Greenpeace
monthly newsletter, July
Major bank drops Sinar Mas, but fast food companies are still serving forest destruction

Two weeks ago, our activists in New York and California donned orangutan suits and headed down to local branches of HSBC, the world’s largest banking and financial services company, to protest the company’s investments in Sinar Mas, a notorious destroyer of Indonesia’s Paradise Forests. We’re happy to announce that, thanks to the many activists who took action, HSBC has dropped all holdings in forest destroyer Sinar Mas from its global asset management groups. The orangutans have achieved victory!

This is just the latest in a long string of companies that have cut Sinar Mas out of their business. Nestle, Unilever, and Kraft have all taken steps to remove Sinar Mas from their supply chains. But, as Greenpeace reveals in a new report, many fast food companies are still serving up Sinar Mas’ rainforest destruction, including Burger King, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Pizza Hut. Take action now and tell these fast food joints to hold the forest destruction!

Tell the EPA: Coal ash is hazardous!

Now is the time to tell the EPA and Big Coal fat cats that Americans refuse to be poisoned by dirty energy any longer. Help us reach our goal of 10,000 signatures in support of tough legislation that forces coal to clean up its act.

Coal ash, the highly toxic leftovers from burning coal for fuel, contains dangerous pollutants like mercury, lead, and arsenic that cause cancer and can wreak havoc on both plant and animal life. The EPA has let the coal industry dump coal ash into unlined ponds and landfills that leak into our rivers, streams, and recreation areas for far too long.

On May 4, 2010, the EPA issued two very different proposals for regulating coal ash. One proposal put forth by the EPA is good and the other is very bad. The first proposal would classify coal ash as a hazardous waste, which it very much is. The other would classify coal ash as non-hazardous, which would run contrary to the EPA’s own findings and play right into the hands of big polluters. The EPA’s choice is clear: Coal ash must be regulated as a hazardous waste immediately.

Watch our new video: ScamWow!

There’s no way to clean up an oil spill. It’s clear BP knows this all too well, and is determined to spare no expense on the cleanup… of its image. We put together a new video to highlight this sad state of affairs. Watch the video now: ScamWow!

Take action and tell Congress: No Drilling. Period.

Greenpeace airship takes flight

Greenpeace has a new ship to announce. But, this fine ship doesn’t sail in the ocean; it flies in the sky! The A.E. Bates Thermal Airship brings a “higher” viewpoint to Greenpeace’s mission to “bear witness.” Meet our new ship.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

DADT … Repeal is just on the horizon

07/15/2010 Nativegrl77

JUSTICE — MILITARY RECRUITING AND RETENTION ARE THRIVING IN THE MIDST OF DADT REPEAL EFFORTS: Following a White House statement supporting a repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) — the military’s policy that bars openly gay members from serving — and Congressional support for ending the policy, it’s been clear for months that DADT repeal is just on the horizon. Opponents of the repeal have been vocal, claiming that lifting the ban could undermine military effectiveness or recruiting efforts. However, “troops are already forced to live in a whole host of disagreeable conditions and train, sleep, and eat with men and women of all races, religions, and values without detriment to unit cohesion or military effectiveness.” And yesterday, the military released its latest recruiting numbers showing that “despite clear Congressional intent to end [DADT], military retention and recruiting continues to thrive.” LGBT rights blog LezGetReal reports that in the month of June, “the Army National Guard met 94% of its recruiting goal and the Air National Guard met 99% of its recruiting goal. The eight other branches or components of the Defense Department met or exceeded their recruiting goals for the month of June 2010.” The Department of Defense also noted, “The services also are at or above their fiscal year-to-date retention goals for the first nine months of fiscal 2010.” The effect of a DADT repeal on recruiting and retention is a “hugely important question” for the Pentagon; its DADT survey, given to 400,000 servicemembers to “gauge their reaction to repealing the policy,” asks, “If Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is repealed, how, if at all, will it affect your willingness to recommend to a family member or close friend that he or she join the military?” The June numbers suggest that there has been no negative effect whatsoever on recruiting due to concerns over repealing DAD

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Most countries fail to deliver on Haiti aid pledges (via Anderson Cooper 360)

07/15/2010 Nativegrl77

Joe Johns | BIO AC360° Correspondent MaryAnne Fox AC360° Producer

via Anderson Cooper 360

“Less than 2 percent of the money that’s been promised has been delivered” Six months after a devastating earthquake struck Haiti, most governments that promised money to help rebuild the country have not delivered any funds at … Read More

Video: Why is Haiti relief cargo being blocked?

Gary Tuchman, Haiti Earthquake

http://wp.me/pacM2-m6H

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Congress- debates/votes on Wall Street Reform …Today!

07/15/2010 Nativegrl77

The Senate Convenes: 9:30amET July, 15 2010

Updates when needed today

Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of the conference report to accompany HR4173, Wall Street Reform. At approximately 11:00am, the Senate will proceed to vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the Wall Street Reform conference report. That will be the first vote of the day. Additional votes are expected during Today session of the Senate.

The vote for cloture 60-38 moves the Wall Street bill forward …i might be cynical but i will get excited about finally moving beyond Wall Street to get Every Street fixed with this somewhat watered down bill Wall Street has let the People down and needs to be reform repaired and reintroduced so that it functions correctly not corruptly. The official record is below…

Votes:
206: Cloture on the conference report to accompany HR4173, Wall Street Reform:
Invoked: 60-38

********************************************************************

The next meeting in the House is scheduled for 10amET July 15, 2010

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Cutting Social Security

07/14/2010 Nativegrl77

Conservatives who want to cut Social Security and squeeze the middle class are dominating the discussions about how to cut the deficit. We need progressive ideas that protect the middle class and make Wall Street pay out there—and fast. To do it, we need 64 donations from Seattle. Can you chip in $5?

Contribute Now

There’s a showdown coming in Washington.

On one side are conservatives and the Blue Dog Democrats. Most of them supported Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy and two unfunded wars.¹ But now, they say, we have to focus on the deficit—even if it means cutting Social Security and leaving millions of Americans jobless for years.²

On the other side are progressives who agree we have to rein in our deficits, but think we should do it in a way that protects the middle class and makes Wall Street clean up its own mess.

Here’s the scary part: the conservatives are winning hands down. They’re spending millions of dollars to push their position and hoping that the president’s new deficit commission—which is stacked with conservatives—will strike a deal to cut Social Security before the end of the year.³

If we’re going to have a shot at stopping them, we need to start pushing back right now. So we’re spinning up a massive six-month campaign to make sure we deal with the deficit the right way—by getting the middle class back on their feet and making Wall Street pay its fair share—with polling, hard-hitting ads, and rallies all over the country.

But we need to raise $185,000 to kick it off—which means 64 donations from Seattle. Can you chip in $5?

https://pol.moveon.org/donate/deficit_commission0.html?bg_id=hpc5&id=21761-9640874-7OlEv0x&t=3

Social Security belongs to the American people, who pay into it every working day of our lives. But this election could determine whether conservative budget hawks finally have their way and make deep cuts to our benefits.

And there is a disturbing pattern of conservative fear-mongering on Social Security that is ramping up each day. Most recently it was Republican Leader, John Boehner followed by several other Republican congressmen. And before that former Senator Alan Simpson, the head of a commission that will make recommendations on Social Security this fall, called Americans who rely on Social Security “lesser people.”

That’s why we’re kicking off a major campaign to push back on the lies about Social Security, hold politicians who want to cut it accountable, and get progressive solutions to the deficit—like a bold job creation program or making sure corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes—on the table.

Here’s some of what we’re planning:

Deep grassroots organizing: We’re going to organize MoveOn members in races to make sure those on the wrong side of the economy and Social Security hear about it everywhere they go. At the same time, MoveOn members across the country will be making sure that Democrats know that voters want an ambitious jobs program and they expect Wall Street and the super rich to pay their fair share of taxes.

Polling: We’re planning to poll in critical swing states and districts to show that voters don’t support conservative answers on the economy. We know that voters are more interested in jobs than Social Security cuts but in an election year, the only language that politicians understand is polling. And that’s what we’ll do.

Ads: We’re going to work on a cutting-edge media program to push out the voices of those who are hurting most in this economy so Washington hears from them directly. Their stories are powerful. And they’ll show politicians that cutting Social Security for the elderly or Medicaid from those who need it most is not the answer voters are looking for.

This is critical work—but the other side is well organized and we need to start right away if we’re going to make an impact. Can you chip in $5?

https://pol.moveon.org/donate/deficit_commission0.html?bg_id=hpc5&id=21761-9640874-7OlEv0x&t=4

Thanks for all you do.

–Nita, Daniel, Duncan, Amy, and the rest of the team