Category Archives: ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

BREAKING: Administra​tion takes step forward with family unity waiver


 
 
 
New procedure change could keep more families together
Last month, we resolved to make 2012 the year for immigrant families — the year we show our united strength to defend our communities from the threats of the broken, unjust American immigration system.Today, the administration is proposing changes that would keep hundreds of thousands of families together.Imagine this scenario: your father leaves home to apply for his US visa — and finds himself barred from returning. Or your wife, finalizing her application to gain a visa, is stuck waiting months across the border, with no form of recourse.

Situations like these are reality for hundreds of thousands of immigrants and their families. It’s a catch-22 in the American immigration system: if you return to your country of origin to apply for a visa, you trigger a bar of 3 or even 10 years that prevents you from coming back to the US.

The administration is proposing family unity waivers that would allow spouses and children of US citizens to file for visas while remaining in the US.

Today’s announcement is welcome news. This reform could prevent parents from missing a decade of their children’s lives, and spouses from facing years without the support and care of their partners. There’s nothing abstract about potentially sparing hundreds of thousands of individuals from being separated from their families for years.

Read more about what these changes mean and how you can join in our commitment to make 2012 the year for even more common-sense reform to keep families together.

With hope,

Donna De La Cruz
Reform Immigration FOR America

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Bankrate.com


Hello Bankrate Reader,
 
 
 
12 smart savings tips that yield return in 2012
Building savings for the future has gotten more costly. Put more money away with these tips.
 
Video: Smart mobile banking
Learn about the convenient, secure way to manage your money anytime, anywhere.
 
12 mortgage moves for you to buy home in 2012
The mortgage market has been tight in the downturn. These tips will help you snag a loan.

Charlotte 2012


        
charlotte in 2012
Dear Charlotte in 2012 supporter,Four years ago, the Iowa caucus started President Obama’s historic journey to the White House. This year, his journey will take him through Charlotte, North Carolina in September for the 2012 Democratic National Convention.Every day until September is important. We are relying on people like you to help any way you can – starting by watching this short video.


I’m going to say it a million more times before September — we are funding this Convention unlike any of its predecessors. We are starting a grassroots movement with the help of thousands of people just like you. I’m asking you today to give what you can, every month, between now and the convention. Is that $5 or $10? Next September is what we make it. Please give today.

Let’s make this convention a success together. Please watch.

Sincerely,

Anthony Foxx
Mayor

Where should Avaaz go in 2012?


Happy New Year!! It’s going to be a big one.

Democracy is on the march across the world, and our community is at the heart of the struggle, but to win we’re going to need to choose our course wisely. Click below to take the annual Avaaz all-member poll, and let’s decide together where to focus our energies in 2012.

The poll takes a few minutes to complete, but the more of us take it, the wiser our course will be:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/january_poll_2012/?vl

And if you don’t have time to take the poll right now, we can all see the results as they come in here:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/january_poll_2012_people_power/?bv11891

Last year we ran hundreds of campaigns and played a key role in dozens of victories, including: 

• Putting a wrench in Media-Mogul Rupert Murdoch’s march to world domination
• Breaking the Syria media blackout and supporting courageous democracy movements across the Middle East
• Taking on Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi at every turn until his corrupt regime fell
• Blocking the Gay Death Penalty Bill in Uganda
• Stopping a mega highway that sliced right through indigenous protected lands in Bolivia
• Building a massive anti corruption movement in India that has repeatedly forced the government to back down
• Building a global movement for Palestinian independence
• Saving the Kyoto Protocol and UN climate process from polluting powers determined to wreck it
..and much, much more. 

With the world undergoing profound change, and our community twice the size it was last January, imagine what this year’s list could look like. The challenges may be coming thick and fast, but when we stick together, we can transform them into opportunities to build the world we all dream of. Here’s to building dreams in 2012.

With hope,

Ricken, Alice, Benjamin, Diego, Emma, and the whole Avaaz team

Chevron found guilty… Again by Ginger Cassady, Rainforest Action Network


Help Chevron come up with its next absurd excuse
Help Chevron come up with its next absurd excuse

A court of appeals in Ecuador has upheld the $18 billion ruling of a lower court, confirming what 30,000 Ecuadoreans suffering from Chevron’s oil pollution in the Amazon and activists the world over have known for decades: Chevron is guilty.

There is no question of Chevron’s responsibility for dumping some 18 billion gallons of toxic oil waste in the Ecuadorean Amazon. The only question, at this point, is what ludicrous talking point Chevron will roll out this time to explain away its refusal to pay to clean up its mess.

Chevron spokespeople have claimed that oil is no more toxic than women’s makeup and that just because their company bought Texaco in 2001 doesn’t mean Chevron has to clean up its mess. They have vowed to fight against paying to clean up until hell freezes over, and then to “fight it out on the ice.” It’s clear the company could use a little help in crafting its excuses. Why don’t you help Chevron out by coming up with the next absurd talking point to justify putting profits before people?

The real reason Chevron won’t take responsibility for its mess in Ecuador is, of course, unbridled greed. And a complete disregard for human life. More than 1,400 Ecuadoreans have died from Chevron’s oil pollution in the Amazon, but it’s all about money for the Big Oil behemoth.

Everyone from oil industry analysts to Chevron shareholders are calling on the company to rethink its endless litigation strategy in Ecuador. What excuse can the company possibly come up with this time for refusing to clean up its mess? Why not help them out. Go to this page, pick your favorite Chevron spokesperson, enter your ludicrous excuse, and we’ll post it to our “Excuse Gallery” on ChevronThinksWereStupid.org.

Ginger Cassady
Ginger Cassady
Change Chevron