Tag Archives: Arizona

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Stop the massacres


                                Dear friends in the Avaaz Community,


Up to 15,000 dolphins are being killed every year in Peru’s waters — for bait to catch endangered sharks. A new report has forced the government to respond but they’re not taking enough action yet and meanwhile the dolphins and the sharks are being killed. We can stop the massacre by threatening Peru’s international reputation as a tourism destination. Sign now and share: 
SIGN THE PETITION

I just saw a report on the news in Peru showing how fishermen are slaughtering up to 15,000 dolphins every year — for bait to catch endangered sharks. The entire story made me sick — and now I’m fighting to end this nightmare. Will you join me?
My government is starting to react, but they’re not taking enough action yet. Dolphin hunting is already illegal and punishable with several years in prison, but authorities are turning a blind eye — allowing thousands of dolphins and sharks to be butchered. The government cares a lot about Peru’s international reputation, especially for tourism, and if we can make them feel embarrassed with a massive global campaign, I’m sure they’ll start taking action to end the massacre.
Once I deliver a million signatures from all over the world to the government of Peru, Avaaz will place ads in tourism magazines in countries where most of our tourists come from and the government won’t be able to ignore us! Help me stop the brutal slaughter by signing now:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/dolphin_hunt_peru/?biEWLbb&v=33625
When I saw this horrific hunt I realised I needed to do something about it before our dolphins and sharks are gone forever. So I decided to set up a petition and shared it with my friends and in less than 24 hours over 10,000 people had signed it!
Our oceans are under attack. Sharks and dolphins already face threats from pollution, climate change and entanglement in fishing gear. They play an important role as ocean predators and need to be protected — not butchered. Many marine ecosystems are on the verge of collapse from which they won’t recover and they will not wait while our politicians dither around making empty statements.
Tourism is Peru’s third largest industry, growing faster than any other South American country. Visitors are coming to see our pristine wilderness and eco-tourism is very important. We can create a serious threat by taking out hard-hitting ads in key countries where most visitors are coming from. Our government will realise people not only love our country because of the Machu Picchu and local gastronomy but also because they love our oceans and wildlife. Sign now and share this with everyone:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/dolphin_hunt_peru/?biEWLbb&v=33625
As an Avaaz member I’ve been truly amazed at our ability to help protect our oceans. At first, I wanted to get 15,000 signatures to represent the 15,000 dolphins that are killed every year but together we can represent all the dolphins and the sharks that can be saved in Peru’s waters!
With hope and excitement,
Zoe — together with the Avaaz Community Petitions Team
This petition was started on the Avaaz Community Petitions Site. It’s quick and easy to start a petition on any issue you care about, click here: http://avaaz.org/en/petition/start_a_petition/?30311
MORE INFORMATION:
Dolphins killed for shark bait in Peru (CNN) http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/22/world/americas/dolphins-killed-peru/
Dolphin Slaughter Fueled by Illegal Shark Trade (National Geographic) http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/10/24/dolphin-slaughter-fueled-by-illegal-shark-trade/
Revealed: brutal reality of world’s ‘biggest dolphin hunt’ (The Ecologist)  http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2122747/revealed_brutal_reality_of_worlds_biggest_dolphin_hunt

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Does Google support ALEC


Dear MoveOn member,

Stunning news: Google supports a right-wing front group that pushes anti-environment, anti-education and anti-worker policies. That’s why I started a petition on MoveOn.org to Google CEO Larry Page. The petition says:

The anti-environment, anti-education and anti-worker agenda of ALEC (the American Legislative Exchange Council) is the antithesis of what Google claims to stand for.Please end your support for ALEC and its extremist policies today!

Sign Marisol’s petition

I’m Marisol Garcia, a teacher and MoveOn member in Phoenix, Arizona. I’ve witnessed ALEC’s dangerous agenda firsthand.

ALEC has repeatedly tried to dismantle our public schools by rerouting taxpayer funds toward private and for-profit institutions, attacking the reduced price school lunch program and attempting an end-run around teachers’ unions. On top of that, ALEC has repeatedly pushed voter suppression efforts, discouraged policies that would expand alternative energy use, and promoted the dangerous “Stand Your Ground” law in states across America.

Google has a great reputation and I couldn’t be happier about the recent investments my school made to bring tools like Chrome and Google Docs to my students—but that makes Google’s involvement with ALEC even more disappointing. Please join me in asking Google to end its support for ALEC.

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Thanks!

–Marisol Garcia

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Can your community handle 44 million tons of coal?


Speak Out Against the Proposed Longview Coal Export Terminal

Right now the agencies involved in issuing permits are deciding which impacts to consider in their decision-making process. They need to hear from you about why you are concerned about this proposed coal export facility in Longview.

ACTION ALERT

Fight Dirty Energy for a Better, Cleaner Energy Future

WASHINGTON STATE !!!
Two major coal companies want to build the largest coal export terminal in the United States on the Columbia River in Washington. This proposed coal export facility in Longview, WA, would export 44 million tons of coal annually—that’s more than nine times the amount of coal burned each year at the Centralia coal plant.
Right now the agencies involved in issuing permits are deciding which impacts to consider in their decision-making process. They need to hear from you about why you are concerned about this proposed coal export facility in Longview.
Make your voice heard and send an email today.
Moving all that coal from where it’s mined in Montana and Wyoming to the West Coast would cause significant environmental and public health impacts all along the way, including increased coal dust and air pollution, damage to local waterways, increased train and shipping traffic, and more.
Furthermore, the global warming pollution generated from the transport and burning of 44 million tons of coal is equivalent to the annual emissions of 23 typical coal-fired power plants. We are already experiencing the devastating impacts of climate change and, nationally, we are making progress toward a clean energy future. But like the name says, global warming is a global problem—it makes no sense to encourage more coal burning abroad as we are cutting our coal use at home.
The coal companies proposing this project don’t want the effects on our climate or on those communities stretching across the hundreds of miles of the train route included in the permitting decision. Your voice counts.
Send a message today and tell decision makers that a supersized coal export terminal isn’t the energy future we need in the Northwest.
The proposed Longview coal terminal is a step in the wrong direction, and one that has real consequences for communities across the West. Let’s stand up against these dirty plans and demand a better, cleaner energy future.
Take Action Today!

Sincerely, Jason Barbose Jason Barbose Western States Campaign Manager Union of Concerned Scientists
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

CBS News needs to fix faulty reporting


Media Matters for America
On last week’s 60 Minutes, CBS News presented an account from a British security contractor who claimed to be an eyewitness to the attack against U.S. diplomatic facilities in Benghazi, Libya. But the contractor’s own incident report revealed that he was nowhere near the facilities and was instead at a beachside villa. [1]Journalistic malpractice? Tell CBS News to fix this faulty reporting.

The 60 Minutes report largely hinged on revelations from “Morgan Jones,” who CBS News claimed “witnessed the attack.” In an interview with correspondent Lara Logan that sounded like the script for an action movie, “Jones” described scaling the wall at the burning compound, fighting off terrorists inside, and gaining access to the hospital to view the remains of Ambassador Chris Stevens.

The CBS News report quickly fueled the ongoing right-wing politicization of the terror attack and provided renewed vigor to accusations of a “Benghazi cover-up.” [2]

The problem? “Jones,” whose real name is Dylan Davies, previously wrote that he “could not get anywhere near” the diplomatic compound that night. In the incident report submitted to his employer, Davies stated that, due to roadblocks, he spent most of the night of the attack at his Benghazi beachside villa, only learning of the Ambassador’s death from a Libyan colleague’s cellphone picture. Davies later claimed that he lied in the employer report, not the story he gave to the media. Either way, the discrepancy is troubling. [3]

Veteran journalists agree that the new details raise questions about whether 60 Minutes properly reviewed Davies’ story before it aired. “Other sources, even if those were off the record sources, they could have done something to address this discrepancy,” said Kelly McBride, ethics instructor at The Poynter Institute and co- author of the new book the New Ethics of Journalism. Dave Cuillier, Society of Professional Journalists president, agreed: “Accuracy’s number one and we’ve got to get it right and if we don’t, which is going to happen inevitably, then we need to correct it. That applies in every situation, whether it’s an obit in the Green Valley News or 60 Minutes.” [4]

What’s more, CBS Corporation owns Simon & Schuster, which published Davies’ “eyewitness” memoir about the attack. The ties between 60 Minutes and the publisher of Davies’ book were not disclosed when 60 Minutes was promoting Davies’ story. Given the financial relationships involved, it’s especially concerning that CBS News did not properly address the discrepancy between Davies’ stories. [5]

Whether due to negligence or a deliberate lack of disclosure, CBS News failed to properly verify its source in pursuit of a scoop.

Will you join the call for CBS News to explain the discrepancies or retract its report?

In 2004, when questions were raised about 60 Minutes reporting on documents involving President George W. Bush’s service in the Texas Air National Guard, CBS News appointed an independent panel “to help determine what errors occurred in the preparation of the report and what actions need to be taken.” [6] Following the investigation, CBS News fired four producers connected to the story and chose not to renew correspondent Dan Rather’s contract.

To maintain its reputation as a respected news organization, CBS News needs to respond to this instance of questionable journalism with the same professionalism it has displayed in the past. Can you help us remind CBS News that journalism and the facts matter?

Sign the letter to CBS News: http://action.mediamatters.org/cbs_benghazi

We’ll send the letter next week, so sign on by Monday to ask CBS News to take responsibility for the problems in its report.  Your participation makes a difference.

Cynthia Padera Campaigns Manager Media Matters for America

—–

[1] 60 Minutes Benghazi Report Takes A Huge Credibility Hit http://mm4a.org/1aZgivt  [2] Conservative Media Praise CBS’ 60 Minutes Report On Benghazi http://mm4a.org/16h0mpS [3] CBS “Eyewitness” Admits He Lied About Benghazi Attack While Bashing Critics http://mm4a.org/1aUykCt [4] Veteran Journalists Criticize 60 Minutes For “Serious Problem” With Benghazi “Witness” http://mm4a.org/1h6tur2 [5] 60 Minutes’ Benghazi Eyewitness Asked Fox News For Money http://mm4a.org/17sky9b [6] David Brock Calls On CBS To Retract Faulty Benghazi Story http://mm4a.org/1iAIgBK
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

The True Cost of Chevron


Amazon Watch
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Servio CuripomaLast week we introduced you to a brave advocate for his community and the Amazon – Servio Curipoma. For Servio and the other 30,000 inhabitants of Chevron’s toxic wasteland, the struggle for basic necessities like clean water is a daily one.You may remember when in 2011 Servio first left his rainforest home to come to the US to share his story with members of Congress and influencers in Washington; the media and human rights groups in New York; and directly with Chevron shareholders, board members, and CEO John Watson right at Chevron’s headquarters in San Ramon, CA. Servio appealed to every person he met – including the cold Chevron CEO himself – to put aside the decades-long legal battle and help those who had suffered for too long. He asked that Chevron finally do the right thing and clean up what it had admitted to – leaving billions of gallons of toxic foundation waters polluting his Amazonian backyard.The truth about the daily reality faced by so many in Ecuador resonated with the American people, with socially-responsible investors and with the media. Support continued to grow and the pressure on Chevron increased. But with no sign of a clean-up coming, Servio returned last May with the help of Amazon Watch to confront Chevron at its Annual General Meeting. This time he brought a different message delivered on a massive pink slip – FIRE CEO John Watson! Watson, who was a key player in the Texaco merger, has led Chevron down a dark and dirty path of corporate crimes and environmental destruction around the globe. Servio and his supporters made it clear in front of Watson’s peers that Chevron’s attacks against victims in Ecuador, sympathetic shareholders, human rights and environmental groups and concerned citizens must end.

And what has Chevron done? Turned the finger on Servio and affected communities in Ecuador in a malicious and cowardly move to call them criminals after all that they have suffered. A week after Servio’s second visit, a perturbed Watson found himself being deposed as a witness due to legal attacks on Servio and his community.

Chevron has made it clear that it will continue to fight dirty. For Servio, for the 30,000 victims of Chevron’s atrocities, for corporate accountability around the globe – we cannot let up. Your support ensures that Amazon Watch can continue to help Servio and other Amazon heroes to confront CEOs like Watson in person and to hold corporations accountable.

For the Amazon,

Paul Paz y Miño
Paul Paz y Miño
Online & Operations Director