Category Archives: ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

a few thousand of us gathered in Springfield, Illinois, to launch an improbable campaign for President.


Five years ago today, a few thousand of us gathered in Springfield, Illinois, to launch an improbable campaign for President.

The task was to build a grassroots movement capable of making the kind of change we believe in.

You’ve got to see this video about that journey — it will make you smile:


From the very start this has been an experiment in our political process, testing whether ordinary people really can still come together to change this country.

We proved that it’s possible. But we’ve also learned that entrenched interests adapt and claw back even harder, which means this election will be even more of a challenge.

I can’t wait to see what you can do.

Barack

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More than 1 million people like you power this campaign. If you can, please donate today.

This Valentine’s Day, send your heart to the Horn of Africa.


Mercy Corps
Share the love! Send a Mercy CorpseValentine.

Send your heart to the Horn of Africa

Make a donation today and you’ll have the opportunity to choose one of five eValentines — like the one pictured above — to share with the ones you love!

This Valentine’s Day, send your heart to the Horn of Africa.

While many of us are showered with affection this time of year, 1.5 million people in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia are surviving only because of the compassion you’ve shown them.  We’ve accomplished so much already with your support.  But the fight is far from over.

Carmen, you can help deliver lifesaving food, clean water and vital medical supplies to families in the Horn of Africa and others in urgent need around the world.  Make a donation today in honor of a loved one, and send them a special Mercy Corps Valentine eCard to commemorate your gift.

In some regions, the rain has started to fall, but it has often brought more devastation instead of relief.   Roads that deliver critical food and supplies are flooded and impassable, and contaminated water is fueling the spread of diseases like cholera.  Although most media attention has moved on, the crisis persists — millions are still in need.  Every day, children and families are still going hungry.

With your support, Mercy Corps can help families recover and rebuild, by providing job training and small business grants, and helping farmers boost their crop yields through drought-resistant seeds.

Together we can offer long-term solutions that will help keep families alive — and help them thrive in the future.  Please send your heart to the Horn of Africa today, by making a gift in honor of your loved one. Your compassion will change lives — in the Horn of Africa and around the world.

Sincerely,

Dan O'Neill, Mercy Corps

Dan O’Neill Founder

WA State – Support Jay Inslee FOR Governor … Building a Working Washington


Dear Supporter,

Read my jobs planEarlier today, I unveiled my jobs plan, Building a New Economy for Washington, and the proposals I will pursue to create jobs as Washington’s next governor.

If there’s one state I believe can turn its economy around, that can harness an innovative and creative vision for the future, it’s our state. We are uniquely suited to build a new economy that raises the quality of life for middle-class families for generations to come — and that’s because our state has a unique blend of innovation and values not found anywhere else.

We create. We invent. We build.

This is our first major policy proposal, but it won’t be our last. Over the weeks and months to come, this will be the trailhead as we chart a path to Building a Working Washington.

I want to know you’re standing with me.

Read my plan, Building a New Economy for Washington, today and then sign on as a citizen endorser.

Washingtonians are at a crucial point in our history.

We are still trying to recover from this recession. We are in an international competition for jobs. The middle class is being squeezed like never before. For the first time, parents are facing the prospect of diminished opportunity for their kids.

It’s a wake-up call, and I refuse to let it go unanswered.

My plan takes into account these challenges, the potential we have right now to take steps in the right direction, and the opportunity we have to build on Washington’s innovative past and grow industries of the future like clean tech.

We accomplish this by focusing on existing industry clusters where Washington already can — or has the potential to — out-compete national and international competitors. Then we examine what is standing in the way of growing these industries further, what competition we face from out of state, and what changes we can make that will immediately make Washington more competitive to keep existing jobs while creating new ones.

I hope you’ll take a few minutes to read my plan and let me know you’re with me.

Read my plan, Building a New Economy for Washington, today and then sign on as a citizen endorser.

In the coming year, we have a choice. We can choose to go small, and tinker around the edges, and suffer from the same tired economic results.

Or we can choose a different approach — a bold, innovative, forward-thinking approach — led by someone who isn’t afraid to think outside the box, be independent, and take the difficult, but right, path.

Together, we will build this new economy. It will take hard work, but that is in our state’s history — and in our future.

I’m committed to this fight. I hope you are too. Read my plan today, and join me.

Very truly yours,


Jay Inslee

a message from greenpeace


A decade of progress protecting the Amazon rainforest is in serious trouble.

The Brazilian agribusiness lobby is on the offensive. They’ve already used their influence to limit the government’s ability to enforce laws out in the field. Now they have their sights set on a new Forest Code bill that would provide amnesty to forest criminals, severely weaken protections for the Amazon and open up a section of forest larger than the state of Minnesota to possible deforestation.

This bill would spell disaster for the Amazon rainforest if passed. It’s already made its way through the Brazilian Senate and now it’s up to President Dilma to decide whether or not it becomes law. Now is our chance.

President Dilma cares about Brazil’s global reputation and wants to be a leader. Let her know that the world is watching and urge her to veto the new Forest Code bill before it’s too late!

Our goal is to get 30,000 Americans to join their allies in Brazil in speaking out against this law before she makes her final decision. That could be any day now in the coming weeks.

On the campaign trail, President Dilma stated that she wouldn’t sign a law that grants amnesty to forest criminals or reduces the size of protected areas in the Amazon. Politics are the same everywhere. And just like in the US, it is going to take massive public pressure from inside and outside Brazil to overcome special interests and make sure that President Dilma keeps her word.

The situation is so urgent that we’re sending our new flagship, the Rainbow Warrior, to Brazil later this month to help out. She’ll be leaving Florida and setting sail for the Amazon to support the campaign directly.

Brazilians have made it clear they don’t want this — about 80% oppose the bill. But this isn’t just a Brazilian issue. Amazon rainforest destruction has global consequences.

Greenpeace, along with other groups in the Amazon and allies within the Brazilian government, have made huge strides in the last ten years when it comes to protecting the Amazon. We can’t afford to let big agribusiness win this one.

President Dilma needs to hear from you…send her a message now.

For the forests,

Daniel Brindis Greenpeace Forest Campaigner

Foreign NGO Employees in Egypt Deserve Fair Trials!


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Egypt‘s new ruling military council is trying to assert its power on the world stage. What is the cost? »

The council has charged forty-three non-governmental organization (NGO) employees with funding the protests in Egypt. Several NGOs have had their offices raided by Egyptian authorities, and nineteen Americans, five Serbs, two Germans, and three non-Egyptian Arab nationals have been banned from leaving Egypt.

These employees, fighting for the rights of ordinary Egyptians, deserve to be treated in accordance with international human rights standards.

Please take action today. Tell the Egyptian government to ensure a fair trial for these NGO employees. »