Great news. We’ve won another huge victory for Sumatran tigers and the Indonesian rainforest they call home.

Thanks to your hard work, Kroger — which was previously the largest seller of Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) consumer tissue products in the US — has put out a public statement saying it will stop sourcing from APP. We only launched this campaign in October and within five days over 50,000 people like you took action. It’s clear that Kroger got the message.

The bad news is that APP still wants to sell tissue linked to rainforest destruction here in the US. Even after losing its largest US customer, APP is still refusing to take the simple steps needed to solve this problem. And, there are still major retailers in this country selling APP products. Kmart is one of the largest.

Our campaign is clearly working. Help us keep up the momentum and tell Kmart to follow Kroger’s lead by removing APP’s tissue products from its shelves until APP cleans up its act.

Rainforest destruction wrapped up in the form of throw-away tissue products is starting to pop up all over the US. Often stores selling the products don’t even know it. Together we can change that, harnessing the power of the marketplace to save forests in Indonesia.

Now is the time to keep the pressure up. That is why it is so important that you take a minute now to tell Kmart that there shouldn’t be any space for rainforest-destroying toilet paper on its store shelves.

With only 400 Sumatran tigers left, we can’t stop now. Now is the time to re-double our efforts, stand tall, and tell retailers not to buy APP tissue products until it ends its deforestation habit for good.

For the forests,

Rolf Skar
Greenpeace Senior Forest Campaigner

P.S. If we want to get Kmart to do the right thing, we need to spread the word far and wide. After you take action, please be sure to forward this email to friends and family who you think would also like to help out. The last 400 Sumatran tigers — and their rainforest home — are depending on us.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Bankrate.com

01/19/2012 Nativegrl77

Credit card rate cut request hurts score?

Asking for a rate reduction on a credit card might lower a credit score. Find out when it does.

5 tips on safely selling your gift cards

You don’t have to dump gift cards you can’t use. Some websites will pay for your plastic.

Is it smart to transfer a credit card balance?

Moving a large credit card balance to a low-interest card might sound good — but is it?

Video: Cut debt with balance transfer

Can a zero percent balance transfer credit card help cut high-interest debt?

Prepaid student ID cards making the grade?

A hybrid payment product lets student IDs double as prepaid cards. Here’s what to know.

Video: Interest rate predictions in 2012

Interest rates hit rock bottom in 2011. Where are they headed in 2012?

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Corporations are people, my friend …Rainforest Action Network

01/19/2012 Nativegrl77

“Corporations are people, my friend.”

Take a guess. Is this:

A. a line from eerie new sci-fi flick starring Christopher Walken
B. a statement by Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney
C. a typical morning self-affirmation by oil & gas industry CEOs

The answer is B. Mitt Romney made this statement with a straight face in front of both public and press at the Iowa State Fair last year. And if you’ve heard about the infamous Citizens United ruling, then you know that the U.S. Supreme Court agrees.

Do you think that “corporate personhood” is best kept in the world of science fiction? Ready to fight back? Good. So are we! Join us this week on the anniversary of Citizen’s United in letting corporations and their political allies know that democracy is for the people. Real people. We The People.

Understanding Citizen’s United

Trying to understand the many frustrating complexities of “corporate personhood” and its role in the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling could drive some people to want to just crack a beer and watch Simpsons reruns all night long. Do not fear. We’ve got a cartoon here (from the brilliant people who brought you The Story of Stuff) that makes understanding Citizens United a snap.

Take Action on the Anniversary of Citizen’s United

This Friday and Saturday, you will have a historic opportunity to challenge corporate power on the anniversary of Citizen’s United. Join us in the streets at events in San Francisco and Minneapolis or find an action in your town!

January 20 Join RAN at Occupy Wall Street West in San Francisco
January 21 Join RAN in the Twin Cities
Find an Action in Your Town

President Obama Rejects Keystone XL Pipeline

Great news! President Obama has just rejected the Keystone XL pipeline. Thanks to all of you who were part of the grassroots opposition to this massive pipeline. Against huge threats from Big Oil, President Obama stepped up to defend the health of the American people and our climate. Join us in thanking the president and encouraging him to continue the fight for our green energy future.

Levi’s Takes a Stand for Rainforests

RAN is pleased to announce that denim giant Levi Strauss & Co. has implemented a new paper policy in its operations around the globe. This makes Levi’s the latest company in an ever-growing list of major corporate customers to exclude supplier Asia Pulp & Paper for its human rights abuses and blatant rainforest destruction. Kudos to Levi’s for taking a strong stand to protect forests in Indonesia and around the world.

Bankrupting America on Tumblr

From fees to foreclosures to coal financing, Bank of America has got zero love these days. In fact, we thought BoA deserved its own shiny new website to track the vast amounts of ire it’s garnering from people across the country, so RAN and The New Bottom Line are bringing you Bankrupting America on Tumblr. This blog features BoA’s foibles, follies, and clever pushback from people who’ve had enough (like the activists who modified every BoA ATM screen in San Francisco in a single night). If you’ve got a juicy video, photo, news story or personal account about Bank of America, we want to hear about it. Submit your story today!

Great Moments in Stupid Chevron PR

Now that Chevron has been found guilty—again —for intentionally dumping a massive amount of toxic oil waste in the Ecuadorean Amazon, the company has become particularly desperate to explain why it refuses to take responsibility. We’ve remixed some of the most ridiculous excuses Chevron spokespeople have made over the years into a magnum opus of Great Moments in Stupid Chevron PR. Check out the video, then submit your own brilliant ideas for Chevron’s next stupid excuse!

Field Report: The High Stakes of Palm Oil

To understand how palm oil—an ingredient in more than 50% of household products in the U.S.—really affects the people, ecosystems, and animals on the ground in Indonesia, read this latest field report from RAN forest campaigners Lafcadio Cortesi and Ashley Schaeffer. These two traveled deep into the jungles of Borneo to document the tragic impacts of palm oil plantation expansion on some of the most beautiful primary rainforests in the world.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Update on Keystone XL … James Kvaal – Policy Director, BarackObama.com

01/19/2012 Nativegrl77

I wanted to make sure you heard the news: Earlier today, the State Department denied the permit to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline.

President Obama had made clear that a project of this magnitude — with high stakes for public health, the environment, and our country’s energy supply — needed a thorough review. But Republicans in Congress demanded an up-or-down decision in just 60 days, cutting short a process that was already under way with an unreasonable deadline.

Our opponents have some powerful friends in the oil industry, and they’re fighting back hard.

Say you stand with the Obama administration’s effort to protect the environment, develop our natural resources responsibly, and create jobs:

http://my.barackobama.com/Keystone-XL

Get the full story here.

Thanks,

James

James Kvaal
National Policy Director
Obama for America

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

On Sat., Jan. 21, the NFLPA (NFL Players Association) will host the AstroTurf NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in Carson, Calif. — Please help if you can

01/19/2012 Nativegrl77

Everyone’s struggling in this economy—some of us more than others. Can you afford even a small donation to make 2012 a little bit brighter for someone less fortunate than yourself?

Not all of us can afford to give this year. So if you can afford to help, your contribution is more important than ever. Here are two things you can do:

1. Since Aug. 1, 1,300 BCTGM (Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers) members in Minnesota, North Dakota and Iowa have been locked out of their factories by American Crystal Sugar. The company has hired replacement workers and continues to refuse to return to the bargaining table.

Click here to pitch in and help 1,300 union brothers and sisters who have been locked out by their employer since Aug. 1.

2. On Sat., Jan. 21, the NFLPA (NFL Players Association) will host the AstroTurf NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in Carson, Calif.

What’s special about this game is that the AFL-CIO is working with the players to fill the stadium with people—particularly union members—who have lost their jobs, plus local youths and members of the military. It costs $12.50 to donate a ticket.

Can you help? Click here to donate one or more tickets. (If you live near Carson, Calif., or can make it to the game, you can also purchase tickets for the game here, using discount code UNION to save 20 percent.)

Whichever of these campaigns you choose, your donation will have an immediate, tangible impact on people’s lives in the New Year.

Thanks for all the work you do.

In Solidarity,

Manny Herrmann
Online Mobilization Coordinator, AFL-CIO