President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry talk with President Vladimir Putin of Russia after a bilateral meeting at the United Nations in New York, N.Y. Sept. 28, 2015. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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K-9 dog threatened with euthanasia

10/01/2015 Nativegrl77

Petitioning Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett, Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger

Bring Police K9 Chip Home to his Family

Petition by Bo Curry

United States

138,390

Supporters

Sign Bo’s petition

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Amazon Watch: URGENT TWITTER ACTION – Ecuadorian President Speaks at United Nations

10/01/2015 Nativegrl77

Ecuador Must End the Criminalization of Nonviolent Protest!

Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly this evening, attempting to downplay his government’s recent crackdown on indigenous and civil society protests.

Please take action IMMEDIATELY on Twitter and tell the UN General Assembly (#UNGA2015) that President Correa must end the criminalization of nonviolent protest in Ecuador.

TAKE ACTION

During last month’s nationwide strike, police and military met protests with violent repression. Indigenous leaders and organizers were persecuted. According to CONAIE, Ecuador’s national indigenous confederation, women were specifically targeted for attack, with reports of women being dragged through the street by their hair and threatened with rape.More than 200 people were detained, some 98 still face charges, and 24 are still in jail—many of whom have had trouble obtaining counsel because lawyers are too scared to represent them, fearing reprisals from the government.

Ironically, a major demand of the demonstrations was an end to the criminalization of protest. Indigenous leaders are also calling for a rejection of the proposed constitutional amendments that would end term limits and allow Correa to run for an unprecedented fourth term, an end to oil and mining projects in indigenous territories and Yasuni National Park, and the cancellation of a law that threatens indigenous access to water, among other issues.

While there were violent clashes that also resulted in police being injured, the government’s heavy handed response was denounced by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. The UN Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples called on Ecuador to “guarantee rights of indigenous peoples established in the constitution,” reminding that judicial guarantees and due process of those detained must be respected, particularly for those who find themselves in the situation for doing nothing other than exercising their right to peacefully protest.

We need to send a clear message to the United Nations and to President Correa today. Please join in – add your voice and urge your networks to stand for human rights in Ecuador today!

Thank you!

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Costa Rica’s sea turtles are in danger … Change.org

10/01/2015 Nativegrl77

Petitioning President of Costa Rica Luis Guillermo Solís

Stop Tourists and Poachers from Interrupting Sea Turtles from Nesting in Costa Rica

Petition by Lillian Zhang

Woodbridge, Connecticut

6,659

Supporters

Sign Lillian’s petition

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Emma Ruby-Sachs – Avaaz

10/01/2015 Nativegrl77

Dear friends,

Our movement is under threat.

Governments worldwide are passing gag laws, prohibiting protest and closing down organisations in the biggest crackdown on civil society in a generation.

Avaaz staff have been kicked out of Egypt. And in India, the biggest democracy in the world, Avaaz has been vilified and harassed by the government.

Avaaz’s power is our voices together. If governments outlaw us or sabotage our strategies, we are done. It’s time to fight back! And we’ve got a new killer plan to protect our democracies — a global legal defense team.

The truth is, in the fight between people and power, the people rarely get a good lawyer, because it’s too expensive. That’s where we come in. Avaaz already has a tiny world-class legal team. But, if we build the biggest, baddest crowdsourced pro-democracy legal group in the world, we’ll challenge repressive laws when they are drafted, and then destroy the worst attacks in court.

Click to donate just the cost of a meal out and help Avaaz march into court across the world to protect our freedoms. Let’s meet those demonising our work with fearlessness and resolve:
In the last three years, over 60 countries have passed laws that inhibit non-governmental groups. In Spain Avaazers could be fined up to 600,000 euros just for organising a peaceful protest. In Israel a draft law threatens to label brave human rights organisations as “foreign agents”, and cut off their international funds. And in Uganda a government body could soon dissolve any group it doesn’t like!

But we already know Avaaz legal action works. When the South African government tried to censor our campaign against the lion bone trade, we took them to court and won a landmark free speech case that set a standard for the whole country. And with enough support, we can together:

Expand the Avaaz legal team to have top class representation where Avaaz is under attack.
Build a database of the world’s best civil rights lawyers and bring them together to form a pro-democracy law group.
Develop legal challenges, lawsuits and campaigns to take on the rogues whenever they come after us.

These new regressive laws show politicians fear our emerging strength. We can’t let them now crush an informed and organised citizenship, it is a crucial pillar of democracy.

Click to donate to create a global people-powered legal team to complement our political might:

To donate another amount, click here.

There are moments where risking everything is necessary to preserve the very core of our democratic freedoms. That’s what we did when taking on powerful media barons in the UK and government cronies in Canada. If we raise the funds now, we can take on those that try to silence us, everywhere.

With hope and determination,

Emma, Alice, Ricken, Alex, Bert, Laila and the whole Avaaz team

P.S. If you are a lawyer who wants to be in the database of this global legal defense team click here.

SOURCES:

Human rights groups face global crackdown ‘not seen in a generation’ (Guardian)
http://www.theguardian.com/law/2015/aug/26/ngos-face-restrictions-laws-human-rights-generation

Spain gag law: protesters rally (International Business Times)
http://www.ibtimes.com/spain-gag-law-protesters-rally-against-new-public-demonstration-laws-1991816

India cracks down on Greenpeace, other environmental groups (Los Angeles Times)
http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-india-crackdown-greenpeace-20150113-story.html

Why are threats to civil society growing around the world (IPS News Agency)
http://www.ipsnews.net/2015/06/opinion-why-are-threats-to-civil-society-growing-around-the-world/

Israel: Foreign Agents Act for NGOs (The Jewish Press)
http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/mk-proposes-israeli-foreign-agents-registration-act-for-ngos/2015/06/23/

Avaaz takes on the lion bone trade (Wired)
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-06/17/lion-bone-clicktivism

Closing space. Democracy and human rights support under fire (Carnegie Endowment)
http://carnegieendowment.org/files/closing_space.pdf