Category Archives: ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Trapped and dying in Qatar


Thousands in Qatar are trapped working in horrific conditions, and barred from escaping home by abusive bosses. An American company could help free them and we can make their CEO act by bringing the slave horror right to her hometown. Join the call:

SIGN THE PETITION

Forced to work under the desert’s scorching sun, denied food, drinking water, and barred from escaping home, thousands of men in Qatar are modern day slaves. And we can help free them.

Last year, one person died every other day building a billion dollar mega-project for Qatar’s 2022 World Cup. A major part of the project is managed by an American company with a CEO who lives in a quiet part of Colorado. If more than 1 million of us stand together for freedom, we can confront her with our voices every time she leaves her house to go to work, or to ski, until she takes action.

This same tactic pushed Hilton Hotels to protect women against sex trafficking in days — join the urgent call to help free Qatar’s modern slaves:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/bloodiest_world_cup_loc/?biEWLbb&v=54097

Qatar’s “guest worker” program is at the root of the problem. It lures people from Nepal and Sri Lanka with promises of good jobs, but when they arrive their employers confiscate their passports and force them to work long hours in 50 degree heat with no chance of escape.

The US company, CH2M Hill, say the local contractors and government laws are to blame, but CH2M Hill is the public face of World Cup construction. Their CEO can and must take a lead role in ensuring we don’t see seven more years of worker deaths. She could even threaten to take their business elsewhere unless this system is changed.

CH2M Hill has a responsibility to help stop this modern day slavery. Our call now could persuade CH2M Hill to speak out and then lead other companies to weigh in until every single worker has the freedom to return home. Join the call — when we reach 1 million, our voices will be delivered directly to CH2M Hill CEO Jacqueline Hinman again, and again and again:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/bloodiest_world_cup_loc/?biEWLbb&v=54097

One big global outcry at the right time can save thousands of lives. When Hilton Hotels wasn’t doing enough to protect women and girls from sex trafficking at their hotels, Avaaz staff brought our call to the CEO’s front door and the policy was changed in days. Let’s do it again

With hope,

Emma, Nell, Mais, Ricken, Alice and the whole Avaaz team

Sources:

Death toll among Qatar’s 2022 World Cup workers revealed (The Guardian)
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/23/qatar-nepal-workers-world-cup-2022-death-toll-doha

Building a Better World Cup (Human Rights Watch)
http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/qatar0612webwcover_0.pdf

At a Qatar Project Overseen by Americans, Workers Die Almost Daily (Bloomberg)
http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2013-09-26/at-a-qatar-project-overseen-by-americans-workers-die-almost-daily

Qatar accused of dragging its feet over treatment of migrant workers
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/12/qatar-accused-dragging-feet-migrant-workers-world-cup-amnesty

Qatar risks losing World Cup without job reform (Reuters)
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/qatar-risks-losing-world-cup-without-job-reform-124324042–sow.html

John Tye – Avaaz.org


Stop settlement subsidies

Americans have sent $200 million to far right Israeli settlers — tax free. Millions that could pay for U.S. health care and education instead pay for sniper rifle scopes and surveillance cameras to push Palestinians off their land. Tell the IRS to enforce its own rules and stop subsidizing settlements:

SIGN THE PETITION

Over $200 million has been funneled, tax free, from US donors to radical Israeli settler groups. Millions that should go to health care and education here at home instead pay for sniper rifle scopes and surveillance cameras to help extremist settlers push Palestinians off their land.

It’s shocking, and it’s illegal. Everyone knows these tax breaks violate IRS rules — but there hasn’t been an outcry to force the IRS to audit these pseudo-charities and cancel their tax benefits. Now is the moment to change this.

Israel’s pro-settlement Prime Minister will address Congress in Washington next week, and the media is looking for a controversy. We can give them one, with a major media outcry — and legal action to push the IRS to stop settlement subsidies. Sign now:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/stop_settlement_subsidies_a/?biEWLbb&v=54264

Tax deductible donations are supposed to be a privilege reserved for actual charities that help people — not systematic campaigns to disenfranchise Palestinians through force. The law is clear that these “charities” don’t qualify. The IRS looks the other way because it’s taboo to criticize illegal Israeli settlements.

Stopping these tax breaks wouldn’t affect donations to support Israel or Judaism — only donations headed to extreme right-wing militias, working to occupy land that the U.S. government agrees they don’t own.

During Netanyahu’s visit, the press will be reporting on these issues in detail — and if we ensure our call is a major part of that coverage, and combine it with legal action, we can make it impossible for the IRS to keep ignoring this. Sign now:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/stop_settlement_subsidies_a/?biEWLbb&v=54264

President Obama has made clear that there is no room for settlement expansion in the path to Israeli-Palestinian peace. With the world’s eyes on Netanyahu’s visit, we have the chance to bring the hopes of the world to bear on this key moment, and help win a key victory for a more just future, with rights for all.

With hope and determination,

John, Nick, David, Terra, Rewan and the whole Avaaz team

SOURCES

Can I Take a Tax-Deduction on My Donation to Israeli Settlements in Palestine? (Foreign Policy)
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/01/29/illegal-tax-deduction-charity-israel-settlements-palestine-irs/

Tax-Exempt Funds Aid Settlements in West Bank (New York Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/06/world/middleeast/06settle.html

West Bank settlement expansion surged under Netanyahu (Haaretz)
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.631924

Press Briefing by Press Secretary Josh Earnest, 10/1/2014 (White House)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/10/01/press-briefing-press-secretary-josh-earnest-1012014

Shannon Watts, Everytown for Gun Safety


The NRA and its extremist allies have a vision for the future of our country: guns for anyone, anywhere, with no questions asked.

In a word, it’s Crazytown.

And all it takes is one look at the hundreds of dangerous bills the gun lobby has introduced in state legislatures across the country to see how their vision could become a reality.

That’s why we’re launching a campaign to Stop Crazytown. It’s our line in the sand against the absurdity and danger of the NRA’s extremist agenda — like “guns everywhere” laws that encourage people to carry guns in schools and bars, or permitless carry laws that say you don’t need a background check or even training to carry a loaded weapon in public.

Click here to help Stop Crazytown by joining our rapid response campaign. We’ll expose (and fight!) the NRA’s state-by-state effort to gut our public safety laws. add your name to the Stop Crazytown campaign.

callout

When you join, you’ll be the first to know about our efforts to push back on extreme laws as they pop up in state legislatures around the country. We’ll look to you to help shine a light on the gun lobby’s tactics in your state and elsewhere — and then take action to stop them in their tracks.

And we know it works!

Rapid response actions from Everytown and Moms Demand Action supporters helped defeat an extremist gun bill in Michigan last month that would have let domestic abusers carry concealed, loaded weapons. Volunteers sounded the alarm and drove more than 1,000 calls to the governor’s office, and finally got him to veto the bill.

Actions like these save lives. All we need are supporters like you to be a voice for sanity and common sense.

Do you want to Stop Crazytown and fight back against the NRA’s terrifying vision for America? Click below to automatically join the fight:

http://act.everytown.org/sign/Stop-Crazytown/

The gun lobby has had this field to themselves for 30 years. With your help, we’re going toe-to-toe with them.

Thanks for standing with us,

Shannon Watts
Founder
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America

Greg Loarie, Earthjustice


save-the-bees200Bee populations are plummeting. And scientists are pointing to toxic bee-killing pesticides known as neonicotinoids as a cause.

We’re fighting in court and partnering with other groups to demand action now to save bees, but we need your help.

Join us and 4 million Americans to tell President Obama to suspend the use of toxic bee-killing pesticides now!

These pesticides make the whole plant poisonous to insects, including the nectar and pollen, which bees eat. At miniscule doses the pesticides can kill bees outright, but even at doses that may not kill immediately, they impair bees’ ability to breed, forage, fight disease, and survive the winter.

Nearly one-third of our crops—including many vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds—depend on bees for pollination.

We cannot delay action any longer.

Take action today and help us ensure that these pesticides do not become the final straw for bees.

Thank you for your help,

Greg Loarie
Attorney

Progressive Breakfast: The Real Social Security Crisis Is Income Inequality


Richard Long

The Real Social Security Crisis Is Income Inequality

Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) has called out his Senate Republican colleagues for “creating a phony crisis” with regard to Social Security while ignoring a real one – the income inequality that has eroded the long-term solvency of the Social Security trust fund. Sanders joined a conference call with Social Security Works on Thursday to highlight the conclusions of a report on the impact of income inequality on the Social Security program … When the payroll tax cap was last set in 1983, the payroll tax applied to 90 percent of total earned income. Today, the tax only covers 83 percent of earned income – a consequence of all of the income gains of recent decades going to the top 10 percent of earners.

Obama v. Warren on Trade

Obama pushes trade agenda in local TV interviews. W. Post:“Among the television stations Obama spoke with was KGW in Portland, Ore., the home state of Sen. Ron Wyden, whom the White House views as a key Democratic ally on trade … Wyden and Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) have been negotiating a ‘fast-track’ bill that both sides hope could be introduced in March, with a goal of sending it to Obama’s desk by the end of the month … On the Senate floor, [Sen. Elizabeth] Warren joined a group of six other Democratic senators in warning against the dangers of unfair trade practices, using a placard reading ‘Not Another NAFTA’…”

Warren prioritizing trade fight. Politico:“Warren’s comments … focused on an obscure piece of the TPP agreement, the so-called Investor-State Dispute Settlement process, which allows multinational corporations to sue national governments in international forums and win cash judgments that cannot be appealed … Warren’s ability to rally progressives could make the math of getting the deals done more challenging … Some pro-trade Democrats were privately dismissive of Warren’s arguments, saying the senator was stoking unrealistic fears.”

House Moves Toward 3-Week Homeland Security Extension

House will vote to fund Homeland Security for three weeks. The Hill:“If the bill is approved by the House, the Senate is expected to quickly follow suit — though the upper chamber also plans to move forward with a bill funding Homeland Security through the end of the fiscal year … [But] House Democrats said they are whipping against the measure, which could make it difficult for Republicans to win the 218 votes necessary for passage given grumbling from some on the right that the measure would do nothing to attack President Obama’s executive actions on immigration.”

Sen. Schumer says Dems will support. The Hill:“‘…we’re not going to shut the government down,’ Schumer, who is vice chair of the Democratic conference, said on MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe.’”

No Surrender In Greece

Greece did not surrender, argues NYT’s Paul Krugman:“… that the main issue of contention involves just one number: the size of the Greek primary surplus … Syriza has always been clear that it intends to keep running a modest primary surplus … The question instead was whether Greece would be forced to impose still more austerity … did the current Greek government back down and agree to aim for those economy-busting surpluses? No, it didn’t…”

Syriza wants to crack down on tax cheats to shore up finances. NYT:“… fixing Greece’s finances [means] reshaping a system in which Greek tycoons dominate much of the economy and engage in sometimes murky business practices — including, Mr. Tsipras asserts, tax evasion — that analysts say deprive state coffers of billions in revenue … Frustratingly out of reach … is considerable untaxable Greek wealth outside the country.”

GOP ’16ers Pander To Right

Jeb Bush entertains flat tax. W. Post:…Bush began an aggressive outreach to more suspicious conservatives with an appearance before [the Club for Growth] … Bush said that he was open to a flat tax and that his eventual policy plan would be ‘bigger and broader tax relief.’”

Gov. Scott Walker says busting unions prepares him to defeat ISIS. The Hill:“‘If I can take on 100,000 protestors, I can do the same across the world,’ Walker said in response to a question about international terrorism [at CPAC]”

Jeb addresses CPAC today. The Hill:“Bush will have to face his two biggest liabilities among conservatives head on Friday — his support for Common Core and immigration reform.”