~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

URGENT: Marriage equality at stake in NH


 
Change.org
Act now: Stop the NH legislature from abolishing marriage equality.
Sign the Petition

While the country is distracted by the New Hampshire primary, New Hampshire’s state legislature is swiftly moving to abolish gay marriage. They could vote on the issue as soon as this Thursday.

Craig Stowell is a New Hampshire native who recently testified at the New Hampshire State House to ask the legislature not to pass HB 437, the bill that would abolish marriage equality. But Craig isn’t gay — in fact, he’s a straight married Marine, and a conservative Republican.

Craig knows firsthand how damaging it can be when the government says it’s okay to treat the LGBT community like second-class citizens. Craig’s brother Calvin was horribly bullied as a kid because he’s gay. “There were nights that I worried I may wake up and he wouldn’t be there any longer; crushed by the misery he was forced to endure,” Craig says.

So Craig started a petition on Change.org asking the New Hampshire legislature to reject HB 437. The vote could come in a matter of days. Please click here to sign Craig’s petition right now — your signature will be delivered to the New Hampshire legislature immediately.

Since New Hampshire legalized marriage equality in 2009, more than 1,800 loving same-sex couples have been married. Polls show that a large majority of New Hampshire residents support that right — 62%, according to a recent poll from the University of New Hampshire.

“When my wife Berta and I were married, Calvin was right there by my side as my best man,” Craig says. “I want the opportunity to be his best man when he finds the person he wants to marry. With your help, I know we can ensure that freedom will still be there when he does.”

New Hampshire legislators may think they can sneak in HB 437 during the ruckus surrounding the New Hampshire primary, but they need to know that their actions are being watched and that people in New Hampshire and around the country won’t stand for this vicious step backward.

Time is short — click here right now to sign Craig’s petition demanding that the New Hampshire legislature reject HB 437, the bill that would abolish marriage equality.

Thanks for being a change-maker,

– Eden and the Change.org team
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Tell Cruise Ships to Stop Spewing Filth Into Our Pristine Oceans!


 

make a difference

  • Target: Michael Thamm, AIDA President; Dr Michael Frenzel, Chief Executive of TUI AG
  • Sponsored by: Care2.com

What comes to your mind when you think of pollution? Thick black oil smeared on clean ice? Small piping shorebirds strangled by old plastic? According to the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU), you should be thinking of something entirely different – cruise ships.

NABU recently singled out AIDA and TUI, two German-based cruise lines, for their harmful environmental impact. In one day alone, a ship generates 21,000 gallons of sewage, which is often dumped untreated three miles from shore, as well as one ton of garbage, 170,000 gallons of wastewater, 6,400 gallons of oily bilge water, and 25 pounds of batteries, fluorescent lights, medical wastes, and expired chemicals.

It’s time for cruise lines like AIDA and TUI to stop putting profits over the environment. Updating their filtration systems to stop spewing filth into the ocean is a great first step to improving their impact on the environment. Tell AIDA and TUI to clean up their waste filtration systems today!

 Cruise ships are massive polluters, spewing filth into our oceans every day. You can make a difference; add your voice to the conversation. »
AIDA and TUI, two German-based cruise lines, were recently singled out for their highly negative environmental impacts.
AIDA and TUI supply every possible luxury to their passengers, but refuse to invest in a filtration system that would keep poisonous emissions from blackening our skies. As the 15 largest cruise ships produce as much air pollution as the world’s 760 million cars, this is not acceptable.
Take action. Click here to add your signature, telling AIDA and TUI install filtration systems in their cruise ships! »
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Official Google Blog


Happy 100th birthday, Charles Samuel Addams

Posted: 06 Jan 2012 09:01 PM PST

From time to time we invite guests to post about items of interest and are pleased to have H. Kevin Miserocchi, executive director of the Tee and Charles Addams Foundation, join us today to talk about cartoonist Charles Samuel Addams. Addams is best known as the creator of the Addams Family, and is the subject of a doodle today in honor of his 100th birthday. -Ed.

I spent the summer of 1979 fundraising with Tee Matthews Miller for the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons. We spent most of our time in the home she shared with her cartoonist paramour—and too many dogs and cats to name—during his weekends away from Manhattan. I’d met her partner several times before I realized that behind all the stacks of paper and collectibles and layers of dust and pet fur in Tee’s office den, the walls were decorated with familiar art. Not just any art—the original artwork from the pages of The New Yorker magazines that my brother and I had cut up or crayoned across when we were boys. Tee’s boyfriend was the Charles Addams—the one with two d’s. I was home, and our friendship was forever cemented.

They were married in Tee’s pet cemetery in Water Mill, NY in 1980—a surprise for the 60 guests coming for cocktails during the Memorial Day weekend. The wedding party all wore black. It was the union of a wonderful woman of gentle spirit and great generosity and a beguiling man with a subtly wicked sense of humor. Bashful and soft-spoken as he was, he had a devil-child glint in his eyes and a Lugosi-like mouth when he laughed, showing none of his teeth.

Eleven years after his 1988 death, his widow and I formed the not-for-profit Tee and Charles Foundation to protect his legacy as an extraordinary cartoonist with a painterly technique, and to educate people about Charlie’s gift by exhibiting his work worldwide. Following Tee’s passing in 2002, the Foundation dedicated the couple’s Sagaponack homestead, “The Swamp,” as a museum. They had moved there in the mid-1980s, and in true Addams style, they took their cemetery with them—a sweet place where their ashes are interred alongside those of their beloved dogs and cats.

Of the thousands of works Charlie published in his 55 years of cartooning, only 150 were devoted to the group of characters who became known as The Addams Family. But the perfectly off-center humor behind these characters won worldwide adoration even before they became the television and film family we know today. Even for those who never had the thrill of knowing the classy gentleman behind this unique art, Charlie’s family continues to capture the hearts of new generations of cartoon aficionados. We hope today’s doodle inspires you to seek out more of his work.

Posted by H. Kevin Miserocchi, Executive Director, Tee and Charles Addams Foundation

~ 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
photo  
   
   
 
~ Culture & History

Upcoming event: Arab Tech Emerging – Enabling the Next Generation of Innovators


Arab Tech Emerging Save The Date - Feb. 2nd

Arab Tech Emerging — Enabling the Next Generation of Innovators

Featuring global business development experts from
Google, Startup Weekend, and Mercy Corps

When: Thursday, February 2nd / Reception 6pm — 6:30pm, Program 6:30pm — 8pm
Where: 415 Westlake Ave N Seattle WA 98109 (South Lake Union)
Price: $10 — wine, beer, hors d’oeuvres served

Who should attend the event?

  • Individuals interested in gaining insights into Middle Eastern tech business, culture and the aspirations of the next generation of young Arabs
  • Social impact investors and philanthropists looking to engage in the Middle East
  • Technology experts interested in volunteering as trainers or mentors to young Arab developers and entrepreneurs

Space is limited. You may purchase tickets here

Official invitation and additional details to follow

Contact Caroline Silver for more information

politics,pollution,petitions,pop culture & purses