Week of April 17th 2006
Many Iraqis and citizens around the world are suspicious that the United States never intends to leave Iraq. President Bush’s rhetoric suggests a very long-term occupation in Iraq. He talks about bringing democracy to the Middle East and has declared that it will be up to the next President who takes office in 2009 to decide whether to bring troops home. Huge amounts of money are going into constructing bases in Iraq that could be permanent homes for American forces with a mission to protect American interests in the Middle East and access to oil.
HBO’s documentary on global warming Too Hot Not to Handle documents the impact of global warming on the United States and some of the great solutions individuals are initiating today.
Today, 87% of Americans agree that the US should take steps to reduce global warming pollution and fast track development of renewable energy. So, this Earth Day is unlike any other because the debate about global warming, the mother of all environmental issues, is firmly behind us.
We can move and must move toward energy independence. Democratic governors are leading the way toward achieving this goal. But even more progress can happen if Republicans in Washington get on board, or get out of the way.
According to a U.N. Global Biodiversity Outlook report, human activity is "responsible for the sixth major extinction event in the history of earth,
and the greatest since the dinosaurs disappeared, 65 million years ago." The U.N. found that the current extinction rate is 1,000 times faster
than historical rates of loss.
Since the Clean Water Act became law in 1972, our rivers are no longer catching fire, but much work remains
Political corruption around the world is viewed as one of the main reasons why billions of people do not have access to clean water.
According to a 2003 EPA study, "approximately 40% of the rivers, 45% of the streams and 50% of the lakes that have been assessed still do not support their designated use," allowing fishing or swimming. Ignoring the figures, the FY2007 Bush budget proposal contained $199 million in cuts (or 22 percent) to the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund, which provides financing for local water projects. Globally, one billion people lack access to clean drinking water, and 2.6 billion lack adequate sanitation. The 2nd U.N. World Water Development Report warned that regions like sub-Saharan Africa may not meet their goal "halving the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water between 1990 and 2015." Political corruption around the world is viewed as one of the main reasons why billions of people do not have access to clean water.
Air pollution continues to pose severe health risks to all Americans.
Power plant pollution puts 600,000 newborn children at risk for developmental problems, and cause 24,000 Americans to die an average of 14 years early......Meanwhile, administration officials are pushing a plan that some say would "curtail the involvement of scientists and boost the role of political figures in the process of setting national ambient air quality standards for six major pollutants." One such political nominee, William Wehrum of the EPA's Office of Air and Radiation, is known as "the behind-the-scenes architect" of the Bush's administration's flawed clean air policies.
Our forests are the heart of our environmental support system
The Bush administration is even cutting funding for the federal lands already under protection.
"Our forests are the heart of our environmental support system," warned conservation biologist Don Melnick and Wildlife Trust president Mary Pearl yesterday. "And yet, in the 36 years that have passed since the first Earth Day, on April 22, 1970, we have lost more than one billion acres of forest, with no end in sight.".....The Bush administration is even cutting funding for the federal lands already under protection. They recently ordered the parks to "show that they can function at 80 percent or less of their operating budgets, which is forcing some parks to cut services for visitors as summer approaches."
Companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast are spending tens of millions in Washington to kill "network neutrality" -- a principle that keeps the Internet open to all. A bill moving quickly through Congress would let these companies become Internet gatekeepers, deciding which Web sites go fast or slow -- and which won't load at all -- based on who pays them more. The rest of us will be detoured to the "slow lane," clicking furiously and waiting for our favorite sites to download. Don't let Congress ruin the Internet. Tell Congress to Save Net Neutrality Now
A campaign of rape, slaughter and displacement is currently being carried out in the western region of Sudan, the largest country in Africa. Government-supported troops have displaced 2.5 million people in the past two years, hundreds of thousands have died due to attacks, disease and starvation, and it is estimated that 500 men, women and children continue to die every day.
Yet in the face of this dire situation, there are things that we can do to help. Most importantly, we can put pressure on our national leaders to take immediate action. President Bush and the United States Congress have recognized the situation in Darfur as “genocide,” but it will take much more than words to end the violence and suffering in Darfur. In fact this recognition imposes a legal obligation, let alone the inherent moral obligation, upon the U.S. to take action to stop the genocide.
If our leaders made Darfur a priority, hundreds of thousands of lives could be saved. But without constant pressure from individuals, the policy of inaction will continue. Please join me in calling for immediate attention to Darfur and more robust action on behalf of the U.S. to support security efforts in the region. Visit www.MillionVoicesforDarfur.org to send an online postcard to President Bush and to learn more about what is happening in Darfur and what you can do to help.
More about the situation in Darfur:
On a personal level, pain is a part of life. On a broader scale, our sense of security in the world has been shaken by catastrophic events such as the attacks of 911, the tsunami, and hurricane Katrina. How can we avoid burying the fear and the hurt till they harden our hearts and ferment into rage? Barbara Altemus explores this important topic on a one hour New Dimensions Radio program. Listen to an interview with Barbara Altemus on New Dimensions Radio from April 17th thru April 23rd on National Public Radio in the U.S. and international radio abroad. Go to www.New Dimensions.org for the listings of time, and location of airing in the U.S. and internationally.
As Earth Day dawned around the world, word came that one environmental advocate in the Philippines was gunned down last week and another is living under threat to his life. A leading Philippines newspaper today called the murdered man an “Earth Day martyr.” Elpidio de la Victoria was shot in the back and killed on April 13 in Cebu, Philippines, as he returned to his house from buying food for the Easter holiday celebration.
Maine Governor John Baldacci and Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski have recently taken strong steps for fair trade. Please take action by asking the governor to join them. Both Governors Kulongoski and Baldacci recently informed the Bush administration that they do not want their states covered by an expansion of the restrictive and anti-democratic WTO services agreement, the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). The GATS threatens state and local governments’ ability to set their own policies in areas including public services, health care, land use and zoning, higher education, and gambling. Our governor can and should take the same action to safeguard our state’s sovereignty. More info: Citizens Trade.org
We must be doing something right! Within weeks of launching our Campaign Against Illegal Guns http://www.bradycampaign.org/action/trafficking/ the gun lobby has responded by trying to get quick action in Congress on proposals that would protect corrupt gun dealers by weakening law enforcement. Unbelievable. At a time when America is coming together to stop the flow of illegal guns into our communities, the NRA is leading the effort to protect the very dealers who supply the illegal gun market. We need more power to stop these criminals, not less.
In the latest ethical contortion performed by a member of Congress, serial ethics violator Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.) defends the practice of paying his wife thousands of dollars in commission to fundraise for his campaign - including slices off the top of money raised from the likes of Jack Abramoff. The story is in today's Clean Up Washington blog , along with top corruption and reform headlines including:
The possibility that GOP wunderkid and former Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed might be brought low by his own ties to Abramoff
Embattled Rep. Bob Ney's (R-Ohio) attempts to blame the country's problems on billionaire activist George Soros
Rep. Charles Taylor's (R-N.C.) denials that campaign contributions from Abramoff’s firm had anything to do with letter he wrote supporting a $3 million appropriation for the superlobbyist’s clients
Since 2000, 723 children have died in non-traffic related incidents such as back-overs and window strangulation. The overwhelmingly majority of these victims were one year olds and in 70% of these cases, a parent or close relative was behind the wheel. But automakers could have prevented a great number of tragic accidents like these. Technology such small-child rear-detection and auto-reversing windows already exist -- but is only available in high-end vehicles. Shouldn't every car be made with the latest child-safe technology, even if it's not a "luxury" model? Consumer's Union www.consumersunion.org/ is working with members of Congress to pass bi-partisan legislation that will establish basic safety regulations and hold automakers accountable, ensuring safety devices like small-child rear-detection and auto-reversing windows become mandatory features in all new cars. After all, if automakers can prevent child deaths – shouldn't drivers be able to?
Most of us are very careful about keep sensitive personal information, like our Social Security number, from falling into strangers’ hands. But despite our best efforts, The Federal Trade Commission estimates that 9.9 million Americans are victimized by identity theft every year. That’s because identity thieves can now obtain Social Security numbers and other sensitive information about you through a variety of web sites that sell data collected from public records. That's why Congress is considering several bills that would require businesses to inform consumers when their personal information has been breached. But some of the proposals in Congress are actually weaker than many current state laws that were passed to protect consumers. We think that when your sensitive personal information is stolen, the business that failed to protect it should tell you. And with the raft of identity theft scandals recently, it's clear that Americans need stronger federal protections, not weaker standards that are business-friendly but harmful to consumers. Tell Congress that federal standards must be strengthened to protect you against identity theft and financial fraud!
In the face of intense industry lobbying, a key committee in Congress just voted to wipe out key state identity theft protection laws and replace them with a weak federal standard. After a year of data security breaches affecting the personal information of 55 million Americans, Congress should be voting to strengthen our ID theft protections. H.R. 3997 leaves it up to companies that lose your sensitive information to decide whether or not to tell you about it. Why should we trust companies with bad security to tell us when sensitive information has been lost or stolen? Under the proposed measure, you could only freeze access to your credit file after you become a victim of identity theft. That’s too little, too late and it means that a thief could still open a credit card or other account in your name and start charging away.
Bush administration has used $60 million in taxpayer dollars to support the cruel behavior of fundamental christians
An Indiana mother recently accompanied her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend to one of Indiana's Planned Parenthood clinics, but they unwittingly walked into a "crisis pregnancy center" run by an anti-abortion group -- one that shared a parking lot with the real Planned
Parenthood clinic, and was designed expressly to lure Planned Parenthood patients and deceive them.
The group took down the girl's confidential personal information and told her to come back for her appointment, which they said would be in their "other office" (the real Planned Parenthood office nearby). When she arrived for her appointment, not only did the Planned Parenthood staff have no record of her, but the police were there -- the "crisis pregnancy center" had called them, claiming that a minor was being forced to have an abortion against her will.
The "crisis pregnancy center" staff then proceeded to wage a campaign of intimidation and harassment over the following days, showing up at the girl's home and calling her father's workplace. Our clinic director reports that she was "scared to death to leave her house." They even went to her school and urged classmates to pressure her not to have an abortion.
Behind the Story: The anti-choice movement is setting up so-called "crisis pregnancy centers" across the country. Some of them have neutral-sounding names and run ads that falsely promise the full range of reproductive health services, but dispense anti-choice propaganda and intimidation instead. And according to The New York Times, there are currently more of these centers in the U.S. than there are actual abortion providers! What's more, these centers have received $60 million of government grants. They're being funded by our tax dollars.
Modern, clean energy generation is being stalled by politicians in Washington. Two congressmen from Alaska, with the support of Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, recently inserted a provision in the Coast Guard Reauthorization Bill that would give the Governor of Massachusetts the power to veto the Cape Wind Project - a 130-turbine wind farm proposed for federal waters in Nantucket Sound. The Cape Wind Project would be the first significant offshore wind project on the East Coast. This last-minute legislative manuever lacks transparency, would undermine local control and the role of state and federal agencies, and arbitrarily interferes with the construction of renewable technologies at the time we most need to encourage their development. Congress is expected to take up this bill when it returns to session next Monday, April 24th.
'Trade Secrets' exposes the lack of testing for health effects of chemicals, discusses the threats chemicals pose to future generations
and promotes precautionary measures.
Consider just two places where women must struggle against terrible obstacles to reach their full potential:
In Nepal, women are considered "unclean" during childbirth and are therefore separated from society for up to a month after the baby is born. They are often consigned to the cowshed — often cutting their own umbilical cords with a sickle still dirty from farm work. The result is one of the highest rates of maternal mortality on earth.
In Afghanistan, the Taliban forbade women to learn to read or write. Today, millions of illiterate women remain isolated in their homes, unskilled and unable to take advantage of the promise of their new democracy — and the country remains in poverty, devastated by war and hunger.
A week before the United Methodist Church's Judicial Council is set to meet, 75 gay ministers have outed themselves in a letter, stating that the church's "current policy of homophobia" hurts not just gay clergy but the church itself.
Despite record profits, ExxonMobil still refuses to invest in developing cleaner, safer energy solutions.
Toyota's lobbying and litigation run contrary to their carefully cultivated "green image." Send a letter to Toyota and ask the company to immediately end its opposition to increases in federal fuel mileage standards, pull the plug on its lawsuit against California's Clean Cars Law, and offer us cars that use less gas.
Even as they wallow in record oil prices, the oil companies' top executives are trying to swindle the federal taxpayer for billions more in handouts. The companies' latest gambit is to squirm out of paying royalties for the privilege of drilling for oil and gas in publicly owned offshore waters. According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the companies' latest efforts could add as much as $80 billion over the next 25 years to the oil barons' enormous profits.
This 'Earth Day' is dedicated to global warming.
Were the women of Iraq better off with Saddam Hussein in power? Read more....you decide
The Iraqi women who toured the United States last month told us that they were amazed by how misinformed many Americans were about the lives of Iraqi women. Most Americans thought that before the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, Iraqi women were sitting at home oppressed, heavily veiled and secluded, and that thanks to the US invasion, they are now liberated. This is what the Bush administration would like us to believe, but after listening to our Iraqi friends many people now know better. To further shed light on the true status of Iraqi women, Code Pink has released an in-depth report Iraqi 'Women Under Siege' (PDF). We encourage you to download this report, read it and pass it on to others.
The report shows that from 1958 to the 1990s, Iraq provided more rights and freedoms for women and girls than most of its neighbors. Though Saddam Hussein's dictatorial government and 12 years of severe sanctions reduced these opportunities, Iraqi women were active in all aspects of their society. After the occupation, with the exception of women in Iraqi Kurdistan, women's daily lives have been reduced to a mere struggle for survival;
Women walking on the streets face random violence, assault, kidnapping or death at the hands of suicide bombers, occupying forces, Iraqi police, radical religious groups, and local thugs.
Women trying to raise families in the midst of this chaos find themselves beset by a lack of electricity and clean water, and a dearth of social services like decent schools and health care.
Unemployment among women has skyrocketed. Of the 260,000 reconstruction contracts in Iraq, less than 1,000 have gone to female contractors.
Before the occupation 70% of the public workforce, by far the largest employer in Iraq, were women.
The constant violence has trapped women and their children -- particularly their daughters -- inside the homes. Fewer girls go to school and illiteracy among girls is on the rise.
Though 25% of the seats in the National Assembly are reserved for women, the real power in Iraq is increasingly in the hands of Islamists determined to move Iraq from a secular society towards a theocracy. They are forcing women to wear veils and are trying to curtail women's rights in areas such as marriage, divorce, and inheritance.
The food that people eat is just as important as what kind of cars they drive when it comes to creating the greenhouse-gas emissions that many scientists have linked to global warming, according to a report accepted for publication in the April issue of the journal Earth Interactions.
Jury's out on the effects of dairy, so load up on extra kale instead.
Two new studies suggest that omega-3 fatty acids could inhibit the growth of liver cancer cells, suggesting that they could be an effective therapy for treating and preventing liver cancers.
The Risk of Cancer Lessens With More Sun Exposure, How Vitamin D Reduces the Risk of Cancer, Sun Exposure (UVB) Protects Against 16 Types of Cancer, Over 40,000 Americans Die Annually From Cancer Caused by Vitamin D Deficiency,
More information;
According to the U.S. State Department's own Web site, Iran is likely years away from producing weapons-grade plutonium or highly enriched uranium. Vice Adm. Lowell E. Jacoby, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, told the Senate Armed Services Committee in March 2005 that Iran is expected to be able to produce a weapon early next decade. According to one report, the new National Intelligence Estimate on Iran assesses that it will be 10 years before Iran has a bomb.
Petition to Bush and Cheney on Iran Has Over 20,000 Signatures
Have you signed it? Has everyone you know? We plan to deliver every signature and comment to the White House on a date to be announced soon.
Veterans for Peace, Chapters 25, 27, and 99, have joined with After Downing Street to form Impeach for Peace and Justice (IFPJ), a nonpartisan informal cooperative whose goal is the impeachment of George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney as the quickest and surest method of bringing our troops home from Iraq.
Thirty-four members of Congress have signed onto House Resolution 635.
Gold recovered from the 130 million phones discarded each year would be equivalent to the output of a gold mine
Tell you member of Congress to support real mining reform that prohibits mining where it would pollute clean water, wildernesses or other special places.
And you'll help support communities around the world in their struggles with the multinational mining industry and the international financial institutions that support it.
Urge them to commit to more responsible sourcing criteria for gold.
Dry cleaners can be a toxic menace. Located in the midst of residential communities, many use highly toxic chemicals and release them into the neighborhood air. Although clean, safe and cost-effective alternatives exist, the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed to allow dry cleaners to keep using -- and releasing -- toxic chemicals. The EPA acknowledges that up to 56 million Americans may be at risk.
Your help is needed to protect bald eagles, wood storks and other birds in Louisiana, by ensuring the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not allow use of one of the world's most potent bird-killing pesticides. Rice growers from Louisiana are seeking an emergency exemption from the EPA to use the banned pesticide carbofuran on 200,000 acres in order to control rice water weevils that feed on rice plants. For the third time in five years, Louisiana is requesting a special exemption for carbofuran use.
Global warming poses a serious threat to our health, our economy and our environment. Groups of concerned investors have successfully persuaded a handful of corporations to reduce their heat-trapping emissions. Unfortunately, major mutual fund companies such as Vanguard, Fidelity, and American Funds, have not pressed the companies in their portfolios to address global warming. Please sign this petition urging these mutual funds to protect the health and economic well being of current and future generations by supporting meaningful action on global warming today. You don’t have to be a current investor to take action.
The California condor is one of the world's most endangered species, with just over 125 condors currently in the wild. Lead poisoning from ingesting lead ammunition in carcasses is a severe threat to California condors and also kills bald and golden eagles.
The Haida and Tlingit people of Alaska's Long Island have joined forces with other concerned activists to fight the aerial spraying of their native lands. A private timber corporation, Klukwan Inc., has been given the go head to spray almost 2,000 acres of Haida ancestral lands.
President Bush has refused to rule out a U.S. nuclear attack on Iran if Iran doesn't halt its uranium enrichment activities, declaring on April 18th: "All options are on the table."
""That surprising conclusion comes from a couple of scientists who have taken an unusual look at the production of greenhouse gases from an angle that not many folks have even thought about. Gidon Eshel and Pamela Martin, assistant professors of geophysics at the University of Chicago, have found that our consumption of red meat may be as bad for the planet as it is for our bodies.......There was a surprising tie for last place. In terms of energy required for harvesting and processing, fish and red meat ended up in a 'virtual tie,' but that's just in terms of energy consumed. When you toss in all those other factors, such as bovine flatulence and gas released by manure, red meat comes in dead last. Fish remains in fourth place, some distance behind poultry and the mean American diet, chiefly because the type of fish preferred by Americans requires a lot of energy to catch."
Source: Dawn Watch an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets.
Ask your senator and representative to urge the Bush Administration to negotiate directly with Iran, cool the rhetoric, and take the nuclear option off the table. A recent article in the New Yorker revealed that “The Bush Administration, while publicly advocating diplomacy in order to stop Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon, has increased clandestine activities inside Iran and intensified planning for a possible major air attack,” including the use of nuclear weapons against suspected underground nuclear sites.
Its nice to know The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is keeping tabs on B.S.E. better known as "Mad Cow Disease"...but hey, who wants a 'Mad Cow Milk Shake? Seems they aren't as concerned because this incident involved a 'dairy cow" as opposed to a 'beef cow'.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is currently conducting confirmatory testing of samples from a cow from British Columbia suspected of having bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). No part of the animal-an approximately six-year-old dairy cow-entered the human food or animal feed systems, and the entire carcass has been placed under control. The cow was identified on a Fraser Valley farm through the national BSE surveillance program. Since detecting Canada's first case in 2003, Canada's surveillance program, which targets animals most at risk of having BSE, has tested approximately 100,000 animals.
Ofcourse we get two sides.
One is, the dairy/cow industry that makes money off us all who states;
“Concern about the human health risk is understandable to BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy). However, there has never been a connection between BSE and dairy products. The scientific data indicate that milk from BSE cows does not transmit BSE. National and international public health organizations have consistently stated that milk and milk products are safe regardless of whether the country producing them has had cases of BSE.” ~ Drtftwood Dairy
“The USDA inspects all cattle before being slaughtered...”
Read these two books to see how accurately USDA agents insepct animals before slaugher and see my suggested Reading List ;
The second is based of facts;
“Although the link between BSE and dairy products has been dismissed by the Ministry of Agriculture, other scientists have not ruled out the possibility. If milk did become suspect, it could turn a crisis into a catastrophe with huge losses to the dairy industry.“
“Dairy farmers, whose herds have had more than 90 per cent of BSE cases, have escaped relatively unscathed because they have been able to continue selling milk and have been compensated for the destruction of cows older than 30 months which used to go into the food chain. Specialist beef farmers, 85 per cent of whom have had no BSE cases, have seen cattle prices drop by up to a third and feel that they have received inadequate help from the Government and the European Union.”
“Another German politician demanded a Europe-wide export ban on British milk and dairy products.”
You decide who to believe. The money makers their friends, a.k.a. Government agencies that sleep with the beef/dairy agriculture industry* ) or those who just want to expose the facts.
(*) This includes any product that have ingredients from animals and/or derived from animal by-produts, in other words, everything and anything we use, ingest, see or come incontact with in our day to day life, that is not vegan; cosmetics, food, drinks, clothes....etc....)
More on B.S.E.
“Groups like the Organic Consumers Association and the Center for Science in the Public Interest have expressed concerns that tissue from an animal's central nervous system, which can transmit mad cow, can be filtered through the machine and make its way into the food supply."
Let Russian government know oil and water do not mix, must ensure pipeline steers clear of Lake Baikal watershed.
Global Treaty Represents First Modest Step to Ensure Australia's Well-Being and Planetary Survival
The proposed pipeline is a major threat to the existence of the Amazon rainforest, as well as regional and global ecological sustainability. It would devastate the region's rainforests, water and climate; and the leaders of Brazil, Venezuela and Argentina must be called upon to scrap plans for its construction.
Indonesia is already losing two million hectares of rainforest every year. It is vital to Indonesia and the World's ecological sustainability that no more ancient primary rainforests are cleared for oil palm. Let the Indonesian President know he must cancel the Kalimantan project, and that new oil palm plantations should be built only in previously cleared and unused areas.
More Information:
I am all for "free trade" but not if it is going to negatively effect the place that is being traded with;
Last week, the US signed a free trade agreement with Peru, where more than half of the population lives in poverty. Trade could be an engine to pull millions out of poverty, but this agreement, like the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) before it, will institutionalize an uneven playing field between the two countries. The fight's not over yet, since Congress must approve the agreement before it can take effect. This is where we need your help! If signed into law, the US-Peru Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will do more harm than good for millions of Peruvians who live in poverty. If passed, this FTA will put access to important life-saving drugs at affordable prices out of the reach for the majority of Peruvians. It will make it harder for small-scale farmers in Peru to compete with subsidized agricultural products from the US. This FTA will also weaken the government’s ability to pass laws to ensure that foreign investment helps promote sustainable development.
When a group of New Jersey firefighters heard about a group of elementary school children in Mississippi who desperately wanted a new playground, they answered the call. Read the heart-warming tale of how the men are working to raise $75,000 to build the school a playground here.
While there is much attention this week to the call from an ever widening circle of former military commanders for Donald Rumsfeld's firing, how much sense does it make to focus on the Secretary of Defense when his actions have been so clearly a reflection of goals and strategies developed by the president and vice president?
As John Nichols writes in the Online Beat, no doubt, Rumsfeld has mishandled the Iraq invasion and occupation. But, he asks, doesn't the current crisis have more to do with the administration's misguided project of regime change and nation building than with the approach that Rumsfeld has taken to it?
Iowa Govenor Tom Vilsack signed a bill Monday that will force an anti-gay Kansas church to keep its distance at an upcoming funeral of an Iowa National Guardsman......The church group, which claims that God is killing U.S. soldiers who fight for a country that tolerates homosexuality, has prompted at least two dozen states to consider laws that would keep protesters away from military funerals.
On May 15th, millions of America's seniors and disabled will be forced to enroll in President Bush's disastrous Part D prescription drug plan, or face paying a minimum of 7% more in out of pocket costs for their medications—for the rest of their lives. Please write your lawmakers to demand that Congress extend the Part D deadline and deliver a simple prescription drug plan that works foremost for America's seniors, disabled and taxpayers—not the big pharmaceutical and insurance companies.
Send a message to your Senators asking them to support a national global warming pollution cap and trade program by supporting the McCain-Lieberman Climate Stewardship Act.
Climate change is considered by many scientists to be the most serious threat facing the world today. The Kyoto Protocol . Solutions include phasing out coal plants, expanding renewable energy sources and public transit, and creating new efficiency standards for vehicles and buildings.
The lungs of the planet, namely green-leafed plants that breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen, also put water vapour into the atmosphere.
Climate change will cause the extinction of te ns of thousands of species in coming decades, warns a study in the scientific journal Conservation Biology.
Even Canada has evil Conservatives in power trying to destroy the planet while giving their friend breaks;
The new Conservative government has decided to slash spending on Environment Canada programs designed to fight global warming by 80 per cent, and wants cuts of 40 per cent in the budgets devoted to climate change at other ministries, according to cabinet documents obtained by The Globe and Mail.
For many people, one of the major appeals of organic agriculture is that it allows animals access to pasture. The idyllic organic farm is often a picture of cows dotting grass-covered hills, allowing the cows a healthier lifestyle. Unfortunately, the existing USDA organic milk regulations do not clearly require cows to be raised on pasture. The USDA’s National Organic Program is currently debating whether to require dairy cows to be raised on pasture, but they need to hear from the public about this important aspect of organics!
If passed, new legislation in the Senate will allow fish such as cod, halibut and red snapper to be raised in crowded cages endangered by chemicals and active gas and oil platforms. The first hearing on the bill will be at the end of March. There is time for you to protect yourself and your family.
When you grab a latte from Starbucks, the milk in your drink likely has a controversial past. It could come from a dairy cow that was injected with recombinant bovine growth hormone. Also known as rBGH, this genetically-engineered, synthetic hormone is injected into cows every two weeks to make them produce more milk. This practice, which is known to cause harm to cows and may pose harm to humans, is banned in Canada, Japan, Australia, and all 25 countries of the European Union.
In the United States, recombinant bovine growth hormone is given to approximately 22% of cows nationwide. This isn’t good for the cow or the consumer. RBGH increases the rate of udder infections in cows, which are treated with common antibiotics such as penicillin. Increased antibiotic use in food animals is a serious problem because it creates antibiotic resistant bacteria, a growing problem that makes some human infections difficult to treat with available medicines.
But that’s not all. Injections of rBGH increase another hormone, called IGF-1, in the cow and the cow’s milk. Too much IGF-1 in humans is linked with increased rates of colon, breast, and prostate cancer. While it’s not clear that rBGH given to cows significantly increases IGF-1 in humans, why take the chance simply so dairies can produce more milk?
Factory farms need to be accountable for the pollution they create. Help protect communities nationwide!
Too much manure can cause serious health and environmental problems, as many people and communities know far too well. Factory farms should be regulated through the Superfund law, also known as CERCLA, which is designed to protect the public from hazardous waste, and to hold companies accountable for pollution.
There is an effort underway, housed in bill H.R. 4341, to exempt factory farms from Superfund's law on reporting amounts and type of pollution. This would take away one of the few tools that communities have to expose the horrible pollution that factory farms cause. Send this letter - and feel free to edit it- to members of the House Energy and Commerce committee today!
When you grab a latte from Starbucks, the milk in your drink likely has a controversial past. It could come from a dairy cow that was injected with recombinant bovine growth hormone. Also known as rBGH, this genetically-engineered, synthetic hormone is injected into cows every two weeks to make them produce more milk. This practice, which is known to cause harm to cows and may pose harm to humans, is banned in Canada, Japan, Australia, and all 25 countries of the European Union.
The largest private water corporation in the U.S. is for sale. Who's buying? We the People, or just another distant corporation? You decide!
After two and a half years of consumer abuse and mismanagement, German energy giant RWE announced its plans to sell American Water, the largest private water corporation in the U.S. Who will be the next owner: We, the People? Or just another distant corporation?
Today, help us reach our goal of 500 emails to RWE's CEO Harry Roels. Join the citizens of Lexington, Kentucky; Monterey, California; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Urbana, Illinois; and other cities in their pursuit of local accountability for their water utility.
Don't you deserve to know what's in your food? Stop Congress from taking away state warning labels!
Not content to prevent federal consumer-friendly labeling laws, some Congress members are trying to eliminate state and local food labeling laws as well. There is an effort underway in Congress called the "National Uniformity for Food Act" to pre-empt state and local laws on food labeling. If this bill passes, over 30 hard-won state laws would disappear, such as California's law requiring warnings on shellfish.
In a profile of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) as one of "America's 10 Best Senators," Time magazine credited McCain for spending "his entire Senate career exposing wasteful pork-barrel projects," and praised him for using his "backwater committee, Indian affairs," to "launch an investigation of lobbyist Jack Abramoff." But Time neglected to mention a recent McCain proposal for $10 million in federal money for the University of Arizona law school, as well as reports that McCain shielded Republican colleagues from his committee investigation.
Several news outlets have uncritically reported GOP leaders' claim that Democrats voted in favor of the controversial felony provision in the Republican-sponsored House immigration bill. But while House Democrats rejected an amendment reducing the charge for unlawful presence in the United States from a felony to a misdemeanor, they made clear at the time that their votes were consistent with their opposition to any criminal penalties for illegal U.S. presence.
Keith Olbermann awarded Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter second and third place, respectively, in his nightly "Worst Person in the World" segment, honoring O'Reilly with first place for his shifting positions on the existence of the so-called "attack on Easter," which Media Matters also documented in an April 17 item.
Cut to 2006, and we find Senator McCain accepting an invitation from Mr. Intolerance himself, Jerry Falwell, to deliver the commencement speech at Falwell's conservative Christian college, Liberty University. We've put together an open letter to Senator John McCain asking him to stick with the straight talk we know him for and cancel his appearance at Liberty. Join hundreds of thousands of Americans in asking Senator John McCain to cancel his appearance at Liberty University. Senator McCain's 2000 comments about Jerry Falwell were right on the mark then -- and they are even more true today. Take action and encourage Senator McCain to deny the religious right the political support they think they're entitled to and say "no" to Jerry Falwell.
On Thursday April 20 The Grannies Peace Brigade—18 women, ranging in age from 59 to 91, who were arrested outside the Times Square Armed Forces Recruiting Center in Times Square in October—will go on trial. They are charged with disorderly conduct for attempting to enter the Recruiting Center, which was in fact locked at the time of their arrest.
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We weren't able to stop the last war, but we must stop the next one…NOW! The United Nations, which is the mandated to uphold international law, must speak out against the Bush Administration's plans. Let's send a collective letter to Secretary General Kofi Annan imploring him to denounce this threat and call for a diplomatic solution.
With over 70,000 National Guard troops deployed to Iraq, our homefront has been left vulnerable in the face of natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina.
Sneaky Sneaky White house......
Hundreds of LGBT families join the holiday fun at the White House's venerable Easter Egg Roll, though morning photo ops are kept staff-only.
All I can say about the next news update is...." HA HA HA HA HA LOSER !!!!! "
The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by evangelist Jerry Falwell that a gay Web site satirizing his stand on gays is not an infringement on his rights. The Appeals Court decision overturned a court ruling and said that Christopher Lamparello of New York City could continue to operate his "gripe site" at http://www.fallwell.com."After even a quick glance at the content of the website ... no one seeking Reverend Falwell's guidance would be misled by the domain name http://www.fallwell.com into believing that Reverend Falwell authorized the content of that website," the appeals court said in its ruling.
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