Daily Archives: 05/16/2013

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Bullied by Nestle


 

There’s a new petition taking off on Change.org, and we think you might be interested in signing it:

Poland Spring and Nestle: It’s our water! Stop bullying my community!

By Nickie Sekera
Fryeburg, Maine
 
 
My name is Luke and I am 9 years old.  I live in Fryeburg with my mom and our water comes from the Fryeburg Water Company. Nestle, the biggest food and beverage corporation in the world, is trying to bully our community into a 45 year long contract for our natural spring water in rural Maine. If Nestle is allowed to sign a 45 year contract with Fryeburg, they will bully other towns across the country in agreements like this, too.
 
I do not feel that the 45 year contract is a good idea for several reasons. 
 
1) The Nestle corporation has caused grief in many other countries and I’m afraid they have already caused grief in our community.  As Nestle takes our spring water, our town’s water must now come from an area where an old industrial site once stood. If we want to drink our town’s natural spring water, we have to buy it in the store.
 
2) Nestle’s water brand Poland Spring claims to be a good neighbor, but I think when they sued the town and its people for saying “no” to them, that is not a good neighbor. In school we learn a lot about not bullying, and this seems like bully behavior to me. We do not want to be bullied for the next 45 years. 
 
I think we could have a reward system and have them as neighbors for five years at a time and make sure they stay a good neighbors and make sure our aquifer stays agreeably healthy.
 
If this contract is allowed to go through, I will be 54 when I have the next opportunity to speak about this – because that is when the 45 year contract will be done. 
 
My children and grandchildren may not have a voice in this matter. I want them to be proud of me and I must speak for them. 
 
That’s why my mom and I are asking the Public Utilities Commission to please not let Nestle take my community’s water and pride. Do not support the 45 year contract. Please protect us.
The person (or organization) who started this petition is not affiliated with Change.org. Change.org did not create this petition and is not responsible for the petition content.
 
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

H.R. 45, a bill to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act


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H.R. 45, a bill to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and health care-related provisions in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010

 
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Judy Waxman, National Women’s Law Center


National Women's Law Center
Getting the coverage you deserve!
                What to do if you are charged a co-pay, deductible, or co-insurance for preventive services.
Download Toolkit

We’ve been working hard to make sure you and your families know about the preventive coverage provided through Obamacare. We’ve heard from many women about how much this coverage has helped them!
But we’ve also heard about some women encountering problems while trying to get these services without cost-sharing. Have you gone to the pharmacy to get your birth control thinking you wouldn’t have a co-pay — only to find out that you did? Or have you gone to the doctor thinking your annual visit would be covered without a co-pay — but it wasn’t? When your insurance company isn’t working for you, we’re here to help.
Check out our newest resource: “Getting the Coverage You Deserve: What to Do If You Are Charged a Co-Pay, Deductible, or Co-Insurance for a Preventive Service.”
Thanks to Obamacare, health care plans under the reach of the law must cover women’s preventive health services like mammograms, birth control, and breast feeding supplies without imposing deductibles, co-insurance or co-payments. But some insurance companies are still, incorrectly, making us pay for these services. So we’ve created an easy-to-use resource for you to make an appeal to your insurance company when you’re incorrectly told to pay for your preventive care.
Check out our resource today and make sure you’re getting the health care you deserve!
Want to learn more? Visit www.nwlc.org/preventiveservices.
Sincerely,
Judy Waxman Judy Waxman Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights National Women’s Law Center    

P.S. If you have a question about using the toolkit, or you have trouble getting a preventive service covered and you’re unsure why, let us know! We might be able to help. Please contact us at 1-866-PILL4US or via email at pill4us@nwlc.org.
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Emma Ruby-Sachs- Avaaz.org


Imker
We win many victories together — like on bees last week. And now any one of us can start a campaign, by ourselves, in minutes. German beekeepers started a petition that got noticed by citizens across the country, then the media, then the government. Start your petition now on any issue that you care about — and it could be shared with thousands: 

Sign the petition

We win a lot of victories together, but any one of us can get the ball rolling all by ourselves. Remember that huge win we just had on bees?

Well a big part of it was due to a campaign *started* by Avaaz members!
The German vote was crucial to Europe deciding to ban dangerous pesticides. When a group of German beekeepers heard that Germany was likely to vote no, they used our new community tool to start their own petition. Soon over 150,000 people had signed from across the country, their petition had caught the eye of the media and, together with Avaaz staff, they delivered their call to the government!
A day later, Germany switched its vote — helping to pass the Europe-wide ban and save our bees. All it took was a few minutes to start a petition on an issue these amazing beekeepers cared about. And you don’t have to be a beekeeper or an expert or a campaigner to do the same — just click below to get started:
http://avaaz.org/en/petition/start_a_petition/
Starting a campaign is quick, but the impact can last for years. And there are no limits on what issue to choose — it could be saving a park from destruction, animals from being mistreated, citizens from corrupt politicians, anything.
Plus, if the petition gets enough support on its own, the staff at Avaaz could pick up the campaign, add strategic advice and even send it to a wider list of members. We’ve got tonnes of tips and advice to help you along the way — all it takes is to get started, share your passion and you can be on your way to winning on any issue – local, national or global.
Forward this email along now to people you know who could also use this tool to change the world — or click here to start an Avaaz petition of your own:
http://avaaz.org/en/petition/start_a_petition/
Our amazing community of more than 21 million people has already changed so much. We are transforming the way the world works by bringing people power to decision-making everywhere. Now, by investing in the campaigns that our fellow Avaaz members are all running around the world, we can take our community to the next level.
With hope,
Emma, Alex, Emily, Christoph, Oli, Wen, Caroline and the whole Avaaz team

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

CUNY Honors The Internatio​nal Youth Associatio​n (TIYA)


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The Black Institute’s (TBI) subsidiary organization The International Youth Association (TIYA) will be honored at CUNY’s first annual Murphy Institute Scholarship fundraiser. The Co-Founders Alden Nesbit and Mikhel Crinchlow will participate in a pre-event symposium where they will present their organizing plan for the immigration reform campaign as well as future campaign plans.

CUNYhonorsTIYA1.jpg Thursday, May 16, 2013 Click here to go to the event page.

For years several grassroots black-immigrant rights groups have been advocating for immigration reforms pertaining to Caribbean and African communities including family reunification, a pathway to citizenship for temporary status holders and affordable fines and fees associated with new citizenship. The International Youth Association (TIYA) has been instrumental in organizing the youth effort to be heard in the debate and has called for widespread changes to be made to the current Immigration Reform compromise.

This awards ceremony and symposium is a celebration of TIYA’s work but there is still so much more work to be done. TIYA believes our communities will not thrive under the current compromise because of the DREAM Act provision, backlog and triggers, and the elimination of the Diversity Visa Program. This first attempt at Comprehensive Immigration Reform is a valiant effort. But, it is clear that there is a lot of work ahead. Immigration Reform cannot be comprehensive nor common sense if it is exclusive and unfair.

Goals of The International Youth Association for the Outcome of Comprehensive Immigration Reform:

  • Comprehensive reform of Immigration policy to include protections for recruited immigrant professionals and their children (e,g, an expedited  pathway to Green Card status, a special category that includes recruited professionals from non-STEM disciplines, etc.).
  • Fulfill the promises of citizenship, education and job opportunity to recruited immigrant professionals and their families, including “aged-out” immigrant children.
  • End the criminalization and detention of immigrants, and implement safeguards to protect against racial profiling and ensure due process for all immigrants.
  • Reunite families torn apart by current Immigration policy by expanding benefits to include extended family, and altering the current DACA guidelines to allow children up to the age of 20 to enter the US.
  • Lessen the economic burden caused by current Immigration policy by investing resources and decreasing processing fees.
  • Expand the focus of the Immigration reform discourse to include the needs of Black immigrants and their children, who are often marginalized and ignored. This includes amending the language of the DREAM act to include children of immigrant professionals, and allowing the voices of Black immigrants to be heard.

Please help support our Organizing and Immigration Work. The gift that you give today will help our small but effective staff work to shed light on the issues that plague Black communities; empowering our men, women and children to speak out against injustice, maltreatment, ineffective government, poor public policy, inadequate and inefficient social service programs, and poor working conditions. Any amount you can give will help further our mission.

Please make a tax deductible donation or become a monthly Sustainer TODAY.

The Black Institute http://www.theblackinstitute.org/