:00

Earth Justice
June 13, 2009

Did you know that the oil and gas industry, thanks to Dick Cheney and his old friends at Halliburton, are exempted from the Safe Drinking Water Act?

That's right: thanks to a provision slipped into the highly-controversial Energy Policy Act of 2005 at the request of Halliburton, Exxon and a handful of other corporations, the oil and gas industry was exempted from having to comply with critical provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act—a law that protects underground sources of drinking water for millions of Americans.

This exemption has allowed hydraulic fracturing—a process that increases oil and gas yields by shooting an oftentimes toxic brew of chemicals underground at high pressures—to go completely unregulated by federal law.

Hydraulic fracturing is already suspected of endangering drinking water in six states. However, due to the "Halliburton Loophole" exemption, EPA lacks the authority to investigate instances of contamination and cannot regulate this controversial practice.

Thankfully, concerned members of Congress in both the House and Senate have recently introduced legislation to close the "Halliburton Loophole" and ensure that Big Oil has to follow the same laws that every other industry does.

H.R. 2766, introduced by Diana DeGette (D-CO), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), and Jared Polis (D-CO); and S. 1215 introduced by Bob Casey (D-PA) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) would regulate hydraulic fracturing under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Please contact your congressperson and senators and ask them to cosponsor these important pieces of legislation. Click on Title above...

Tell top shoe brands to protect the Amazon and the climate

2009-06-03T17:11:00.000-07:00

GreenPeace
The Amazon rainforest is one of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth. But destroying the rainforest for cattle products does more than destroy the ecosystem — it’s also a major source of global warming pollution.

Deforestation causes 20% of the world’s global warming emissions. That’s more climate pollution than all of the world’s cars, trucks, trains, planes, and ships combined. The Brazilian cattle industry is responsible for 80% of deforestation in the Amazon, making it the largest single driver of deforestation in the world — and therefore the largest single driver of greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation in the world.

Brazil’s cattle industry is producing leather that could end up in popular shoe brands like Nike, Adidas, Reebok, and Timberland.

Take action >> Urge Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Timberland, Clarks, and Geox to refuse to buy leather that's killing our future.

These popular brand names have the power to make a difference in the Amazon, and so do YOU. We can’t allow shoe producers to run the Amazon into the ground. Please take action now.
PLEASE CLICK TITLE ABOVE TO TAKE ACTION!

Grammy-Winning Soul Musician John Legend at UPenn Commencement: “A Commitment to Truth Requires a Commitment to Social Justice”

2009-05-24T08:49:00.000-07:00

DemocracyNow.org
May 19, 2009

John Legend: “From the war in Iraq to credit-default swaps to the internet bubble to the real estate bubble, too often we got caught up in the hype and fail to see the real truth…Too often, we become apathetic. We see the lies, we see the obfuscation, the deception. And we fail to point it out. We’re afraid to rain on the parade, afraid to rock the boat, afraid to pursue the truth.”...

Spread the Philadelphia Miracle

2009-05-13T08:58:00.000-07:00

ACORN

We've found a solution to the foreclosure crisis that will keep families in their homes. It's so simple and so powerful, we're calling it the Philadelphia Miracle.

The Philadelphia Foreclosure Diversion Program required lenders seeking foreclosures to sit down with homeowners and mediate a resolution. They succeeded in keeping 78% of families in their homes.

Click on the post title to inform your Senator of this way to help families!

Global Day of Action for Troy Davis

2009-04-30T07:25:00.000-07:00

Amnesty International

What are your plans?
Troy Davis' stay of execution is set to expire on May 15. On May 19, groups and individuals all around the world will be organizing demonstrations, vigils, teach-ins or other public events to show the state of Georgia that the execution of Troy Davis would be an unacceptable travesty of justice. We need you to be as visible and as loud as possible!

» Get ideas for activities or events
» Download a flyer that you can use for your event
» Order "I am Troy Davis" shirts to wear at your event

Hold Bush and His Co-Conspirators Criminally Accountable!

2009-04-23T07:39:00.000-07:00

The vital resources of the country have been drained in a criminal enterprise benefiting war profiteers. The people know of and are outraged by the billions of dollars in profit made by Dick Cheney's Halliburton and that is only the tip of the iceberg.

Don’t buy Kimberly-Clark’s latest ruse

2009-04-13T10:40:00.000-07:00

by Ginger Cassady
Grist
April 13, 2009

If a huge coal power plant goes next door and sets up a cute little boutique collection of five solar panels, have your basic feelings about that giant coal power plant changed? Probably not...
But what if said coal company releases advertisements announcing that they’ve “gone solar,” complete with misleading close-up pics of those cute solar panels? Enough people might fall for it to make the ads worthwhile.

Tell Congress to pass Chemical Security NOW!

2009-04-08T17:22:00.000-07:00

The Bayer corporation is trying to conceal details of a deadly chemical plant accident at their factory in Institute, West Virginia. The accident killed two employees and forced a state of emergency where thousands of residents were advised to take shelter in their homes1.

Now Congress is considering a law -- once co-sponsored by Barack Obama -- that would require companies like Bayer to use safer procedures and tell the community about the risk their facility poses. But Bayer and their allies are trying to use the threat of terrorism to hide the truth from the public and oppose tighter rules.

Tell Congress not to listen to the chemical industry -- pass tough chemical security legislation.
http://act.truemajorityaction.org/p/7002/bayercropscience

Believe it or not, the accident could have been a lot worse. Bayer's facility stores tons of a deadly chemical called methyl isocyanate. In 1984 a similar accident killed thousands of people in Bhopal, India when 42 tons of this chemical was released. Bayer's facility in West Virginia had more than 200 tons stored in tanks less than 100 feet from where the explosion happened2.

But there's no need for these kind of life-threatening accidents. Hundreds of chemical facilities have switched to safer and more secure chemicals or processes that eliminate risk to the community. But Bayer's plant isn't one of them, and now the company wants to hide information about what happened by claiming that if the public knows the truth, they will be more vulnerable to a terrorist attack3.

Letting Bayer get away with covering up a near-catastrophic chemical accident isn't just wrong, it's a dangerous precedent. Bayer isn't the only plant in the country storing dangerous chemicals. Refineries, pesticide plants, and even water treatment plants are potential risks in every major city and town. And that's why we need chemical security legislation that puts all high-risk facilities on an even playing field, requires them to use safer procedures, and protects the public's right to know about hazards in their back yard.

Tell Congress to follow President Obama's lead and adopt tough chemical security regulations.

East Timorese Deserve Justice!

2009-04-06T08:20:00.000-07:00

Statement by the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) on the Anniversary of the Liquiça Massacre

On the tenth anniversary of the massacre at the Catholic Church in Liquiça, ETAN urges the international community to finally respond to the demand for justice of the victims of this and other horrific crimes committed during the Indonesian occupation of East Timor (Timor-Leste).

Those responsible for the many crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide committed during Indonesia's illegal occupation of East Timor between 1975 and 1999 must be held accountable...

In Pakistan, A Government Official-Turned-Protester

2009-03-25T06:15:00.000-07:00

by Philip Reeves
NPR Morning Edition, March 25, 2009

Many thousands of people took part in the campaign to restore Pakistan's Chief Justice after he was ousted by the country's military ruler more than two years ago. But one man stood out amid that noisy throng of black-suited lawyers, civil activists and party cadres, who are now celebrating the judge's return to the bench: 85-year-old Roedad Khan.

Earth Hour: Power down for 60 minutes on March 28

2009-03-23T08:31:00.000-07:00

Seattle Times
Sunday, March 22, 2009

On March 28, if the lights go off in your Cape Town hotel or, close to home, a Seattle hotel restaurant switches to candles, do not be alarmed. It's not an electrical-grid meltdown but a global show of support.

During Earth Hour, citizens of the world are asked to turn off their power for one hour, starting at 8:30 p.m. local time, in a symbolic stance against global warming.

World Water Day March 22

2009-03-19T07:16:00.000-07:00

Protect our right to water. If you don't speak out, our access to clean, safe, affordable water is at risk.

Many countries around the world already support the human right to water, which builds a framework of international law that provides for accessible, clean, drinking water for all. But thanks to holdover staff from the Bush Administration, the United States has recently and appallingly removed language that references the human right to water from the ministerial declaration of the 5th World Water Forum underway in Istanbul, Turkey.

This is a step backward for all those who have worked to establish the legal precedent in international law to affirm the human right to water. It is time to declare water a human right and a public good.

Global water statistics are heartbreaking:

* 1.4 billion people live without clean drinking water.
* Two-fifths of the world’s population lack access to proper sanitation.
* Every eight seconds a child dies from drinking dirty water. * Half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied by people with an easily preventable waterborne disease.
* 80 percent of all sickness and disease worldwide is related to contaminated water, according to the World Health Organization.
* Dirty water kills more children than war, malaria, HIV/AIDS and traffic accidents combined.

Your voice is needed immediately. Write to Congress now.

http://action.foodandwaterwatch.org/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26890

AT+T Accused of Discriminating Against Local Public Access Channels, Deadline for Public Comment Expires Tonight

2009-03-09T07:30:00.000-07:00

Community media groups are accusing the telecom giant AT&T of discriminating against local public access channels across the nation, and the deadline for public comment is midnight tonight. The dispute centers around how AT&T delivers public television stations to customers. Instead of putting the stations on individual channels, AT&T has bundled community stations onto a generic channel that can only be navigated through a complex and lengthy process. Public television advocates say AT&T is imposing unfair restrictions that will severely restrict audiences.

Hershey, Mars & Nestle: Stop Child Labor!

2009-02-12T08:06:00.000-08:00

Since 2001, chocolate consumers around the world have voiced their concern about child labor and trafficking on cocoa farms in West Africa. Despite millions of dollars and tons of public relations campaigns over the years, the worst forms of child labor and trafficking continue to occur in the cocoa supply chains of major US chocolate companies like Hershey, M&M/Mars and Nestle. We've heard the same talking points from these companies for years about how they are working together as an industry to stop child labor, but their lack of progress to date is unacceptable. For more information about industry initiatives to date, please see ILRF's most recent cocoa report.

Please join us today in getting beyond the talking points and asking Hershey, M&M/Mars and Nestle what each company is doing specifically to ensure they are respecting internationally recognized labor rights in their cocoa sourcing.

http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/chocolate

TAKE ACTION: Ensure human needs are met in the final recovery plan!

2009-02-11T08:04:00.000-08:00

The Senate and House have passed different versions of President Obama’s economic recovery package. While the total cost is similar, there are significant differences in how the House and Senate would allocate the funds. Now Congress must resolve these differences in a conference committee made up of key members of both houses.

Your help is needed to ensure that the final bill retains the highest funding for programs that provides the great benefit to people most in need.

Call your U.S. senators and representative toll-free* today at 1-800-473-6711.
Tell them to make sure the conference negotiators:

*Retain the highest funding for programs that have the greatest benefit for the lowest- income people, including aid to states and housing programs.
*Remove the flawed “E-Verify” requirement.
*Remove $1 billion in funding for nuclear weapons.

American Friends Service Committee
http://www.afsc.org/EconomicJustice/US/ht/d/sp/i/70722/pid/70722

Tell Florida Governor Crist to Take a Stand Against Slavery!

2009-02-09T13:12:00.000-08:00

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers is calling on Florida Governor Charlie Crist to commit the full power of his office to address the plague of modern-day slavery in Florida's fields. Add your voice to this call and send an email or fax to the governor today!
Background: Just this past December, federal prosecutors from the Department of Justice wrapped up yet another farm labor slavery case in Florida, a case the Chief Assistant US Attorney called one of Southwest Florida's biggest, ugliest slavery cases ever. This became the seventh such slavery case in ten years, involving a total of well over 1,000 workers.

Yet, when a reporter called Governor Crist's office about this most recent case, the governor declined to comment and instead passed the call off to the spokesperson for Florida's Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Terrence McElroy, who -- not once, but twice -- gave the impression that one slavery case per year is somehow no cause for alarm.

For decades, the silence of Florida's governors in the face of the brutal exploitation of the state's farmworkers has allowed that exploitation -- up to and including modern-day slavery -- to persist.

Join farmworkers and consumers from across Florida and the US in telling Governor Crist that now is the time to break the silence and ensure that this latest slavery case is the last slavery case ever in Florida's fields.

The letter not only calls on Governor Crist to publicly condemn the continuing existence of modern-day slavery, but also to demand that the Florida Tomato Growers' Exchange end its efforts to nullify the agreements reached between the CIW and leading fast-food and supermarket purchasers of Florida tomatoes to improve farmworker wages and working conditions, the conditions that provide the fertile soil in which modern-day slavery takes root.

We will be collecting signatures, both here in Immokalee and across the country, during the month of February. If there is no response, we plan to deliver the signatures with a creative action in Tallahassee in the month of March. Stay tuned for more details on the petition in the weeks ahead, and in the meantime you can help us gather more signatures among your friends and co-workers, at your school or place of worship!

http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/Governor_Crist_stand_against_slavery/

Roses Are Red, Lipstick (Still!) Has Lead

2009-02-09T10:15:00.000-08:00

This Valentine’s Day, you may want to pass on the ruby red lips: The FDA still hasn’t done anything about lead in lipstick.

It has been more than a year since the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics reported that the urban legend was true: popular brands of lipstick do contain lead. The FDA said it would conduct an independent investigation. Despite repeated calls from the Campaign, our allies and our supporters (that's you), as well as pressure from U.S. Senators, the FDA still has not released any data on its own lipstick tests or taken any action to protect people from dangerous ingredients in cosmetic products.

After the Campaign released "A Poison Kiss: The Problem of Lead in Lipstick," dozens of news outlets across the country covered the story, and inquiries from individuals came flooding in. It is clear that Americans do not want potent neurotoxins like lead in their lipstick, or any other consumer product.

Unlike the United States, the European Union and Canada actually regulate cosmetics. Large cosmetics companies are now selling safer products in other countries – but because they are not mandated to remove lead and other harmful substances from U.S. products, we doubt they will. This is not only bad for public health; it also leaves the U.S. behind while our peers drive innovation of safer products.

The FDA should require cosmetics to be safe for long-term use. Tell the agency that we deserve lipstick without lead by filling out the form on this page. Your letter will be sent to Dr. Linda Katz, Director of the FDA's Office of Cosmetics and Colors, and Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Frank Torti.

With your help, we can kiss lead and other harmful chemicals in cosmetics goodbye!

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5500/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=1052

Tell Congress to Fix Our Broken Food Safety System!

2009-01-28T11:36:00.000-08:00

The current Salmonella contamination in peanut butter products is the most recent failure of FDA's ability to inspect and regulate our food system. The Food and Drug Administration, the federal agency that is supposed to create a safety net to protect consumers from unsafe food, can't handle the job. Now is the time to reorganize and create a better agency that can actually deal with food safety. We have a new Congress and a new President who can make real change and overhaul our broken food safety system.

Can you tell Congress to take action now and fix the FDA and our broken food safety system?

Commend President Obama and Call for Accountability

2009-01-23T07:27:00.000-08:00

Amnesty International commends President Barack Obama’s signing of executive orders on Guantanamo, detention policy, interrogation and transparency, along with his decision to halt military commissions at Guantanamo, as important steps forward in committing the United States government to human rights, international law, the U.S. Constitution, and the values and ideals central to a just, free and secure society. As President Obama said at the signing ceremony, the United States does not have "to continue with a false choice between our safety and our ideals." Please take a moment to commend him for his initial first positive steps and ask him to finish the job he started.

Tim DeChristopher Reinvents the Greenbuck in Utah

2009-01-14T10:41:00.000-08:00

by Jerry CopeDesigner, Filmmaker, Eco Activist
Huffington Post
January 11, 2009

...Al Gore, James Hansen, Pat Shea, and numerous others have all issued the call for vastly increased peaceful civil disobedience to force real change in government and corporate environmental policy. Mr. DeChristopher is the most recent to answer the call and has inspired people across the globe by his courage and tenacity. To voice your support for Tim DeChristopher or assist with his legal defense go to Bidder70.org .

URGENT: Petition to Urge President-elect Obama not to appoint former Adm. Dennis Blair

2009-01-09T06:45:00.001-08:00

Sign the petition now! http://www.petitiononline.com/blair01/petition.html

Urge President-elect Obama not to appoint former Adm. Dennis Blair as Director of National Intelligence. As Commander in the Pacific, he cozied up to the Indonesian military and downplayed human rights concerns in the lead up and aftermath of East Timor's independence referendum. According to news reports, Obama will appoint his intelligence chief this week.

For background go see these ETAN media releases:

Adm. Blair Poor Choice as Director of National Intelligence, Says Rights Group; Blair’s History with Indonesia and East Timor Raises Questions about Likely Nominee

ETAN Urges President-elect Obama Not to Appoint Adm. Blair Director of National Intelligence; ETAN Menolak Adm. Blair sebagai Kepala Intelijen Nasional
In addition to signing the petition, you can also cut, paste and modify the text below and post it to President-elect Obama's transition website. Just go here: http://change.gov/page/s/seattable and send a comment.

Thank you and spread the word! ETAN

President-elect Obama -

We urge you not to appoint Adm. Dennis Blair as Director of National Intelligence. During his years as Pacific Commander, Blair actively worked to reinstate military assistance and deepen ties to Indonesia's military, despite its ongoing human rights violations in East Timor and its consistent record of impunity. In 1999, he undermined the U.S. efforts to support human rights and self-determination in the Indonesian-occupied territory and opposed congressional efforts to limit assistance.

In April 1999, just days after Indonesian security forces and their militias carried out a brutal, churchyard massacre, Adm. Blair delivered a message of 'business-as-usual' to Indonesian General Wiranto, then Commander of the Indonesian armed forces. Following East Timor's pro-independence vote, Blair sought the quickest possible restoration of military assistance, despite Indonesia's highly destructive exit and the failure, which continues to this day, to prosecute the senior officials who oversaw the violence.
This lack of concern for human rights shows that he is unlikely to be a champion of reform. I don't believe that this is the kind of change people are expecting.

2009-01-09T06:45:00.000-08:00

Power Past Coal

2009-01-03T09:05:00.000-08:00

100 Days of Action to Expose the True Cost of Coal, Plug into New Power
Join dozens of groups across the United States between January 21st to April 30th for 100 Days of Action to Power Past Coal! From Appalachia to Arizona, from the Dakotas to Washington DC, we’re united to share the stories from communities impacted by coal, and to begin working on a truly clean and just energy future.

Take action. Tell your story. Join the movement.
Starting on January 20th, the new president and congress will have a unique opportunity to tackle one of the biggest justice issues in the United States today: Coal.
The whole life cycle of coal is costly, dirty and deadly, from mining, to dumping coal waste to global warming. The communities that coal impacts are some of the poorest places in the US; we need new green jobs in these communities and new energy options for America.
Each day, from January 21st to April 30th, one or more communities will make a call for us to power past coal – from its destructive mining practices to its dangerous waste disposal. Citizens across the US will gather with each other and organizations, small and large, to work for clean energy, to tell their truth about coal, to keep false solutions that include coal out of climate change legislation, and stand in solidarity with communities impacted by coal.
Our actions will tell the story of the new power we are building — the power of the grassroots joining together to Power Past Coal.

http://powerpastcoal.org/

End Israel's Attacks on Gaza

2008-12-31T11:58:00.000-08:00

Send a letter below to the President, State Department, and your Members of Congress demanding 1) an unconditional and immediate cease-fire; 2) complete access of humanitarian goods to the Gaza Strip and a lifting of Israel's siege; and 3) accountability for Israel's misuse of U.S. weapons as required by the Arms Export Control Act and Foreign Assistance Act.

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/641/t/2439/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26379

GAZA EMERGENCY: Stop the Killing NOW!

2008-12-30T07:58:00.000-08:00

Join CODEPINK by signing our call for a US-backed ceasefire in Gaza.

We will deliver it to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice next week.

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/424/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=1788

GAZA: STOP THE BLOODSHED, TIME FOR PEACE

2008-12-29T07:51:00.000-08:00

With over 280 dead and continued shelling of civilians in southern Israel, now is the time to issue a demand to world leaders that the spiraling violence that has characterized the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must come to an end.

Sign the petition below calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza - and for peace to be achieved between Israel and Palestine in 2009.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/gaza_time_for_peace/?cl=161484073&v=2605

Sign Our Open Letter to President-Elect Obama; We Need a Change in Israel/Palestine Policy

2008-12-27T11:27:00.000-08:00

As of this writing, Israeli Air Force attacks today on the occupied Gaza Strip killed an estimated 200 or more people and injured hundreds more. These Israeli attacks come on top of a brutal siege of the Gaza Strip, which has created a humanitarian catastrophe of dire proportions for Gaza's 1.5 million Palestinian residents by restricting the provision of food, fuel, medicine, electricity, and other necessities of life.

While the scope of civilian casualties in today's attacks is not yet clear, it is unmistakable that Israel carried out these attacks with F16 fighter jets and missiles provided by the taxpayers of this country. From 2001-2006, the United States transferred to Israel more than $200 million worth of spare parts to fly its fleet of F16's. In July 2008, the United States gave Israel 186 million gallons of JP-8 aviation jet fuel. Last year, the United States signed a $1.3 billion contract with Raytheon to transfer to Israel thousands of TOW, Hellfire, and "bunker buster" missiles.

In short, Israel 's lethal attack today on the Gaza Strip could not have happened without the active military and political support of the United States . Therefore, we need to take action to protest this attack and demand an immediate cease-fire.

1. Contact the White House to protest the attack and demand an immediate cease-fire...

2. Contact the State Department...

3. Contact your Representative and Senators in Congress...

4. Contact your local media by phoning into a talk show or writing a letter to the editor...

5. Organize a local protest or vigil and tell us about it...

6. Sign our open letter to President-Elect Obama calling for a new U.S. policy toward Israel/Palestine and find out other steps you can take to influence the incoming Administration..

http://www.endtheoccupation.org/form.php?modin=137

Now, Is The Crucial Time; You can make a difference!

2008-12-26T09:54:00.000-08:00

A New Year's Message From IAC Founder Ramsey Clark

Dear friends,

We are at a crucial historic juncture.

We cannot sit back and expect that change will just happen now. In order to make real change, people must be mobilized and organized. Otherwise, all of the hopes for a new direction can be quickly diverted.

The International Action Center (IAC) is unique. Its role is recognized worldwide and here in the U.S. This is because the IAC provides—for activists and political movements—a bold, independent voice that is so needed today.

Flouting the mandate of the people of the U.S. who want the troops withdrawn and this horrific war ended, the U.S. government has just imposed a new "Status of Forces" Agreement on Iraq which would keep tens of thousands of U.S. troops and mercenaries there for the next three years (at the cost of $12 billion a month)!

While the entire Bush program has been repudiated, the atrocities and illegal imprisonment continue at Guantanamo. U.S. missiles rain down on villages in Pakistan, killing civilians, and they, together with NATO weapons, increasingly hit children, women and men in Afghanistan--where tens of thousands of U.S. troops could likely be sent. Bellicosity continues towards Iran and other nations in the Middle East. NATO is expanding which raises the danger of new confrontations with Russia in Georgia, the Ukraine, the Balkans, Eastern Europe and elsewhere.

The military budget continues to grow at a gargantuan rate, far surpassing that of any in U.S. history, diverting massive funds and depriving millions here of needed health care, housing, and education, while infrastructures deteriorate, and thousands hard-hit by hurricane disasters have been abandoned by the government.

The spiraling economic meltdown means millions of people are losing their jobs and homes while states implement massive and harsh cutbacks in vital social programs. Yet trillions of dollars in "bailouts" are handed over to the banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions of wealth.

But there is reason for hope--there is opposition to the wars abroad, to the violations of civil liberties and basic rights abroad and at home, including the terrible witch hunt on immigrants, and to the sweeping economic attacks on poor and working people as the policy-driven greater concentration of wealth and growth of poverty intensifies. And millions of people feel hope because of the historic election of an African-American man.

It is critical that organizing grows on every front. In order to make real change, it takes mobilizing and strong, independent and decisive actions.

The International Action Center (IAC) is well-situated and long-experienced to be a major organizing force in this period. The IAC has been a consistent, determined and independent voice and major mobilizing center against U.S. wars, sanctions and military interventions for 17 years, since the first Gulf War. This principled organization of activists has courageously held protests, meetings and forums across the country, opposing U.S. aggression against Iraq, Iran, Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, Palestine, Somalia, Pakistan, Lebanon, Sudan, Bolivia, Panama and Korea.

IAC organizers have produced many books--translated into several languages—for the public, scholars, and anti-war protesters here and worldwide, while providing a center and resources for a new generation of activists. The People's Video Network has produced many politically-educational videos, while building an alternative media network.

The IAC has taken on struggles against racism, bigotry, injustice and more--from standing with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita survivors in their still unmet quest for justice, to supporting immigrants' rights, opposing the death penalty and challenging military recruitment.

And now, in this crucial time of economic crisis and hardship, the IAC, which is fiercely committed to a Peoples' Agenda, has helped launch and organize campaigns against home foreclosures and evictions, utility shut-offs, mass transit rate increases, and for healthcare.

The IAC looks forward to a new year of struggle against war and political, social and economic injustice!

Our New Year's Resolution for 2009 must be to organize together tirelessly to end the occupation of Iraq, to stop a new war against Iran or any nation, and to stop incessant provocations against Islam, Venezuela, Russia, Bolivia, Cuba and others. We must work to promote international friendship and respect for humankind and to oppose the policies of domination, globalization and war.

We invite you to join in the new year of activism with the IAC and to support its vital work.

You can make a difference!

Visit http://www.iacenter.org/

Call Time on Global Greed

2008-12-19T10:57:00.000-08:00

The past few months have seen one of the most significant financial crises in North American and European history, a crisis caused by a greedy, reckless and unregulated economic system which has been biased against the poor for decades. The spiralling levels of inequality and instability created by the current economic system have created enormous social and environmental problems.

Once again, the fall-out of this crisis will have a detrimental impact on millions of ordinary people in the UK, and billions of people in the poorest countries of the world. But while those that created the crisis have been bailed out (bonus intact) with unprecedented sums of taxpayer money, the poor in developed and developing nations have received nothing.

Let’s call time on global greed. The same systems that create poverty here – unfair trade rules and tax systems, debt burdens, privatisation and attacks on welfare spending – also create poverty in the developing world.

Only a system which works for the poorest of the world will ensure a just, sustainable and prosperous world for all of us.

It’s time for a radically different economic system which reduces inequality, creates jobs, puts people before profit, ensures a sustainable environment, and puts eradicating poverty at its heart. We need a ‘green new deal’ that will revolutionise the economy :

A major recovery plan that puts people and the environment at its heart, in particular which enables countries to better feed, clothe, educate and protect their people
Effective regulation of the financial system, including just tax, debt and trade rules
A new and democratic set of institutions to govern this economic system
This fundamental global reform needs to be agreed democratically, with the poorest of the world having a full and equal say over the future economic system. In particular this system cannot be agreed at the meeting of the 20 most powerful countries in the world (G20) on 15 November. The UN, as the only organisation with such a mandate, must be empowered to lead a process of comprehensive reform of the financial and economic system which involves all governments and civil society, in an open manner.

Help us take action - sign the petition to Gordon Brown

http://www.jubileedebtcampaign.org.uk/Call%20Time%20on%20Global%20Greed+4635.twl

Action Alert: Bolivia’s Amazon Riches to Be Plundered for Oil

2008-12-18T17:49:00.000-08:00

President Morales must be encouraged to live up to his grand rhetoric, and end his government's hurried measures to decimate massive indigenous rainforest protected areas and their biodiversity and climate values, in a manner eerily reminiscent of the capitalistic system against which he rallies...NOTE: This is a protest, not a petition, sending emails to many real decision makers on matters vital to the Earth.

http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=bolivia_rainforest

How To Be an Ethical Consumer Without Breaking the Bank

2008-12-18T16:13:00.000-08:00

There are many affordable ways to spend your hard-earned cash in accordance with progressive values.

http://www.alternet.org/environment/113496/

Tell Lowe's, Home Depot and Wal-Mart to Stop Selling Cypress Mulch

2008-12-11T11:47:00.000-08:00

Cypress forests are the best natural storm and flood protection for the Gulf Coast, and they provide important habitat for wildlife, including endangered species...Cypress trees take a long time to grow, and changing ecological conditions mean many of them will never regenerate once cut.

http://action.healthygulf.org/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=5892

Take a Stand for Survival

2008-12-10T10:10:00.000-08:00

At the UN Negotiations in Poland, youth from around the world are demanding that their countries' delegations commit to making a climate treaty that "safeguards the survival of all countries and peoples."

This message needs to be heard--please take a stand for survival by signing the survival pledge...

http://action.350.org/o/1879/t/8474/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=1777

No Secret Pardons for Bush Administration!

2008-12-05T12:29:00.000-08:00

Tell Congress to pass a Pardons Disclosure Act to prevent President Bush from issuing secretive, blanket pardons to members of his administration

For eight years, we have been forced to sit by helplessly as President George W. Bush and top members of his administration eviscerated the Constitution, broke federal laws, and defied the will of Congress.

Now, President Bush is poised to give each and every one of his accomplices -- from Dick Cheney to Karl Rove to Alberto Gonzales -- a full pardon, ensuring that they will never receive the punishments they deserve for their activities. Worse, Bush may issue a preemptive “blanket” pardon, covering all officials within his administration without disclosing either the names of the officials involved or the crimes for which they are being absolved.

Congress can, however, stop this most objectionable action before it occurs. The American Freedom Campaign has proposed a Pardons Disclosure Act, which would force the president to specifically name any political appointees for whom pardons are granted along with the crime or crimes for which they are being pardoned.

Please tell your representatives in Congress to support a Pardons Disclosure Act, by filling out your information below and clicking on “Send My Message!”

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2165/t/1027/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26316

Media Still Letting Bush Lie on Iraq Inspectors

2008-12-03T07:23:00.000-08:00

ABC, WaPo fail to challenge president's misinformation

12/2/08

In a December 1 interview with ABC anchor Charles Gibson, George W. Bush gave a grossly erroneous history of the run-up to the Iraq War--a false version of events that Gibson failed to challenge and the Washington Post glossed over the following day...It is troubling that Gibson would not challenge Bush on this fundamental misrepresentation of reality--and that the Post would let Bush's lie go unreported.

ACTION: Ask ABC and the Washington Post to clarify--and fact-check--Bush's statements on the prelude to the Iraq War.

For details, go to:

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=3657

Our Ultimate Chance. Big Auto's Last Chance.

2008-11-27T06:49:00.000-08:00

...There are 3 things we need to ask our representatives in DC to demand from the auto industry if they are to take $25 billion of our tax dollars.

1. We will not pay if you pollute!
The Big 3 (Ford, GM, and Chrysler) must commit to being the most fuel-efficient fleets on the planet. Mandate a fleet-wide fuel economy of 50 mpg by 2015.

2. Give us clean options!
Each of the Big 3 (Ford, GM, and Chrysler) must commit to producing 1 million Plug In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) by 2012 and 3 million PHEV’s by 2015.

3. Create green industry!
Commit to retooling the entire industry to produce these vehicles and lead the way into a new green economy.

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/703/t/6396/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=384

MASSIVE WAVE OF IMPRISONMENTS IN BURMA/Send a Message to UN Secretary General

2008-11-22T07:04:00.000-08:00

Nearly every day, Burma's military dictator Than Shwe is sending dozens of human rights activists to long terms in prison. Those sentenced to many years behind bars include poets, actors, comedians, students, journalists, volunteers who helped victims of Cyclone Nargis, hip-hop artists, and members of the political party of Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi. These sentences are the biggest news to come out of Burma in a long time, and we have been posting all the news about the arrests on our blog.
More importantly, we are working around the clock to galvanize a strong international response. Here is some examples of what the Burma movement has done so far:
We are pressing the United Nations Security Council to convene an immediate, emergency meeting on Burma in order to impose an international arms embargo on Burma's military regime

Senators Dianne Feinstein and Kay Bailey Hutchison, leaders of the United States Senate Womens' Caucus on Burma -- which includes all the women in the U.S. Senate -- issued a demand for the arrests to stop

Our members have sent thousands of messages to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urging him to travel to Burma and demand the immediate release of all political prisoners in Burma (mystifyingly, the Secretary General has done basically nothing about this crisis -- so keep sending those messages)

We have been providing the news media with round-the-clock updates on those sentenced to long prison terms in Burma. There have been thousands of news articles on the arrests

A coalition of 40 organizations sent a letter to the leaders of the Southeast Asian countries urging them to demand the release of all Burmese political prisoners at the upcoming ASEAN summit on December 15th in Thailand. This meeting represents a strong opportunity for Asian leaders to tell the Burmese military regime that the sentencing of political activists must stop

Members of parliament from all over Asia are galvanizing a strong effort (more on this coming soon...)

Many world leaders are preparing a major push to free all political prisoners in Burma (more on this coming soon...)

Our allies throughout the world have successfully pressed the governments of the United States, the UK, Estonia, Slovakia, Germany, Canada, and the European Union to condemn the arrests
We have much more work to do and you are going to see some even bigger actions in the weeks ahead, but we wanted to let you know some of what we are doing. And, we wanted to thank you because none of our work would be possible without your support.
Sincerely,

Aung Din, Jeremy Woodrum, Jennifer Quigley, Jacqui Pilch, Michael Haack

Support 1991 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi and the struggle for freedom and democracy in Burma:

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1189/t/5102/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=1407

Take Action: Help Save America's Fisheries

2008-11-17T15:04:00.000-08:00

We can reverse the economic and environmental disaster of overfishing.

That's the encouraging conclusion of Oceans of Abundance, a new report by two dozen scientific, economic, political and environmental leaders.

By widely deploying a fisheries management program called "catch shares," we can make fish more abundant and fisheries more profitable—for generations to come.

You can support this vision for better fishery management.

Send an email today: Urge the National Marine Fisheries Service to adopt the recommendations from our Oceans of Abundance report.

http://action.edf.org/campaign/oceans_of_abundance

Get Started with Community Investing

2008-11-14T08:35:00.000-08:00

You and your institution can have a social impact with your investments. Community Investing provides resources and opportunities for
lower-income communities, along with competitive financial returns.

This website contains what you need to add Community Investments to
your portfolio, and helps you choose from many high quality options in this expanding asset class.

http://www.communityinvest.org/

Let’s do it right! Restore the wetlands. Protect the people.

2008-11-08T19:43:00.000-08:00

Three years after Hurricane Katrina, the Army Corps of Engineers is still dragging its feet when it comes to restoring the wetlands destroyed by MR-GO. In fact, the Corps says it will take at least two years to even come up with a plan! Click here to comment on the MR-GO draft plan and tell the Corps to get to work fixing the wetlands.

http://action.healthygulf.org/t/6826/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26195

Convict Bush/Cheney

2008-11-07T07:50:00.000-08:00

Please add your name as an individual or organization to a petition demanding impeachment if Bush pardons himself or his subordinates by registering / logging in, and then signing the petition.

How to indict Bush, Cheney, et alia, at the state or local level for murder or attempted murder.

How to make a citizen's arrest of a war criminal.

How to contact the International Criminal Court.

How to pass local resolutions and ordinances.

How to stop false pardons.

Other law suit possibilities.

Play our theme song by Pat Scanlon.

Buy an ARREST BUSH Shirt.

Watch video of September 2008 conference in Andover, Mass.

Coming soon: Mandamus: How you can ask a judge to order a prosecution, and how we can all do so on the same day in a national action. It's been tried in Minnesota with this writ, yielding this refusal.

Coming soon: How to use a state initiative to create an independent prosecutor.

Coming soon: How to prosecute international crimes in Florida and other states that allow common law criminal prosecutions.

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=taxonomy/term/15

URGE MEDIA TO ARCHIVE ALL EXIT POLL RESULTS

2008-11-02T12:57:00.000-08:00

Please take action to urge the media to report the unadjusted exit polls for the 2008 election.

Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International will again conduct all exit polling in 2008 for the National

Voters should be provided with the unadjusted exit polls and if adjustments are made to the final polls they should be explained publicly. Major media outlets are urged to archive all of the interim exit poll results to allow independent analysis later. Election integrity advocates must push for greater transparency since large-sample exit polls can and should be used be used to audit vote totals.

When the U.S. government audits the vote in a foreign country, the tool of choice is always a large-sample exit poll, which will identify problems in the vote totals. Yet, in the United States, even with the documented problems we have had in voting , our own government does not use the best tool available.

News and political divisions of the major networks must plan to archive all of the preliminary exit poll results since the overall survey will quickly be adjusted by the vendor to match the published vote totals, and will thus no longer be useful as an audit of the integrity of the vote totals.

The letter demands that the unadjusted exit polls be made public, that the preliminary exit polls be archived and that any adjustments be explained so that the National Exit Poll can be used as a tool to audit the election results.

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1331/t/6410/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26158

We The People

2008-10-28T11:24:00.000-07:00

Unless we see ourselves — individually and collectively – as the engine for real societal reform – no matter how hard that may be to imagine given our developed habits of disengagement — our vote on election day is wasted.

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/10/27/we_the_people/

Don't Allow Coal Companies to Annihilate Streams

2008-10-25T09:49:00.000-07:00

The Environmental Protection Agency is on the verge of approving a proposal that would allow coal-mining companies to dump mining waste directly into flowing streams, filling in the streams entirely and destroying all the life in them. Since 1983 the Stream Buffer Zone rule has prohibited mining within 100 feet of flowing streams, but now the Bush administration and the Office of Surface Mining are trying to push through an under-the-table, last-minute effort to remove this protection. If the EPA approves the repeal, it will be perfectly legal for coal companies to blow off the top of a mountain, then dump the waste straight into streams, killing the rare salamanders, fish, and other species that live in Appalachian waterways. EPA Administrator Johnson could make the decision at any moment, so time is critical. Please take a minute to tell the EPA not to approve the Stream Buffer Zone revision, and pass this alert along to as many of your friends as possible.

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2167/t/5243/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26129

Tell Congress to Break Up Milk Monopolies

2008-10-23T11:04:00.000-07:00

Over two years ago, the Department of Justice started an investigation into anti-trust violations by Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), the company that picks up over a third of the milk from U.S. farms. The DOJ has never released the findings of their investigation and we need Congress to shine some light on what is going on in the dairy industry.

Tell the House and Senate Judiciary Committees it’s time for them to conduct hearings into anti-competitive behavior by dairy giants like DFA.

http://action.foodandwaterwatch.org/t/741/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26126

States are not providing adequate voting equipment, machines, stations and staff

2008-10-21T11:52:00.000-07:00

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1331/t/6410/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26109

In 2004 tens of thousands of voters were denied their right to vote in Ohio when election officials provided inadequate voting machines in African American communities. Some people waited in line to vote for longer than 12 hours. Many thousands of others gave up and did not vote. This alone may have been enough to change the outcome of the 2004 election.

Well, it’s happening again.

A recent report indicated that college-age and African American precincts in Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia will not have sufficient numbers of voting machines or election staff to handle the number of voters expected on Election Day. Help us to let these officials know that tens of thousands of people are watching their actions and documenting what occurs on Election Day. Even if you do not live in these states it is important for these officials to hear from you. They need to know they will be held accountable for their actions. This action is being taken in concert with a coalition of organizations working under the banner “No More Stolen Elections.” See www.NoMoreStolenElections.org.

Click and send a letter to the governor, congressional delegation (House and Senate), the secretary of state as well as election administrators where questions have been raised about the adequacy of the number of voting machines and staff.

Please take action now.

Say NO to the Gulf Council's unsafe plan for Open Ocean Fish Farming

2008-10-15T07:47:00.000-07:00

We all love to eat fish, and we know that much of the fish we love is in high demand. Because of this demand, more and more fish are grown in huge, unsafe, and often overcrowded cages in open ocean waters called offshore fish farms, or aquaculture. In our decades of work, we have learned some tough lessons about offshore aquaculture, and unfortunately those lessons are about to be ignored by fishery managers in the Gulf of Mexico. I need your help to urge them not to go forward with their unsafe plan. Here's why:

Salmon farming has taught us a lot about the risks involved with offshore aquaculture. With so many fish packed closely together in open ocean cages, disease is much more likely. Without a doubt, some fish escape and transfer these diseases, such as contagious sea lice, to wild populations where the affects can be devastating. Studies show that some salmon populations may go extinct and most wild fish populations are declining in areas where salmon farming occurs.

Sadly, the fish farming plan proposed by Gulf fishery managers fails to protect against these substantial risks and many others. We need strong and smart national standards that will protect every part of our ocean BEFORE aquaculture moves forward in the Gulf … or any of our nation’s waters.

We must protect the health of our ocean and the environmental interests of the public before expanding fish farming in our ocean. This approach is absolutely essential to helping balance our growing demand for healthy seafood with the needs of protecting our ocean and our coastal economies.

http://www.oceanconservancy.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=11607&JServSessionIdr001=3uw4525ut2.app44b

Equal Pay for Equal Work

2008-10-09T10:15:00.000-07:00

The Paycheck Fairness Act will make filing a discrimination claim easier, provide protection for workers who blow the whistle on pay discrimination, and strengthen the Department of Labor’s efforts to ensure fair pay for all workers.

http://www.pay-equity.org/info-leg.html

IUF Challenges Job Destruction at Nestlé, Unilever on World Day for Decent Work

2008-10-06T15:25:00.000-07:00

Share this article.

The IUF is targeting the systematic, programmed destruction of permanent work at two major food TNCs - Nestlé (the world's largest food company) and Unilever (number 3) - as unions worldwide highlight the menacing spread of precarious work on October 7 - World Day for Decent Work.

Casual, insecure, subcontracted jobs are not an accidental byproduct of the constant redefinition of "core" business, or the search for "flexibility". The destruction of permanent work has become a major pillar of corporate human resources strategy, implemented to fund record dividends and share buybacks in the name of "shareholder value". Alongside their brands, the companies are manufacturing insecurity. Precarious jobs are corporate policy for shrinking and ultimately extinguishing the number of workers who retain a direct employment relationship with the corporations whose products they manufacture - and with whom they can negotiate their terms and conditions of employment. Precarious work is union busting.

Nestlé and Unilever have been brutally and systematically eliminating permanent work while touting the virtues of job creation and "corporate social responsibility." Behind their famous "billion dollar brands" the former Nestlé or Unilever worker has been increasingly replaced by an abusive system of outsourcing, casualization, "temporary" hiring and "co-packing" which is steadily eliminating the use of permanent employment contracts.

To highlight the leading role of these two food giants in destroying decent work the IUF is launching two new websites.

Nestlewatch and Unileverwatch are interactive sites with translation toolbars for multi-language use. We've launched them to challenge these companies' systematic cultivation of insecure, precarious work, to put a corporate face on the process of job destruction, and to assist in fighting back.

http://www.iuf.org/cgi-bin/dbman/db.cgi?db=default&uid=default&ID=5399&view_records=1&ww=1&en=1

Tell Congress: You Deserve a Better Bailout!

2008-10-03T09:40:00.000-07:00

When the House of Representatives rejected a financial bailout package on Monday, Congress had an opportunity to address objections to the proposal and ensure the rights of Main Street were protected. Instead, the Senate hastily added provisions - many wholly unrelated to fixing the economy - that caused the bill to balloon to a colossal 451 pages. Most legislators haven't had the time to read or understand it.

This is an outrage! Public Citizen opposes this bill. If the bill is enacted, we will urge Congress to return to this issue immediately after the New Year, re-regulating the finance industry and providing needed consumer protections and relief.

Write your congressional representatives TODAY and tell them to oppose H.R. 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, as passed by the Senate.

http://action.citizen.org/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26039

No Bailout for Big Oil!

2008-10-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

Lobbyists from Big Oil have snuck more corporate welfare into the Wall St. bailout package-- this time for Big Oil's dirtiest forms of oil production. Take action now!

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/790/t/7370/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26042

Stop Putting Special Interests Ahead of the Public Interest

2008-09-25T10:13:00.000-07:00

Don't let Congress sidestep their responsibilities. Demand that any bailout bill include oversight over how our tax dollars are being spent!

Please join us in telling Congress that any bailout bill must:

* Be completely transparent about how our tax dollars are being used.
* Include strict oversight over the actions of the Treasury Secretary. The current proposal gives unprecedented, unlimited authority to the Treasury Secretary, and makes his decisions non-reviewable by any court of law or administrative agency. The lack of oversight is what's gotten us into this mess; Congress should not compound the problem.
* Include provisions to help families who are in danger of losing their homes avoid foreclosure.
* Cap the pay of CEOs of the bailed out companies. As ordinary Americans struggle to make ends meet and taxpayers are asked to shoulder this $700 billion bailout, the CEOs responsible for these problems should not be receiving million-dollar bonuses and golden parachutes.
* Ensure that, when the bailed out companies become profitable again, some portion of those profits will be returned to the public treasury. This cannot turn into a public debt for private profit situation.
http://www.commoncause.org/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=4559581&auid=4054358

Tell the Senate not to drill our coasts!

2008-09-25T09:38:00.000-07:00

On September 16, the House of Representatives rushed to pass a bill that would end the current moratorium on oil and gas drilling on the outer continental shelf posing a permanent threat to our oceans. Now the Senate is moving to consider the House passed bill along with a number of other proposals that would result in drilling our oceans and coasts.

Please take action now and tell Congress not to drill our coasts.
http://takeaction.oceana.org/t/6438/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=25177

No Bankers Coup D'Etat

2008-09-24T09:26:00.000-07:00

We are witnessing a bankers' coup d’etat. In the name of saving the economy from a crisis created by their own greed and immense profits, the biggest bankers have taken a country and a people hostage.

“Give us your money and tear up what’s left of your Constitution or we will sink your economy,” is the message from Wall Street and the Bush Administration. “Give us the power and money we demand or you will be left jobless from a new economic depression."

Under the pretext of the banking crisis, the Bush Administration is changing the way this country operates. This is not simply taking trillions of dollars from the people and giving it to the richest bankers to do with as they see fit.

Click here to send your letter to Congress

Congress is poised to vote to give the Executive Branch of government, and specifically the White House’s political appointees in the Treasury Department, the absolute right to take our money and give it to domestic and foreign banks and corporations without any oversight of elected officials, from the courts, or from the people.

The new legislation states: “Decisions by the Secretary [of the Treasury] pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.” The Legislation allows the Treasury Department to appoint the same bankers who created the crisis to administer and dictate the use of trillions of our tax dollars.

We will not stand by and let the Bush Administration formalize its vision of a “government of, by and for the richest bankers."

The new system institutionalizes theft on a grand scale. Lehman Brothers bankers will receive $2.5 billion in bonuses after their company went bankrupt last week, but the new dictatorial authority under the White House and Treasury Department has ruled out any relief for the millions of working families who are being foreclosed.

We live in a $15 trillion annual economy. Instead of taking our tax dollars and giving it to the already rich and powerful, these funds should be used provide to decent paying jobs, affordable housing, health care and a good education for our children. There is another way!

Now is the time to hear the voice of the people. A spineless Congress authorized Bush’s illegal war in Iraq and rubber-stamped the Patriot Act. Now they are being herded like sheep again to give the White House and Wall Street dictatorial control over the people’s money.

Send a letter to Your Congressional Representatives
http://votenobailout.org/

Urgent: Stop The $700B Blank Check!

2008-09-23T12:02:00.000-07:00

Campaign For America's Future

Within the next 24 hours, we expect Congress will make an historic choice to address America’s financial crisis: Cut the Bush administration a $700 billion blank check for Wall Street OR demand sensible public checks and balances in the $700 billion bailout. Write an emergency letter to Congress now, and tell them: No $700 Billion blank check to the Bush administration for Wall Street!

Co-Sign Senator Sanders' Petition to Paulson!

2008-09-23T11:48:00.000-07:00

Sign the petition and join the thousands that have already added their names -

Dear Secretary Paulson:
As a representative of the Bush Administration, you have proposed a financial bailout program of $700 billion – over $2,000 for every man, woman, and child in the country. We are appalled that your proposal puts the cost of this bailout on average Americans; that it contains no provisions reversing failed deregulatory policies; that it allows executives at these failed institutions to continue to make exorbitant salaries and bonuses, and that your proposal contains no help for average Americans who themselves are facing severe economic hardships.

While the Administration has quickly rallied to help Wall Street, it has ignored the needs of the declining middle class. Since President Bush has been in office the wealthiest people in this country have made out like bandits and have not had it so good since the 1920s. The top one-tenth of one percent now earn more income than the bottom 50 percent of Americans and the top one percent own more wealth than the bottom 90 percent. Incredibly, the richest 400 people in our country saw their wealth increase by $670 billion during the Bush presidency.

Having mismanaged the economy for 8 years while continually insisting that, “The fundamentals of our economy are strong,” the Bush Administration, six weeks before an election, wants the middle class of this country to bail out Wall Street to the tune of one trillion dollars. Meanwhile the wealthiest people, those who have benefited most from Bush’s policies and are in the best position to pay, are being asked for no sacrifice at all. This is absurd.

Any plan to clean up the mess on Wall Street must:

Ensure that middle income and working families are not the ones who are paying for this bailout by
Imposing a five-year, 10 percent surtax on income over $1 million a year for couples and over $500,000 for single taxpayers. That would raise more than $300 billion in revenue over five years;
Ensuring that assets purchased from banks are realistically discounted so companies are not rewarded for their risky behavior and taxpayers can recover the amount they paid for them; and
Requiring that taxpayers receive equity stakes in the bailed-out companies so that the taxpayers’ assumption of risk is rewarded when companies’ stock goes up.

Taken together these three provisions will substantially reduce the likelihood that this bailout will end up on the backs of average American taxpayers.

Include a major economic recovery package which puts Americans to work at decent wages. Among many other areas, we can create millions of jobs rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure and moving our country from fossil fuels to energy efficiency and sustainable energy. Further, we must protect our must vulnerable families from the very difficult times they are experiencing.

Repeal the disastrous de-regulatory legislation that facilitated this crisis.
End the danger posed by companies that are “too big too fail,” that is, companies whose failure would cause systemic harm to the U.S. economy. If a company is too big to fail, it is too big to exist. We need to determine which companies fall in this category and then break them up.
In closing, we believe it is appropriate to act quickly to address any systemic danger to our economy. But that does not mean that we need to give a blank check to the financial sector.

Sincerely,

Senator Bernie Sanders

Citizen Co-Signers (that's us!)

Urgent: Stop The Bush Bailout!

2008-09-22T09:36:00.000-07:00

The Bush administration is trying to ram this through in only 72 hours by claiming there will be dire consequences if we don't pass the bailout exactly as written. Once again they're using fear to scare Congress and the American people into submission. We have to stop them.

http://www.truemajority.org/NoBailout/switchboard.php

Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights

2008-09-22T07:50:00.000-07:00

The United States government recently bailed out some big Wall Street banks. Now it’s time to help consumers – people across the country who’ve been fleeced by predatory credit card practices during two decades of “anything goes” policy in Washington. While the large financial corporations on Wall Street are being bailed out of a mess that they created for themselves, millions of consumers on Main Street are still drowning in a sea of debt.

On July 31, 2008 the Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights, H.R. 5244, passed through the House Financial Services Committee despite vigorous opposition from the credit card industry. The industry is still fighting this bill, but we can pass it next week.

The entire House of Representatives must vote on this bill next week – before it adjourns for the year. You can help to make sure it does!

Please CALL your representatives today to ask them to vote FOR the Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights, H.R. 5244, without any amendments that would stall or weaken the bill.

As the New York Times said, “The Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights would help rein in some of the worst abuses.” Specifically, H.R. 5244 would:

• Stop unjustifiable interest rate increases on existing balances.

• End bait-and-switch contract clauses.

• Apply the consumer's payment proportionally between high and low rate balances.

• Stop "double cycle" billing, which requires consumers to pay interest on debts they've already paid off.

• Give the consumer a chance to set a fixed credit limit and avoid over the limit fees.

• Prohibit the granting of credit cards to consumers who are younger than 18 years-of-age.

Please take a moment out of your busy schedule - right now - to call your representative and tell them to support the Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights - without any amendments.

If you can’t call, then please personalize the letter below and insist that your Representative support legislation to stop the most predatory practices of credit card companies.
http://action.citizen.org/t/1153/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=25964

PRO-DEMOCRACY GROUPS CALL ON DEBATE COMMISSION TO MAKE SECRET CONTRACT PUBLIC

2008-09-18T06:57:00.000-07:00

For Immediate Release

September 18, 2008

Contact: George Farah (617-828-8296)

http://www.opendebates.org/makecontractpublic.html

Washington, D.C. – Ten pro-democracy groups – Open Debates, Common Cause, Fair Vote, Judicial Watch, Democracy Matters, Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting, Rock the Debates, Personal Democracy Forum, Reclaim Democracy, and Essential Information – call on the Commission on Presidential Debates to make public the secret debate contract negotiated by the Obama and McCain campaigns.

Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) of the McCain campaign and Representative Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) of the Obama campaign have negotiated a detailed contract that dictates the terms of the 2008 presidential debates, including who can participate and the structure of the debate formats. The Commission on Presidential Debates, a private corporation created by the Republican and Democratic parties, has agreed to implement the debate contract. In order to shield the major party candidates from criticism, the Commission on Presidential Debates has refused to release the debate contract to the public.

“In denying voters access to critical information about our most important political forums, the Commission on Presidential Debates is more concerned with the partisan interests of the two major party candidates than the democratic interests of the voting public,” said George Farah, Executive Director of Open Debates.

“In a sound democracy, it is vital that voters have full access to information, including the rules that govern influential presidential debates, in order to hold the candidates accountable and to make informed choices,” said Bob Edgar, President of Common Cause.

“The partisan, corporate-funded Commission on Presidential Debates should be replaced with a non-partisan, publicly-funded Citizens’ Debate Commission that will operate transparently and champion the public interest,” said Rob Richie, Executive Director of Fair Vote.

The Commission on Presidential Debates was created by and for the Republican and Democratic parties. In 1986, the Republican and Democratic National Committees ratified an agreement “to take over the presidential debates” from the nonpartisan League of Women Voters. Fifteen months later, then-Republican Party chair Frank Fahrenkopf and then-Democratic Party chair Paul Kirk incorporated the Commission on Presidential Debates. Fahrenkopf and Kirk still co-chair the Commission on Presidential Debates, and every four years it implements and conceals contracts jointly drafted by the Republican and Democratic nominees.

A copy of the 2004 debate contract negotiated by the Bush and Kerry campaigns is available at: http://www.opendebates.org/news/documents/debateagreement.pdf

Help Protect Idaho's Buffalo Gulch

2008-09-13T09:01:00.000-07:00

A cyanide gold mine proposed in Buffalo Gulch

A cyanide heap leach gold mine is proposed on public lands in Idaho's Buffalo Gulch. This area, administered for all Americans by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), lies in the South Fork Clearwater watershed.

A cyanide gold mine proposed where it's illegal to pollute
Both the South Fork Clearwater and Buffalo Gulch are listed as impaired 303(d) streams under the Clean Water Act. This means that Idaho Law and the EPA require that no further degradation occur in either of these drainages.

The mine threatens local drinking water and fisheries
Many local residents depend on Buffalo Gulch-fed springs and wells for their drinking water.

The project could negatively affect treaty rights and public recreation, as fishing in the South Fork Clearwater River is important both culturally and economically.

And since the completion of Dworshak Dam, which blocks native fish migrations between the Pacific Ocean and North Fork Clearwater River, the South Fork has gained added significance as a rare, local, anadromous fishery. Westslope cutthroat trout, Pacific lamprey, threatened bull trout, Chinook salmon, and steelhead inhabit the area’s waters.

TAKE ACTION
The BLM is now taking public comment on the mine proposal. Please write the BLM and tell them that pure water is more precious than gold.

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/676/t/572/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=249

Be a "Pollworker for Democracy"

2008-09-11T11:31:00.000-07:00

This year, you have an amazing opportunity to ensure a fair election, protect the right to vote, and get paid for doing so. How? By becoming a pollworker.

That's why CREDO Action is proud to sponsor the "Pollworkers for Democracy" project - a nonpartisan effort to get more people involved in protecting our elections - in order to support our democracy. We'll provide you with information to supplement your pollworker training, and also a system to report and track any problems on and before Election Day.

Your county still needs pollworkers for the November 4th general election. By signing up as a pollworker, you can support our democratic system...and get paid!

Click here to sign up to become a pollworker.

http://act.credoaction.com/event/events/index.html?id=&action_id=11&rc=dems

This is America. We don't jail journalists here.

2008-09-03T07:05:00.000-07:00

Jailing journalists is unacceptable in a democracy. But that's exactly what is happening at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn.

Award winning journalist and host of "Democracy Now" Amy Goodman was arrested by St. Paul police while covering a protest outside the Republican National Convention. Though clearly identified as press, Goodman was charged with "obstruction of a legal process and interference with a 'peace officer.'" Two of her producers were arrested for "suspicion of felony riot."

This video is upsetting, but you deserve to know what's really going on.

Goodman and her producers were released last night. (An AP photographer was also arrested and released). But the charges are still pending.

This story has been virtually ignored by the mainstream press. The cable channels are providing extensive coverage of events related to the Republican National Convention, but there has been a virtual news blackout on the arrest of Amy Goodman and the Democracy Now team.

Americans deserve to know that journalists are being jailed for trying to do their jobs. E-mail CNN President Jonathan Klein and NBC News President Steve Capus today (NBC News controls MSNBC) to demand coverage of this brutally important story.

http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/dont_arrest_journalists/?r=1376&id=796-834353-WjrLCJx

Safe Energy For the Gulf: Hold the Line on Fish-Killing Machines

2008-08-29T09:26:00.000-07:00

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals pose a threat to commercial and recreational fishing in the Gulf. Despite the fact that Gulf Governors have vetoed the development of any further open-rack vaporizer, or open-loop systems, which would run Gulf seawater through radiator-like racks, energy companies continue to try to gamble with our marine wildlife to increase their profits.

The TORP Bienville LNG terminal is currently seeking a permit to use 127 million gallons of Gulf water a day to vaporize imported natural gas. The drastic temperature change, and physical damage caused by the process would destroy billions of fish eggs and larvae by the day. While the terminal is proposed for 63 miles off the Alabama shore, it is close to critically important, marine wildlife reef habitat.

Alternatives to open-loop terminals exist and are supported by fisheries experts at the federal and state level throughout the Gulf. Take action today to tell the Coast Guard, the Department of Transportation, and Alabama Governor Bob Riley to allow only fish-friendly technology.

http://action.healthygulf.org/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=25392

Don't Buy Big Oil's Land Grab

2008-08-28T07:33:00.000-07:00

Did you know that oil companies are already sitting on 68 million acres of leases that they aren't even drilling? Which kind of makes you wonder: Why are Big Oil and its allies suddenly desperate to get their hands on the last few places that are still protected -- our natural treasures, wildlife refuges, and pristine coastlines? They wouldn't use the concerns caused by high gas prices as an excuse to grab it ALL, would they?

Big Oil and its allies would like you to think that more drilling will ease your pain at the pump, but that's not the truth.

The bottom line is this: More oil drilling will not lower gas prices or create energy independence - it will only make the world's richest oil companies richer.

Check out our map showing how much of our country Big Oil already has.

Average Americans are being squeezed by high energy prices, and the oil companies are taking advantage to push their long-term drilling agenda. They have been spreading a map full of lies though the Internet.

Help us counter their propaganda -- pass this map and the truth along to your friends and ask them to pass it along too.

http://www.sierraclub.org/bigoil/map.asp

Tell McDonalds to be a Leader and Not a Laggard!

2008-08-15T08:25:00.000-07:00

Mc Donald's is the biggest of the 11 Fast Food Junkies buying their paper packaging from Southern forests. We know that McDonald?s is in the process of completing their latest Corporate Social Responsibility report and we know that it will include new language about an environmental paper packaging policy.

What we don?t know is whether McDonald?s will step out as a corporate leader with a policy that supersizes their commitment to protecting forests and increasing the post-consumer recycled content of their packaging and packaging efficiencies like right-sizing and light-weighting.

We need to make sure that their commitment is truly sustainable and not just greenwashing. Tell McDonalds CEO Jim Skinner that Southern forests are too important to be wasted for fast food packaging!

http://dia.dogwoodalliance.org/da/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=25345&t=nwTemplate.dwt

Support the TRADE Act

2008-08-09T07:49:00.000-07:00

The Trade Reform, Accountability, Development and Employment (TRADE) Act, cosponsored by fair trade champions Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Rep. Mike Michaud (D-Maine), was introduced on June 4, 2008 with over 50 House and Senate original cosponsors! This landmark legislation sets forth in concrete, detailed terms a progressive vision for good trade agreements in the future and criteria to renegotiate existing failed pacts like NAFTA and the WTO.

Fifteen years of the NAFTA/WTO model has led to massive job loss, downward pressure on wages and the loss of nearly 300,000 family farms. It's given broad, expansive new rights to foreign corporations to challenge our environmental and public health standards and flooded the U.S. with unsafe imported food and products. And it has devastated developing nations, where millions of family farmers have been forced off their land, and where poverty, despair and desperation-driven mass migrations have grown.

The TRADE Act lays out in detail a new path forward for U.S. trade policy to achieve societal goals such as good jobs, safe food and promotion of basic human rights, healthy communities and environmental protection.

What you can do:
We now need as many representatives and senators as possible to publicly support this bill by signing on as cosponsors. Write your members of Congress now and urge them to cosponsor the TRADE Act!

To use the Global Trade Watch contact form, click here: http://action.citizen.org/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=24836

For more information:
Available here: http://www.citizen.org/trade/tradeact/

http://www.citizen.org/trade/tradeact/

Allow Testimony or Face Impeachment!

2008-08-08T06:54:00.000-07:00

Tell President Bush that he must allow executive branch officials to testify or he will face impeachment
On September 26, congressional oversight may be dead. The Constitution that has served our nation so well since 1789 may be hopelessly and forever diminished. Our federal government and, in turn, our nation may never be the same.

Those are the stakes.

In order for our government to function, we must have checks and balances. In order to prevent a president from assuming king-like powers and to ensure that all presidents are held accountable for their actions, Congress must have effective congressional oversight ability. And, of course, our presidents must respect that power.

George W. Bush does not.

It is time to put an end to this defiling of our Constitution. The U.S. House of Representatives has set September 26 as a target date for adjournment. By that time, Karl Rove, Harriet Miers, and Josh Bolten must comply with the congressional subpoenas they have been issued – and which a federal judge has ordered them to follow.

If they do not, then George W. Bush must be impeached and removed from office.

If he is not removed from office, Congress will have established a standard under which a president may deny Congress’s investigative power without penalty. That simply cannot happen.

Please take a moment to speak for your nation at this link:

salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2165/t/1027/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=25316

Do Not Pass Go. Go Directly to Pass223.com

2008-08-07T11:18:00.000-07:00

Do you have five minutes to help bring the U.S. Senate into the 21st century? Do you have a phone? Are you at your computer? (If you're reading this, you probably are.) Then we've got a favor to ask. The Senate is considering a bill -- S. 223 -- that would require senators to disclose their campaign contributions electronically, just like the House and presidential candidates have been doing for years. The Sunlight Foundation, CRP and other transparency advocates have been pushing hard to get this bill passed this session, and we now have more than 40 co-sponsors of the bill. We need your help to get it passed into law.

http://pass223.com/

Want Some Basic Human Dignity with that Burrito?

2008-08-03T08:45:00.000-07:00

The Nation Peter Rothberg on 07/29/2008 @ 12:48pm

In recent years, Taco Bell and Burger King have foolishly resisted efforts by activists to marginally raise the piece rate they pay tomato pickers only to eventually buckle under the pressure of well-deserved bad press. Chipotle Mexican Grill seems to have learned nothing from their lessons.

Although Chipotle, the expanding Colorado-based restaurant chain formerly owned by McDonald's, touts its fair treatment of animals and its locally-sourced organic avocados, its colorful, interactive website neglects any mention of the fair treatment of farm workers. While CEO Steve Ells boasts about his "Food With Integrity" brand, he has ignored countless letters and petitions from all over the country, asking for an extra penny per pound for his tomato pickers.

Migrant pickers typically work ten to twelve hour days, earning a piece-rate of about forty-five cents for each thirty-two pound bucket of tomatoes. Work is never guaranteed, there is no health care, and no overtime pay. The average annual income for a farm worker is $10,000.

Or take this snapshot of the average workday of a Florida tomato picker (with credit to the fine blog, The Pump Handle):

*4:30am: Wake-up. Prepare lunch in your trailer.
*5:00am: Walk to the parking lot or pick-up site to begin looking for work.
*6:30am: With luck, a contractor will choose you to work for him for the day. The job may be 10 to 100 miles away.
*7:30am: Arrive at the fields and begin weeding or waiting while the dew evaporates from the tomatoes. You are usually not paid for this time.
*9:00am: Begin picking tomatoes--filling buckets, hoisting them on your shoulder, running them 100 feet or more to the truck and throwing the bucket up into the truck. Work fast because you must pick 2 TONS of tomatoes in order to earn $50 today.
*Noon: Eat lunch as fast as you can, often with your hands soaked in pesticides. Return to work under the smoldering Florida sun.
*5:00pm: (sometimes later, depending on the season): Board bus to return to Immokalee.
Between 5:30 pm and 8:00 pm: Arrive in Immokalee and walk home.

(And the next day, get up and do it all again. Photos here)

Surely a company that took over $1 billion in annual sales last year can afford a modest raise request. Instead, Ells has tried to side-step the issue by looking to purchase tomatoes from places other than Florida.

Galvanizing the grassroots organizing by and for the Florida tomato pickers is the same group that led the successful fights against Taco Bell and Burger King -- the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), founded in 1993 as a "community-based worker organization" with members from diverse backgrounds, in low-wage agricultural jobs throughout Florida.

On Friday afternoon, August 8th, the CIW along with hundreds of members of United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) will be in Denver at Chipotle's corporate headquarters to demand that the restaurant chain work to ensure fairer wages and more humane working conditions for farmworkers. If you're in the Denver area, please join what should be a large and powerful action. if you're not, see what you can do to help the campaign, which has garnered the attention of Congress, with lawmakers earlier this year calling for the Government Accountabilty Office to launch an investigation into working conditions.

CIW's website is filled with details on the demonstration, sample letters to Steve Ells, and other ways that you can do something for some of the poorest and hardest working people in America, including urging Chipotle customers to print out this letter and hand it to the manager at your local Chipotle restaurant. The CIW has gone up against Goliath before and won. With dedication and solidarity, this fight can also be won.

Co-written and researched by Mica Schlosser.

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/actnow/340332/

14 Wolf Pups Executed in Alaska

2008-08-01T11:16:00.000-07:00

Soon after Alaska's Board of Game approved the killing of all wolves in an area near Cold Bay, state officials illegally killed 14 wolf pups after gunning down their mothers -- yet another grisly chapter in the Alaska’s out-of-control wolf slaughter.

Please make an emergency donation to help save the lives of Alaska’s wolves and fight the barbaric policies of the Board of Game.

Here’s what happened: State wildlife agency personnel staked out a known wolf denning site -- a practice that is illegal under Alaska law -- and, using helicopters, they gunned down 14 adult wolves from the air, part of an effort to boost caribou populations in Southwest Alaska.

When they landed, they found the 14 helpless pups in the nearby dens -- just weeks old -- and methodically shot each one in the head. 28 wolves gunned down in all.

Please donate now to help save Alaskan wolves from Alaska’s out-of-control Board of Game.

Alaskans are now moving to end the Board of Game’s barbaric aerial hunting of wolves through a ballot measure.

On August 26th voters can pass this ballot measure and ban this awful practice before another deadly season begins.

We are helping Alaskans for Wildlife, a coalition of local grassroots activists, hunters and citizens who secured the 55,000 signatures to put this measure on the ballot. Already, they have reached thousands of voters across the state with their hard-hitting mailings.

Please help us raise $80,000 by August 7th so that we can help Alaskans for Wildlife reach 125,000 voters with mailers like the one on the right -- and end barbaric aerial hunting.

We’re up against wealthy groups like Safari Club International who are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to defeat the ballot measure.

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has even signed off on a $400,000 state-funded propaganda campaign to justify the state’s barbaric wolf slaughter from the skies.

Your support is crucial to combat this million dollar campaign.

On August 26th, Alaskans can end the wolf slaughter from the skies. With your help, we can win for the wolves.

https://secure.defenders.org/site/Donation?ACTION=SHOW_DONATION_OPTIONS&CAMPAIGN_ID=6465&autologin=true&s_einterest=C4&s_Affiliate=C4akwolf_&s_src=4JY08WDCSAW&s_subsrc=4JY08WDCSAW_EJG08D1&JServSessionIdr010=wyrsxdup42.app25a

2008-07-16T19:39:00.000-07:00

TELL CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP TO PASS A STRONG TOY SAFETY BILL
Congressional Leadership needs to hear from you, instead of the industry, on the Product Safety Bill. As the two bodies decide the fate of the final bill, it’s a crucial time to make your voice heard.

http://www.uspirg.org/action/product-safety/toy-safety-bill?id4=ES

It was more than a year ago that we first began to see the reports about the millions of toys recalled for toxic lead and other hazards. The news was shocking, and we weren't alone in calling on Congress to take swift action to protect our kids.

But more than a year later -- despite the outcry, despite the clear need for reform -- Congress hasn't delivered a bill to make toys safer.

And you won't believe what's holding it up now: ExxonMobil, the world's richest oil company, is standing in the way. Why? The company wants to kill a provision that would ban toxic phthalates from plastic toys. ExxonMobil just happens to be one of the largest manufacturers of that chemical.

Unbelievable.

Please sign our letter to the congressional leadership. Tell them to stand up to ExxonMobil and deliver a toy safety bill that really protects our kids:

After 45 million children's products were pulled from store shelves in 2007, I can hardly believe that we're still waiting for Congress to act.

Earlier this year, both the House and Senate passed a version of a bill to improve toy safety. But now, as the final bill is being hammered out, ExxonMobil has joined forces with the toy industry and the chemical industry in an all out attempt to weaken this bill.

And with precious little time left to pass a strong bill -- Congress will recess in August -- ExxonMobil just might get its way. That is, unless we can keep the pressure on Congress to deliver the strong toy safety bill they've promised

Let Olympic Sponsors Know You Want Positive Change

2008-07-09T10:53:00.000-07:00

We are asking people all over the world to voice their concern to Olympic Sponsors over the Chinese government's continual support of atrocities in Burma.

Please send an email to the corporate Olympic Sponsors and ask them to use their leverage with the Chinese government to urge political change of their policy towards Burma. The Olympics should not be tainted. Let them know that if China's policy does not change than you are planning on boycotting all Olympic merchandise and purchasing of their merchandise during the Oylmpics.

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1189/t/5102/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=23631

League of Women Voters ~ Stand Up and Fight for Civil Liberties

2008-07-07T07:55:00.000-07:00

Before Congress left for the Independence Day recess, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 6304, the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, a bill that would seriously threaten the civil liberties of all Americans. The Senate is poised to act on this same bill when it returns from recess on July 8.

We need you to encourage your Senators to keep protecting civil liberties by opposing legislation that would authorize warrantless wiretapping of American citizens without judicial protections and would grant immunity to telecommunications companies for possible illegal eavesdropping!

Tell your Senators to oppose H.R. 6304 and limit the ability of government agencies to obtain information about Americans without the appropriate judicial constraints. While the intelligence community needs the authority to track terrorists abroad, this can and should be done without threatening our civil liberties.

TAKE ACTION

1. Contact your Senator now, by phone or by email, and tell them to stand up for civil liberties and vote against H.R. 6304. Tell them that warrantless wiretapping of Americans is unacceptable in a democracy. Remind your Senators that retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies is wrong. To contact your Senator by email simply enter your zip code in the box above.

2. Send this alert to other concerned citizens - your grassroots network, your friends and coworkers. Encourage them to contact their Senators today!

BACKGROUND

Learn more about what the League has done to protect civil liberties.

Sign up to receive Action Alerts directly by email. Don't miss an opportunity to take action! It's easy to sign up and the League will never share your email with others: http://takeaction.lwv.org/lwv/mlm/signup/.

http://capwiz.com/lwv/issues/alert/?alertid=11573871&type=CO

Exxpose Exxon

2008-06-26T10:09:00.000-07:00

As the world's largest private oil company, ExxonMobil has the power to direct the energy industry and policy makers toward a cleaner, more secure energy future. Instead, it is using its wealth and power to take America backwards.

ExxonSecrets.org has been tracking ExxonMobil's funding of front groups and junk science for close to a decade.

Find out what you can do to counter ExxonMobil's deliberate and deadly obfuscation to prolong their obscene profitmaking.

http://www.exxposeexxon.com/

When Words Fail

2008-06-24T09:29:00.000-07:00

Climate change activists have chosen a magic number

by Bill McKibben
Published in the July/August 2008 issue of Orion magazine

I ALMOST NEVER write about writing—in my aesthetic, the writing should disappear, the thought linger. But the longer I’ve spent working on global warming—the greatest challenge humans have ever faced—the more I’ve come to see it as essentially a literary problem. A technological and scientific challenge, yes; an economic quandary, yes; a political dilemma, surely. But centrally? A crisis in metaphor, in analogy, in understanding. We haven’t come up with words big enough to communicate the magnitude of what we’re doing. How do you say: the world you know today, the world you were born into, the world that has remained essentially the same for all of human civilization, that has birthed every play and poem and novel and essay, every painting and photograph, every invention and economy, every spiritual system (and every turn of phrase) is about to be . . . something so different? Somehow “global warming” barely hints at it. The same goes for any of the other locutions, including “climate chaos.” And if we do come up with adequate words in one culture, they won’t necessarily translate into all the other languages whose speakers must collaborate to somehow solve this problem.

I’ve done my best, and probably better than some. My first book, The End of Nature, has been published in twenty-four languages, and the essential idea embodied in the title probably came through in most of them. It wasn’t enough, though, nor were any of the other such phrases (like “boiling point” or “climate chaos") that more skillful authors have used since. So in recent years I’ve found myself grasping, trying to strip the language down further, make it communicate more. This year I find myself playing with numbers.

When the Northwest Passage opened amid the great Arctic melt last summer, many scientists were stunned. James Hansen, our greatest climatologist, was already at work on a paper that would try, for the first time, to assign a real number to global warming, a target that the world could aim at. No more vague plans to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, or keep it from doubling, or slow the rate of growth—he understood that there was already enough evidence from the planet’s feedback systems, and from the quickly accumulating data about the paleoclimate, to draw a bright line.

In a PowerPoint presentation he gave at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco last December, he named a number: 350 parts per million carbon dioxide. That, he said, was the absolute upper bound of anything like safety—above it and the planet would be unraveling. Is unraveling, because we’re already at 385 parts per million. And so it’s a daring number, a politically unwelcome one. It means, in shorthand, that this generation of people—politicians especially—can’t pass the problem down to their successors. We’re like patients who’ve been to the doctor and found out that our cholesterol is too high. We’re in the danger zone. Time to cut back now, and hope that we do it fast enough so we don’t have a stroke in the meantime. So that Greenland doesn’t melt in the meantime and raise the ocean twenty-five feet.

For me, the number was a revelation. With a few friends I’d been trying to figure out how to launch a global grassroots climate campaign—a follow-up to the successful Step It Up effort that organized fourteen hundred demonstrations across the U.S. one day last spring and put the demand for an 80 percent cut in America’s carbon emissions at the center of the political debate. We need to apply even more pressure, and to do it on a global scale—it is, after all, global warming. But my friends and I were having a terrible time seeing how to frame this next effort. For one thing, the 180 or so countries that will negotiate a new international treaty over the next eighteen months are pretty much beyond the reach of effective lobbying—we can maybe influence the upcoming American election, but the one in Kenya? In Guatemala? In China? And for another, everyone insists on speaking those different languages. A Babel, this world.

But a number works. And this is a good one. Arcane, yes—parts per million CO2 in the atmosphere. But at least it means the same thing in every tongue, and it even bridges the gap between English and metric. And so we secured the all-important URL: 350.org. (Easier said than done.) And we settled on our mission: To tattoo that number into every human brain. To make every person on Planet Earth aware of it, in the same way that most of them know the length of a soccer field (even though they call it a football pitch or a voetbal gebied). If we are able to make that happen, then the negotiations now under way, and due to conclude in Copenhagen in December of 2009, will be pulled as if by a kind of rough and opaque magic toward that goal. It will become the definition of success or of failure. It will set the climate for talking about climate.

So the literary challenge—and the challenge for artists and musicians and everyone else—is how to take a mere number and invest it with meaning. How to make people understand that it means some kind of stability. Not immunity—we’re well past that juncture, and even Hansen says the number is at best the upper bound of safety, but still. Some kind of future. Some kind of hope. That it means kids able to eat enough food, that it means snowcaps on mountains, that it means coral reefs, that it means, you know, penguins. For now 350 is absolutely inert. It means nothing, comes with no associations. But our goal is to fill it up with overtones and shades and flavors. The weekend before we officially launched the campaign, for instance, 350 people on bicycles rode around the center of Salt Lake City. That earned a story in the paper and educated some people about carbon dioxide—but it also started to tint 350 with images of bicycles and the outdoors and good health and pleasure. We need 350 churches ringing their bells 350 times; we need 350 spray-painted across the face of shrinking glaciers (in organic paint!); we need a stack of 350 watermelons on opening day at your farmers’ market; we need songs and videos; we need temporary tattoos for foreheads. We may need 350 people lining up to get arrested in front of a coal train.

It makes sense that we need a number, not a word. All our words come from the old world. They descend from the time before. Their associations have congealed. But the need to communicate has never been greater. We need to draw a line in the sand. Say it out loud: 350. Do everything you can.

Restore Pesticide Reporting at National Agricultural Statistics Service

2008-06-11T04:45:00.000-07:00

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on May 21st that it plans to cut its Pesticide Reporting at National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). The program tracked national pesticide use and proved critical for consumer groups, scientists, farmers and environmental groups to monitor pesticide trends and impacts.
NASS' elimination of the Agricultural Chemical Use Database will have a major impact on consumers' Right to Know about pesticide residues and food safety.
Pesticide Reporting has become particularly important in the last ten years since Genetically Engineered Crops have become widely used and pesticide use has actually increased!
Please contact USDA Secretary Ed Schafer and your Congressperson today!

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/642/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=24757

Take action on forced labour and exploitation of domestic workers in the Philippines

2008-06-09T08:26:00.000-07:00

Domestic workers in the Philippines, the vast majority of whom are women and girls, are not given the same protections as other workers under labour laws and work in other people's homes hidden from public view. This leaves them particularly vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, and many are the victims of forced labour. Many domestic workers migrate from rural areas to the cities and are vulnerable to trafficking, as well as to debt bondage.

The Domestic Workers Bill, known popularly as the Batas Kasambahay, was first filed in 1995 and affords key protections to all domestic workers. For several years, the passage of the Batas Kasambahay has been delayed by Presidential impeachment proceedings and various other postponements.

The enactment of the Batas Kasambahay would be a vital step forwards in ensuring that domestic workers in the Philippines are not subject to abuse, exploitation and forced labour. Anti-Slavery International urges the Philippines Government to prioritise this legislation and ensure that it passes without further delay.

http://www.antislavery.org/homepage/campaign/phillippines.htm

Why won't America join the movement to ban cluster munitions?

2008-06-05T06:07:00.000-07:00

Over half the world's governments agreed last week to a ban on cluster munitions. But not the United States. Our government not only skipped the deliberations, but continues to defend its policy of keeping and using these deadly weapons.

Why won't America join the movement to ban cluster munitions? Our executive director Sarah Holewinski sat down with a premier expert to find out.Marc Garlasco is senior military analyst at Human Rights Watch and a board member of CIVIC. He was instrumental in getting the ban passed and was there at its signing.

Sarah: The US says it can't support the Convention on Cluster Munitions because its military then couldn't help countries devastated by tsunamis and earthquakes. Is this true?

Marc: This is circular reasoning at its best. First of all, what humanitarian operation uses cluster munitions? The real issue is US ships have cluster munitions on them, and the US was worried their allies who did sign the Convention could no longer work with it because of that. But this is a non-issue. No humanitarian or peacekeeping operation has ever been allowed because of weapons.

Take the landmine ban treaty, for example. The US didn't sign that and yet has worked together with allies like the UK (who did sign it) for years. What's more, this new Convention allows for those kinds of partnerships, whether cluster munitions are on ships or planes, so this is a non-issue.

Sarah: But the US says it needs cluster munitions to defend the country. Do we really need them?

Marc: We haven't used them since 2003, so let's just say they're obviously not indispensable when fighting a war. There are plenty of other weapons that can defend the country and not indiscriminately kill and maim civilians, who represent the vast majority of victims.

Sarah: The US says it won't "unilaterally get rid of" clusters.

Marc: The Cluster Munitions Conventions is nowhere near a unilateral effort. There are 111 countries who have agreed to destroy their stockpiles and not use these horrible weapons again, including key NATO allies like the UK, Germany, France, and Canada. If they can do it, so can the United States.

Sarah: So, as a nation, we're really behind the 8-ball here, aren't we?

Marc: Couldn't have said it better myself.
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We need your help to limit one of the world's most indiscriminate and deadly weapons - cluster bombs.

US-made cluster bombs have been used in many of the world's deadliest conflicts, including Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the former Yugoslavia. Though intended for the battlefield, these weapons frequently contaminate areas where civilians live, causing death and injury to innocent men, women, and far too many children. Even when conflicts end, unexploded cluster "duds" are often left behind, posing a constant threat for years to come.

TAKE ACTION NOW! Use the form below to tell your Senators and Representatives to co-sponsor the Cluster Munitions Joint Resolution that presses the United States Government to sign on to the Cluster Munitions Convention.

Despite the seriousness of this problem, the United States did not participate in the Cluster Munitions Convention and refuses to sign the treaty. Several Senators including Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Diane Feinstein (D-CA), and Rep. James P. McGovern (D-MA) have drafted a "joint resolution" which calls on the American government to sign the Convention and prioritize the safety of men, women and children in conflict zones. Never doubt, your letters make a big difference.

Read the full text of the Cluster Munitions Convenition.
Image courtesy of the BBC.

Here are the Congress members who've already agreed to co-sponsor this important action. They do not need letters because they're already on board!

Sen Sanders, Bernard [VT]
Sen Cardin, Benjamin [MD]
Sen Feingold, Russ [WI]
Sen Brown, Sherrod [OH]
Sen Durbin, Dick [IL]

http://action.civicworldwide.org/t/1538/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=7109