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On April 26, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed CISPA – the Cybersecurity Information Sharing and Protection Act, H.R. 3523 – by a vote of 248-168. This week, the Senate may vote on CISPA-like bills (Lieberman-Collins S.2105 or McCain S.2151).
CISPA gives the government, including military spy agencies like the National Security Agency (NSA), virtually unlimited powers to capture our personal information — medical records, private emails, financial information — all without a warrant or proper oversight.
Civil liberties groups and progressives unanimously opposed the bill, as did Ron Paul. President Obama warned the House that he will veto the bill because it does not protect our privacy, but they ignored his warnings.
Tell your Senators to protect your privacy from Big Brother and oppose CISPA.
Here’s the link to the petition at democrats.com, http://www.democrats.com/stop-big-brother-stop-cispa
Keep it real.
-Cara
Support the People’s Revolution in Egypt
This is an awesome Change.org campaign I fully support. Let’s see if a true revolution is still possible. I say yes!
Target:
Ambassador Sameh Shoukry (السفير سامح شكري), President Hosni Mubarak (الرئيس حسني مبارك), General Habib Ibrahim El Adly (حبيب ابراهيم العادلي), and Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq (احمد محمد شفيق)
Started by: The January 25 Movement حركة يناير ٢٥
On January 25, we the people of Egypt took to the streets to demand our rights! We are not unified by one party, class or religion: we are not Muslim and we are not Christian, we are not rich and we are not poor – we are the multifaceted people of Egypt – Muslims and Christian’s and Egyptians of all classes.
We demand our civil, political and human rights.
We demand the immediate resignation of the president and parliament.
We demand a new constitution.
We demand free and fair elections.
We demand the complete and total release of all political prisoners and detainees.
We demand the return of open access to all communication networks.
We demand that the police stop shooting at us, stop their brutality and stop their attacks on journalists.
We are the January 25 movement, and we are not going to stop until our demands are met! We call on Egyptians and internationals to lend a hand and help us win by signing this petition, which will be sent to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, officials in the interior and foreign ministries, and Egyptian embassies all over the world.
Winning this campaign depends on our ability to call on thousands of supporters like you. After signing this petition, please follow us on Facebook – just click ‘Like’ at the top of the page.
في 25 يناير، شعب مصرأخذ للشوارع للمطالبة بحقوقه!
نحن لا نمثل طرف واحد، أو طبقة أو دين : نحن لسنا المسلمين فقط أوالمسيحيين فقط، ونحن لسنا الأغنياء. نحن الشعب بأكمله وبأطرافه المتعددة — المسلمين والمسيحيين والمصريين من جميع الطبقات.
نحن نطالب بحقوقنا المدنية والسياسية والإنسانية.
ونحن نطالب بتغيير في النظام كامل برمته — بما في ذلك إسقاط الرئيس والبرلمان.
ونحن نطالب بوضع دستور جديد.
ونحن نطالب بانتخابات حرة ونزيهة.
إننا نطالب بالإفراج الكامل والشامل عن جميع السجناء والمعتقلين السياسيين
و نطالب بارجاع فتح الاتصال لجميع شبكات الاتصالات والإنترنت
ونطالب الشرطة وقف اعتداءاتها على الصحفيين.
ونحن نطالب بأن الشرطة توقف إطلاق النارعلى المواطنين واستخدام العنف ضد المتظاهرين
نحن حركة 25 يناير، ونحن لن تتوقف حتى تتحقق مطالبنا!
ندعو المصريين ومؤيدينا عالميا لدعمنا بتوقيع هذه العريضة، والتي سوف يتم إرسالها إلى الرئيس المصري حسني مبارك ومسؤولين في وزارتي الداخلية والخارجية ، والسفارات المصرية في جميع أنحاء العالم.
الإنتصار في هذه الحملة يعتمد على قدرتنا على دعوة الآلاف من المؤيديين مثلك. بعد التوقيع على هذه العريضة، يرجى المتابعةعلى فيس بوك — انقر على كلمة ليك في الجزء العلوي من الصفحة
ساند ثورة الشعب في مصر
السلام عليكم
في 25 يناير، شعب مصرأخذ للشوارع للمطالبة بحقوقه!
نحن لا نمثل طرف واحد، أو طبقة أو دين : نحن لسنا المسلمين فقط أوالمسيحيين فقط، ونحن لسنا الأغنياء. نحن الشعب بأكمله وبأطرافه المتعددة — المسلمين والمسيحيين والمصريين من جميع الطبقات.
نحن نطالب بحقوقنا المدنية والسياسية والإنسانية.
ونحن نطالب بتغيير في النظام كامل برمته — بما في ذلك إسقاط الرئيس والبرلمان.
ونحن نطالب بوضع دستور جديد.
ونحن نطالب بانتخابات حرة ونزيهة.
إننا نطالب بالإفراج الكامل والشامل عن جميع السجناء والمعتقلين السياسيين
و نطالب بارجاع فتح الاتصال لجميع شبكات الاتصالات والإنترنت
ونطالب الشرطة وقف اعتداءاتها على الصحفيين.
ونحن نطالب بأن الشرطة توقف إطلاق النارعلى المواطنين واستخدام العنف ضد المتظاهرين
نحن حركة 25 يناير، ونحن لن تتوقف حتى تتحقق مطالبنا!
On January 25, we the people of Egypt took to the streets to demand our rights!
We are not unified by one party, class or religion: we are not Muslim and we are not Christian, we are not rich and we are not poor – we are the multifaceted people of Egypt – Muslims and Christan’s and Egyptians of all classes.
We demand our civil, political and human rights.
We demand a change in the entire regime – including the overthrow of the president and parliament.
We demand a new constitution.
We demand free and fair elections.
We demand the complete and total release of all political prisoners and detainees
We demand the return of open access to all communication networks.
We demand that the police stop shooting at us, stop their brutality and stop their attacks on journalists.
We are the January 25 movement, and we are not going to stop until our demands are met!
-Cara
In describing his experience producing “Countdown to Zero“, Lawrence Bender says,
“Having produced An Inconvenient Truth, I witnessed the power of a movie to educate and inspire people. We need to make this movie a phenomenal success so we can engage the public in a big way and bring this issue to the top of the political agenda.”
Here’s the Countdown to Zero site where you can find out where the film is playing. Also, check out the Global Zero site to join the campaign…sign the declaration.
These are a few simple ways to do something forward. Why not?
-Cara
This particular post is New York City Centric, so if your living in the Big Apple or know people who are, please sign or forward this to them as soon as possible…
Hello My Fellow New Yorkers,
The MTA is at it again. On Wednesday, they announced yet another round of fare hikes, including a plan to limit the number of rides on “unlimited” monthly MetroCards and jack up their price to almost $100.
Enough is enough. Transit riders aren’t ATMs, and endless fare hikes can’t be the answer to keeping our subways and buses moving. We need the politicians and the MTA to come up with a real plan for investing in public transportation, and keeping it reliable and affordable.
The first step is to show them New Yorkers won’t take this sitting down. I just signed the Working Families Party’s petition against the latest fare hikes. Will you join me? Just go to:
http://action.workingfamiliesparty.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=2155&tag=MTA710
Stop this madness!!!
Cara
[Per: Working Families Party]
An Iranian woman in Brussels protesting the inhumane practice of death by stoning. Photograph: Thierry Roge/Reuters
I just signed this AVAAZ.org petitition…
Last week a massive global outcry stopped an Iranian woman, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, from being stoned to death. But Sakineh still faces hanging, and today, fifteen more people await execution by stoning — people are buried up to their necks and large rocks are hurled at their heads.
Sakineh’s brave children’s international campaign shows that worldwide condemnation works. Let’s turn this family’s desperate appeal into a movement that ends stoning for good – sign the petition and send to everyone.
You will send this message to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the leaders of Iran:
We call on you to finally put an end to capital punishment by stoning and to reverse the unjust judgment in the case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani.
Stop stoning, save Sakineh!
15 people are on death row awaiting death by stoning in Iran, but yesterday a woman was saved from this brutal killing by a massive international campaign. Global voices of condemnation saved her from stoning. Now I just signed an urgent petition to the Iranian government to put an end this sickening brutality once and for all and I thought you would want to join me.
http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_stoning/98.php?CLICKTF
The partial reprieve of Sakineh, triggered by the call from her children for international pressure to save her life, has shown that if enough of us come together and voice our horror, we may be able to save her life, and stop stoning once and for all. Sign the urgent petition now and send it onto everyone you know — let’s end this cruel slaughter NOW!
http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_stoning/98.php?CLICKTF
Sakineh was convicted of adultery, like all the other 12 women and one of the men awaiting stoning. But her children and lawyer say she is innocent and that she did not get a fair trial — they state her confession was forced from her and, speaking only Azerbaijani, she did not understand what was being asked of her in court.
Despite Iran’s signing of a UN convention that requires the death penalty only be used for the “most serious crimes” and despite the Iranian Parliament passing a law banning stoning last year, stoning for adultery continues.
Sakineh’s lawyer says the Iranian government “is afraid of Iranian public reaction and international attention” to the stoning cases. And after Turkey and Britain’s Foreign Ministers spoke out against Sakineh’s sentence, it was suspended.
Sakineh’s brave children are leading the international campaign to save their mother and stop stoning. Massive international condemnation now could finally stop this sickening punishment. Let’s join together today across the world to end this brutality. Sign the petition to save Sakineh and end stoning here:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_stoning/98.php?CLICKTF
In hope and determination,
Alice, David, Milena, Ben and the whole Avaaz team
SOURCES:
Iranians still facing death by stoning despite ‘reprieve’, The Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/08/iran-death-stoning-adultery
Britain condemns planned Iran stoning as ‘medieval’, AFP:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hjVdkvkzicGeInqw2R10rCKrqs3A
The more people join this campaign, the more powerful our call will be to save her life — please tell everyone YOU CAN.
536,222 have signed the petition at the time I did. Help get to number to 600,000.
-Cara
Let’s use this Democracy we are so blessed to have. It will work if you work! Sign this petition that Care2.com hosts, urging the U.S. Senate to pass strong legislation that will lift this $75 “chump change” million dollar cap, and make BP and other multi-billion dollar polluters responsible for the damages their disasters have on our communities, environment and shared resources. Stand up and be counted.
Target: U.S. Senate
Sponsored by: Food and Water Watch
Fishing boats are docked, seafood prices are skyrocketing and oil is still washing up on the shores throughout the Gulf of Mexico. We may not know the full impact of the BP oil rig explosion, yet one thing is clear: the oil spill is BP’s fault and they should pay for the harm they’re causing.
The current law puts a $75 million cap on how much an oil company has to pay in the event of a disaster. Unfortunately, the fishing communities, restaurant owners, tourism industry and other individuals affected by the oil spill have already lost more.
Urge the U.S. Senate to pass strong legislation that will lift this cap, and make BP and other multi-billion dollar polluters responsible for the damages their disasters have on our communities, environment and shared resources.
It’s time to bring electric cars to the forefront, solar panels, wind power, water power…
-Cara
Here is another Care2.org petition. This one is about saving bears in Russia! Please take a second to read about this important issue, and join me in signing the petition. They are trying to reach 50000 signatures – please sign here: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/534/084/459
Target: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
Sponsored by: International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)
During Russia’s annual bear hunt, hibernating mother bears are lured out of their dens by dogs to be shot and killed, leaving their infant cubs to freeze or starve to death. Each year, den hunting leaves up to 4,000 cubs motherless. Some of these homeless cubs end up as pets to local villagers, while others are taken as cruel props for entertainment or to be eaten in restaurants. Most are abandoned and left to die.
You can give these tiny bundles of fur a second chance at life. Please urge the Russian Prime Minister to ban the cruel practice of den-hunting.
It is one thing to hunt bears in the summer, but it is cruel to wake them and kill them during hibernation. It is just as disgusting as hunting wolves from the air.
Please ban the practice of den-hunting of bears in all of Russia.Den hunting — waking hibernating bears, driving them out of their dens and then shooting the frightened and confused animals — is not only cruel to the bears shot, but also to the orphaned cubs left behind.
Den hunting kills thousands of bears each year and orphans many thousands more. In some areas of Russia, and in Western and Eastern Europe, brown bears are already extinct. The bears being hunted in Russia are from the last healthy population in the world.
Here is the petition, http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/534/084/459
Thank you for your consideration of ending this cruel practice.
-Cara
Alright people this Care2.com petition needs some more people to sign, let’s make it happen.
Here’s what’s it about,
Target: National Automobile Dealers Association Director
Sponsored by: Union of Concerned Scientists
In early April the Obama White House announced a strong final rule for national fuel economy standards for vehicles. The new rule would help cut global warming pollution, reduce America’s oil consumption, and save consumers billions of dollars at the gas pump.
But now the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) is suing to block the new fuel standards and keep cleaner cars off our roads.
Take action and tell your state’s National Automobile Dealer’s Association director that American drivers want cleaner cars, not obstructionist lawsuits.
Here is what the letter says that they send off to the NADA Director…
Dear NADA Director,
As both a potential customer and a concerned citizen of our state, I am writing to express my profound disappointment that the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) has decided to use its lawyers and lobbyists to try to keep cleaner cars away from American drivers.
Today’s autos emit hundreds of thousands of tons of smog-forming and cancer-causing emissions every year. In fact, only four nations emit more global warming pollution than U.S. autos do alone! The new national clean car standards will ensure that the cars, pickups, and SUVs we find on your lot maximize today’s technology to save gasoline and minimize hazardous emissions. The auto industry and union support this effort.
Yet NADA lawyers and lobbyists seem determined to turn back the clock and deny me the clean car choices I want. You litigate to stop progress toward implementing clean car standards that can protect the air we breathe and lobby to block the government’s ability to rein in global warming pollution from cars.
[Your comment inserted here]
As a state director for NADA, you are culpable for this irresponsible stance, and I will be letting all of my friends and colleagues know this. I hope, instead, to be able to tell them that you have stood up for drivers in our state and demanded that NADA end all legal and lobbying efforts to delay or defeat clean car standards.
I look forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
[Your name here]
I want my electric car!
-Cara
This week the New York State Senate has voted against marriage equality for same-sex couples. I think the majority of constituents were not expecting the vote to turn out this way. Human Rights Campaign quickly put together this petition to elected Senate officials.
Sign this petition so New York leaders can hear your voices
Sign this petition – and make sure the New York leaders who supported this bill know they did the right thing.
HRC will deliver these petitions to New York’s governor, state Senators who supported the bill, and leaders who have championed it from the beginning. The petition reads:
“I’m outraged that marriage equality did not pass in New York, but I’m not going to stop fighting until marriage equality is the law of the land, in New York and across the country. I thank New York’s leaders who fought for this bill.
Listen, am I of the gay persuasion? Sure, who isn’t a little bit really. ;-] Do I believe in the actual institution of marriage? Yes, as far as the business end is concerned. I mean the part where is you receive the same fresh benefits as “heterosexuals” do from the that government of the people, by the people, for the people.
The emotional, spiritual side of a marriage I think you can have without an official certificate of marriage. This is a no brainer. You may call the commitment ceremony anything you want government, just give everyone the same benefits.
Fair is fair.
-Cara
My Mom in Miami Pregnant With Me
Here is a Care2 petition that targets the U.S. Congress and is sponsored by the SEIU.
Through the process known as “gender rating,” insurers can charge women higher premiums. This process is not only discriminatory, it is illegal in 10 states! On top of pricing disparities, insurance companies have found other ways to make money at the expense of American women. For example, many insurers refuse to cover “elective” procedures… like giving birth! Others consider domestic violence and rape victims to have a “pre-existing condition” and deny them coverage. The list goes on, but the trend is crystal clear. These are not isolated incidents but policies put in place by the insurance companies to maximize profits.
When it comes to health care, women in America deserve to be protected from these outrageous policies! Sign the petition to Congress urging them pass a health insurance reform bill that forbids insurance companies from discriminating against women.
————————
Are you serious??? I mean that is crazy. I know plenty of men who work in the blue collar field that get damaged much more than me on the day to day, and they do not pay more than the rest. These insurance companies make enough money on the people paying in who never get sick, they do not need to hike up the prices for women, for what reason because we are the ones birthing these little monsters trying to make an extra buck. Do these people not have mothers…don’t women pay enough to the world as it is? I mean my mom certainly has! :]
It is like how these car rental places, Hertz for example, charge more for the car insurance to people who reside in Brooklyn, than for those who live in Manhattan. This is based on statistics that show a higher accident rate for drivers in Brooklyn. I mean really? If Brooklyn was a race Hertz would be a racist. I said it.
If these health insurance companies are going to be anti-chic. then I am not down. If you are a woman or care about at least one woman in your realm please send an email (or call/write your local congress representative and tell them) and let Congress know that this is not cool.
-Cara
I forget sometimes how important buying fair trade is. I don’t want small children working, picking my cocoa beans to survive, and possibly being abused at the same time. I want kids to be kids, to play, laugh and just be. I want a responsible world where people who have the power to make a huge difference do just that. We have the power to, in astronomical numbers, change how companies operate in this world. We can support fair trade products and if they don’t carry them in your local store, ask them to. We live in a world where distributors can get you anything you’d like. It is not much more money to buy fair trade. I would rather pay more and buy fair trade chocolate than to pay a cheaper price to support a company that allows families to not receive a fair wage (i.e. – contributing to the poverty of cocoa farmers) and where children have to work for a living instead of just living.
You can take a minute to take action by sending a letter through Green America to Todd Stitzer, CEO of Cadbury, http://www.greenamericatoday.org/takeaction/cadbury/. Here is a bit from Green America about what is going on with Todd and Cadbury.
England’s leading chocolate bar, Cadbury Dairy Milk, has announced plans to begin using Fair Trade cocoa in summer 2009. The significance of this fantastic news is that Cadbury is the first major chocolate brand to go Fair Trade with one of its main product lines, one of the goals Green America has been striving towards. Cadbury’s announcement proves what Green America has been saying for years: it is viable for a major chocolate bar to go Fair Trade without passing a significant cost increase to consumers. Congratulations on this important victory to all of you who have taken action by buying a Fair Trade Certified™ chocolate bar or writing a letter to bring us to this moment!
The deal, which will bring the Fair Trade label to 15% of the chocolate sold in England, is welcomed by Green America and our allies on both sides of the Atlantic. Increasing the amount of chocolate sold on the Fair Trade market is an important step to improve the lives of farmers around the world.
That doesn’t mean that Cadbury is now a model of sustainability. Here in the US, Cadbury’s chocolates are not Fair Trade Certified™.
Learn more about Cadbury from Green America’s Responsible Shopper.
By contrast, Green Business Network™ members in the confectionery industry like Sweet Earth Chocolates, Equal Exchange, Alter Eco, and Divine have been pioneering Fair Trade and sustainable practices for decades, and are 100% Fair Trade.
As we all know, it is critical to write companies to pressure them to improve their performance on human rights and the environment. But it is just as important to thank companies when they make a change for the better, so that company executives can bring an outpouring of positive feedback to their boards, shareholders, and employees to sustain their new, responsible practices and promote more change.
Please join Green America and Fair Trade advocacy organizations around the world in generating as many letters as possible to:
* congratulate Cadbury on the Fair Trade certification of their Dairy Milk bar in the UK
* ask Cadbury, Hershey (Cadbury’s US manufacturer) and Green and Black’s Organic (owned by Cadbury) to expand their commitment to Fair Trade in the United States by introducing more Fair Trade Certified products.
Then, commit to seeking out Fair Trade chocolate for special occasions, such as Easter eggs from Green Business leaders like Sweet Earth Organic and Divine Chocolate, instead of buying Cadbury’s Crème Egg.
Here is the form letter below. You may alter it to say what you want as well. This is the link where you are able to send and alter said letter.
Subject: Thank you for your fair trade commitment!
Dear Todd Stitzer, CEO, Cadbury:
As a conscious consumer and as a member of Green America, I would like to congratulate Cadbury on your plans to earn Fair Trade certification for the Dairy Milk bar in the United Kingdom. Thanks to your company for taking the leadership role among major chocolate brands in earning Fair Trade certification for an iconic chocolate bar with wide distribution and broad public recognition.
Through your leadership, Cadbury will transform the lives of cocoa farmers and their families, while contributing to a higher standard for ethical sourcing among major chocolate brands. Grassroots activists have been pressing major chocolate brands for years to become Fair Trade Certified. I regularly purchase chocolate from companies that offer Fair Trade Certified products in the United States because with each pound of Fair Trade cocoa purchased a fair deal is made with small-scale farmers in Ghana and other cocoa-producing countries. I am appalled at the existence of abusive child labor on cocoa farms in West Africa and do not want to buy chocolate picked by one of the hundreds of thousands of children working under “the worst forms of child labor,” as the US State Department reported. I choose to support companies that source Fair Trade because I believe that farmers should earn a price for their cocoa that allows them to meet their basic needs and have the right to participate in democratic organizations to decide the use of community development funds. Cadbury’s Fair Trade certification is a significant leap forward in resolving these issues and is a landmark for corporate social responsibility.
I look forward to the day that I will be able to buy Fair Trade Certified products from Cadbury in the United States. I am pleased that Cadbury Green and Black’s Organic has one Fair Trade bar and I encourage Cadbury to work with Hershey as your US licensee to extend Fair Trade certification to your entire range of Cadbury and Green & Black’s products.
Families in my community seek out Fair Trade Certified chocolate for special occasions like Easter. Expanding Cadbury’s commitment to Fair Trade in the United States by introducing more Fair Trade Certified products, such as Cadbury Creme Easter Eggs, Mini Eggs, Dairy Milk, and multiple types of Green and Black’s bars would give families in my community a reason to purchase more of Cadbury’s products.
I hope that Cadbury will join with communities like mine across the US to denounce forced and child labor, support small farmers and expand the selection of Fair Trade Certified products available in the United States.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Your City and State
I make the commitment to only buy fair trade, organic chocolate.
I said it!
-Cara
Green Americans and allies have been calling on the federal government for years to stop destructive mountaintop removal mining practices. Thanks to the thousands of people who have spoken up, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now taking a stronger stance on permits for this destructive form of mining. The EPA recently reviewed 79 permits for mountain top removal operations submitted by the Army Corps of Engineers and found that all of them would likely violate the Clean Water Act.
The permits are now being revised by the Army Corps of Engineers for re-submission. Coal companies are going to be using all their influence to get these permits approved. We need you to join us today and ask the EPA to stand firm on mountaintop removal mining. Together, we can make sure that the EPA has the support it needs to stand strong against the coal industry.
And, together we can encourage the EPA to go even further, and move to end all mountaintop removal mining, preserving communities from this threat for years to come.
-Cara
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an amazing organization. We need to get people to stop destroying these defenseless marine mammals.
Do this awesome (and simple) thing to help people to become more aware of what is going on.
See Below!
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Dear World,
We only have a few days left to demand better protections for whales and dolphins that will soon be facing Navy sonar in the Pacific Northwest.
The Navy is about to launch five years of sonar training in some of the nation’s richest marine habitat, including the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary — home to 29 different species of marine mammals.
Click here and tell the National Marine Fisheries Service to put protections in place that could save these animals from harassment, injury or even death.
Your official comment must be submitted by next Monday, August 10.
The Fisheries Service has proposed a rule that would allow the Navy “to take” — harass or injure — marine mammals 130,000 times during each year of the sonar training.
That is a total of 650,000 acoustic assaults on whales, dolphins, porpoises, sea lions and seals.
The Navy’s mid-frequency sonar systems are designed to detect enemy submarines. Its warships deploy underwater speakers that blast the ocean with noise in excess of 235 decibels — a sonic barrage thousands of times more powerful than a jet engine at takeoff.
That barrage of noise can disrupt biologically critical activities like feeding, navigating and breeding. And the Navy itself has admitted that sonar can even kill whales.
At risk in the Pacific Northwest: blue whales, gray whales, beaked whales, harbor porpoises and the very last endangered Southern Resident killer whales — only 83 of them left! — plus dozens of other marine mammal species.
These whales should not have to suffer needless injury or harassment for the sake of military practice.
The Fisheries Service must bar or limit the Navy from operating dangerous sonar in the most sensitive habitats, like the Olympic Marine Sanctuary.
Common-sense precautions like this will not compromise military training or readiness.
Click here now and tell the Fisheries Service to put safeguards in place that will reduce the harassment and injury of tens of thousands of marine mammals over the next five years.
Please make your voice heard by Monday. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Frances Beinecke
President
Natural Resources Defense Council
Here is some more on this…and yes there will be more to come!
We can do anything!!!
-Cara
New York Governor David Paterson—the sponsor of the marriage bill currently before the legislature—delivered poignant remarks to the thousands recently assembled in midtown Manhattan. I like this guy.
The New York State Assembly recently passed the marriage equality bill which now heads to the state senate. I think it’s time for marriage equality to come to New York, so I sent my state senator an e-mail through the Human Rights Campaign.
They’ve made it super simple to send a personal message to legislators. With the scare tactics being used by our opponents, we need senators to hear from as many supporters of equality as possible.
This issue is very important to me, and taking action will only take a millisecond. Please join me in writing to your senator today.
Click here:
http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/campaign/nysenatemarriage/step1
Fair is fair.
-Cara
Common Cause has called for the impeachment of federal Judge Jay Bybee for his role in signing a 2002 memo released last week that authorized torture. Put enough pressure on Congress to launch impeachment proceedings.
Tell your Representative to launch impeachment proceedings on Judge Jay Bybee of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
-Cara
New Reality ad directed by the Academy-award winning Coen Brothers.
In reality, there’s no such thing as clean coal.
Learn more. Join the campaign.
-Cara
This petition to end the abuse towards women and girls is sponsored by CARE.
The Breakdown:
War has ravaged the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for more than two decades. Almost 5.5 million people are dead, and the wounds of the conflict are deep and enduring.
Women in the DRC are victims of one of the most appalling assaults the world has witnessed. Rape and brutal sexual assaults have become tools of war — spreading HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, disfiguring women and destroying families. The violence is not only traumatizing women, but their children, who often witness the attacks or who are attacked themselves.
There is no end in sight. Tens of thousands more women and young girls are at risk with the newest wave of heavy fighting between rebel and government troops.
That’s why your support for the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA) is so urgently needed. This legislation will increase protection and services for women and girls facing gender based violence, and will direct more U.S. funding to violence prevention abroad.
I feel such a sense of sadness that people feel so powerless that they take power from others weaker than themselves.
-Cara
Warning - Link to Graphic Images from Gaza
I don’t want to live in a world where people are allowed to kill other people, especially children. I signed this petition in hopes of the end of these murders in Gaza.
http://www.avaaz.org/en/gaza_time_for_peace/98.php?CLICK_TF_TRACK
-Cara
That’s right a year ago, on January 10th, 2008, “The Day After An Inconvenient Truth” was formed. When I first started this blog it was to have a voice in the world that differs from mainstream television, radio, satellite, newspapers, etc. I was inspired by the movie, “An Inconvenient Truth“, drawn into the meaning of an “inconvenient truth”, the fact that you might not want to hear what the problem is and what can be done to solve said problem, but here is the truth and now that you know, what are you going to do about it?
In the beginning, what I primarily wrote about was eco, environmental “inconvenient truths”, following in the footsteps of the film, but as time went by I began to find “inconvenient truths” in other areas as well, be it the issue of gay rights, human rights, animal rights, freedom of speech, freedom of art, whatever is going on in the world that mass media does not cover or covers up, these were the pieces I exceptionally enjoy writing about. Then there are the “recycle stuff” ones, just there for some information of what extra steps you can take to make a better world, the D.I.Y. projects using recycled materials, or just how to make something green and cool for your everyday life. Throw in a few organic recipes, cool green events, green product reviews, games, petitions, stories of amazing people who inspire me, beautiful photos, and sometimes just a funny video to relax and you have, “The Day After An Inconvenient Truth“. :]
What I am getting at with all this is to say, “The Day After An Inconvenient Truth” has evolved from when I began to where it is at now. I went from doing blog entries everyday from January, 10th, 2008 to October 13th, 2008, right around when I got an official 9-5 job, to now where I may not blog everyday, but no more than a few days go by without me throwing one out there. I needed to find a balance in my life and for now this works for me. I’d rather have good ones than just have ones. :]
I really like writing this blog, even when I can’t think of what to write about, or when I’d rather be playing PlayStation with Ms. Marine or web 2.0 out on the million social networks. This blog makes me more accountable. It is something I started and am still doing a year later (see Tony). Listen, for someone with absolutely no attention span to anything (besides computers and all things tech), I am pretty amazed that “TDAAIT” is still going. What is crazier is when I started this blog I was surprised if I got 10 hits a day, to now where I get on average over 300 unique hits a day from all over the world. Though businesses like MSNBC and other corporations that I do not have any respect for, ask me to place their advertisements on my site, I refuse. I was not working a real job when I started this blog and could have used easy money like that. Instead, I was insulted that they would even ask me, so much so I responded that they obviously had not looked at my blog, because if so they would never have asked me! In retrospect, I am sure they would have asked me anyway. In their minds people are just a herd of non-thinking cows who when they see a blinking ad, inevitably they must click on it. That goes against what I am trying to achieve here. I really hate ads everywhere. I am blessed in many other ways through this blog, so it doesn’t need to monetarily support me as well.
What else have I gotten from writing, “The Day After An Inconvenient Truth”? I have learned about a lot of bad stuff that goes on, and I have learned about good people, things and ideas, living and growing here on this Earth (I liked it when Alice Walker called humans “Earthlings” in this interview.). I maintain hope and an awesome faith that things will only get better if you do good.
Something I keep in the forefront of my mind is, what each of us does affects the other. It is not just the huge things necessarily, even our smallest thoughts affect the world. Also, we can as one person change things; who you touch in turns will touch others. You may not get the gratification of seeing the change you bring to the world directly, but if you do it, you may see the world itself change. I search for happiness and peace, by going inconveniently through its sorrows, untruths, truths, and ugliness. I also keep the faith. Faith is the most important thing, without it you are lost. I guess that is what, “The Day After An Inconvenient Truth” is to me, a way to not lose hope and to maintain my faith during the era that is the beginning of the end.
This year I have learned that humanity is not as bad and hopeless as it seems, so that’s cool.
-Cara
It’s a rough call. I want the world to be a place where people don’t have to bully each other to get what they want.
What do I want?
Enlightenment.
When do I want it?
Now!
:]
-Cara
I watched a movie tonight called, “Who Killed the Electric Car“. and it was a great documentary on the electric car and the auto industry’s, mainly General Motors’ relationship with the government and their consumers. There is definitely a lot of information in that movie that people need to be made aware of. At least so they can make the right decisions about their effect on the environment through their car consumerism. I mean it’s conspiracies theories coming true right in front of your eyes. General Motors is an anti-green company run by middle east controlled monkeys in love with money, which still hasn’t been able to fill that void within them.
After the movie I felt a bit overwhelmed and not sure what was that I could do about the issue of the auto industry’s insistence on keeping Americans addicted to oil, especially foreign oil or George Bush’s desire to take nature preserves in Alaska and destroy them by drilling for a minimal amount of oil. During “Who Killed the Electric Car”, they mention a web site called, Plug In America. It was there I found a petition you can sign to automakers stating, “Plug-in vehicles are in America’s national interest. They decrease fuel costs, greenhouse gases and our dependence on foreign oil. I want to buy a vehicle that runs on cleaner, cheaper domestic electricity. I want to be able to plug in my car! Please manufacture plug-in vehicles immediately.” You can even start your own petition drive by printing this form and getting people to sign. At Co-Op America they have a petition speaking out to Ford about the importance of produce plug-in hybrids. These and other things I found here can make a difference, you just need to take the few minutes it takes to do it. In the long run it is definitely worth it.
Be good.
-Cara
Amendment 2 is an initiative on Florida’s November ballot that if passed would limit the rights of both homosexual and heterosexual couples to form civil unions and domestic partnerships.
Gay marriage is already banned under Florida state law, but the initiative’s authors want to go a step further. The initiative states that “no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized.”
Amendment 2’s supporters say that their intent is only to define marriage and not affect civil unions, but if so, then why include the “substantial equivalent” language in the initiative?
A similar initiative passed in Michigan in 2004, and as a result the state’s courts prohibited public employers from recognizing domestic partnerships for the purpose of awarding health benefits. The ruling affected teachers, nurses, professors, fire fighters, policy officers, and government employees.
Pledge to vote no on Amendment 2!
Why take away anyone’s right to health care among other things? My native state is a rough place that way for no other reason than that it is the way it has always been.
Sign here.
-Cara
Target: EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson
Sponsored by: Sierra Club
For the past 30 years, the Stream Buffer Zone Rule has prohibited mining activities within 100 feet of perennial or intermittent streams, which serve as habitats to a vast array of aquatic life and provide drinking water to local communities.The Office of Surface Mining (OSM) is proposing to rewrite this rule to eliminate the buffer, giving mining companies access to mine through streams across the Appalachian region.
We cannot let our environmental protections be dismantled. Please tell EPA Administrator Johnson to reject this proposal.
Just spreading the word.
-Cara
I started this blog in January this year and am evolving as I go along. I purchased a Brita water pitcher (Brita Products Company is owned by the Clorox Company) about three months ago. Today we had to change the water filter, so I put the used one to the side to do some research on how to recycle it.
Here is what I found:
I went to this site, Take the Filter Back, and they state that Brita has the #1 market share of pour-through filter cartridges in the U.S. and Canada. It’s the #1 faucet-mount filter in Canada and the #2 faucet-mount filter in the U.S. (Per Clorox’s 2007 Annual Report.). While the original European Brita GmbH company has created a take-back recycling program for its filter cartridges, Clorox has no such program in place for re-using or recycling Brita cartridges. There is currently no way to refill or recycle Brita filter cartridges in North America.
Brita filter cartridges consist of activated carbon housed inside a plastic body which cannot be opened by the consumer for refilling or recycling. The plastic body must be landfilled or incinerated each time the filter is changed. Plastic is a non-renewable resource made from petroleum. It is not biodegradable, lingering in the environment virtually forever. The more we reuse/recycle the plastic products we produce rather than manufacturing new ones, the less damage we inflict on the earth.
In its FilterForGood campaign, Clorox promotes the use of its Brita filtration system, in combination with re-usable water bottles, as a means to reduce disposable plastic bottle waste. Please join in asking Clorox to go further and take responsibility for the millions of plastic filter cartridges that are also landfilled or incinerated each year.
You can sign this petition urging Clorox to be responsible and recycle their filters. You can also write a letter to the Clorox company. In addition to the petition and letter-writing, they are going to make a strong visual statement. Inspired by Jim McKenna’s and John Lieberman’s successful campaign to urge AOL to quit sending out unsolicited CDs, they’re collecting used Brita filters, both pitcher and tap, to deliver to Clorox en masse at some point in the future. There is even a Yahoo! Group to meet others in your area and arrange filter collection/pick up/drop off. I am going to write something cute on mine and send them off. :]
The worst part is I just found out that Clorox bought Burt’s Bees… :[
-Cara
With that said…
The Day After An Inconvenient Truth via e-mail, a gift from me to you.
You’re Welcome. :]
-Cara
E.G. Budd Manufacturing Company
I have just read and signed the petition: “Protest Unfair Pay for Women”. That’s outrageous to get paid less then men, especially when we do a better job. ;] OK, but I want to get paid the same as someone who is as awesome as me, whether a female, male, or monkey.
Please take a moment to read about this important issue, and join me in signing the petition. It takes just 30 seconds, but can truly make a difference. Please sign here: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/251859461. The goal is to reach 25,000 signatures.
Once you have signed, you can help even more by asking your friends and family to sign as well.
Thank you!
-Cara
The Dead
Target: U.S. Congress
Sponsored by: Care2.com
Donald Rumsfeld, in 2003, estimated that the cost of the war in Iraq would be $50 billion. Five years and more than $500 billion later, Iraq has turned into a sinkhole for American taxpayers. In fact, recent analysis indicates that the true cost of the war could easily top $1-2 trillion dollars!That’s more than any other war, except for World War II. Just think — the war in Iraq has been more expensive than the anticipated cost of the U.S. implementing the Kyoto Protocol to control greenhouse gases ($300 billion).
Countless lives lost and massive fiscal irresponsibility to boot — the entire affair has been one debacle after another. Demand that the U.S. better use its resources and return its troops home.
A Child
The letter you send to congress states,
The war in Iraq has proved far too costly and not just in terms of lives lost. In fact, recent analysis indicates that the true financial cost of the war could easily top $1-2 trillion dollars! That will make it the second most expensive war in the history of the United States.
The yearly cost of the war has doubled since the 2003 appropriation of $74 billion, which the Bush administration expected to be the total cost of the war. And these estimates don’t necessarily account for all the potential expenses, including
* disability pay and health care costs of Iraqi war veterans for several decades;
* replacing worn or destroyed military equipment and resettling the armed forces; and
* paying interest on the debt used to finance the war.
[Your Comment]
To date, the war has cost $341.4 million per day. Worse, thousands of lives have been thrown away in a misguided, high-handed venture of the Bush Administration. I urge you to help the U.S. use its resources better and more importantly, bring our troops home.
Sincerely,
[Your name here]
I am number 3,408, because this war is not worth it.
Sign here.
-Cara
When I was a kid growing up the “Save the Whales” protesters were the stereotype for hippies and do gooders of the 70’s. In fact, before there was the term “green”, “save the whales” had that same feeling. The same type of people, just a different time This entry is a tribute to all those who have struggled and fought to save the whales!!!
Whale Call Incorporated are still fighting the good fight. Here are some petitions they list on their site.
Petitions
To support the efforts of Councilor Greg Best of Wyong Shire to protest Whaling
Target: The Japanese Embassy
To educate the Japanese public through the use of global Sister City relationships
Target: Mr. Shinzo Abe, Japanese Prime Minister, Japanese Government and Royal Family
Tell Australian PM to say NO to Japanese whaling in Australian Antarctic Territorial waters
Target: John Howard, Prime Minister, Australian Federal Government
The Mad Mermaids have their own thing going on…
Then there is Whales.org. Their mission is to be the global voice for the protection of whales, dolphins and their environment.
Save the whales.
-Cara
I am not what you would call a wolf person or even a dog person for that matter, but my Aunt Cheri always loved wolves and what they stood for. She was also a respectable and talented Shiloh dog breeder, with the greatest heart.
My Aunt Cheri painted awesome pictures of wolves (and other things). I have one in my office, it is so fresh, they are in the woods, their eyes are intense. My Grandmother, Aunt Cheri and her daughter, my cousin Renee (who was my age) died in the last few years all around the same time. The eyes of these wolves each remind me of one of these people. It is unfinished, but my parents had it framed for me as a gift. It is a way I hold onto my grandmother, aunt and cousin.
To honor my Aunt I want to give a shout out to the wolves and include some links for you all to click on and take a positive action.
Tell Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to end aerial hunting of wolves!
Send a message to Alaska Governor Sarah Palin urging her to end the state’s unfounded aerial hunting program immediately. There is a video on this petition I don’t really recommend watching as it is people aerial hunting these beautiful wolves and them suffering. It is horrible. I made it through two seconds and can’t get the image out of my head…SIgn it…really…. I wonder if Governor Sarah Palin watched it.
Outrageous: Gov. Palin’s $400,000 Propaganda Plan
Alaska Residents Only – Tell Governor Palin that you oppose the Alaska state-funded campaign to support aerial gunning.
Tell your Representative to sign on as a cosponsor to the Protect America’s Wildlife (PAW) Act!
Tell your Representative to sign on as a cosponsor to the Protect America’s Wildlife (PAW) Act to put an end to Alaska’s brutal aerial hunting program — and prevent programs like it from spreading.
Support a National Wolf Recovery Plan
Help ensure a lasting future for wolves in Greater Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies and provide a needed boost for wolf recovery and management efforts in the Southwest, Northeast and Pacific Northwest.
Sign the petition to support sensible, science-based management of struggling Southwest wolves!
Southwest wolves are struggling to survive: the latest population count confirms only 4 breeding pairs, and 52 wolves total, in the wild! Sign the petition to support sensible, science-based management of struggling Southwest wolves.
Bark at the moon.
-Cara
MoveOn.org is cool, because they show you were they get the documentation for this video ad.
The truth is out there.
-Cara
Petition Time -Tell Congress to Ban TV Drug Ads
When I had TV I remember one of the most annoying things on the box were the pharmaceutical ads. Most prescription drugs are used to cover up your ailments, instead of healing your body and making you stronger.
I can’t remember which comedian used this shtick in his act (I think it was Chris Rock…maybe…), but he said in all these years with all the advancements in medicine how come polio is the last cure we have come up with??? lol…it is funnier than that, but you get my point. Drug companies are extremely powerful due to the wealth they have acquired from others’ illnesses. They can not make money if no one is sick. Think about it.
This petition is about getting Congress to support H.R. 6151, The Responsibility in Drug and Device Advertising Act of 2008, a bill introduced by Representatives DeLauro and Emerson that would place a three-year moratorium on advertisements for new drugs and devices. That would give enough time to see what insane side effects some of these drugs have.
Just say no.
-Cara
The Day After An Inconvenient Truth 
What Did You Say?