Tag Archives: Arizona

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.

Take Action Today!

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 Western States Campaign Manager Union of Concerned Scientists

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CBS News needs to fix faulty reporting

11/07/2013 Nativegrl77

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

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[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

11/07/2013 Nativegrl77

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Last 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
Online & Operations Director

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

mimimum wages V cost of living

11/06/2013 Nativegrl77

I’m Matt Perry, a MoveOn member in Seattle, Washington, and I started a petition to Seattle City Council, which says:

Those who work full-time in our great city should be able to afford a basic life in the city of Seattle. If you work here, you should be able to live here. Sign Matt’s petition

As a resident of Seattle, I do business with and speak to folks making minimum wage in this city every day. These are the workers who prepare food, serve in retail sales, clean offices and homes, take care of the elderly and disabled, and perform many additional jobs that make our city work. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics’ national numbers, 25% of these folks are parents, three-quarters are over 20 years old, and over half are the primary wage earners in their households.

As a matter of basic fairness, these responsible workers should be paid at a minimal level that allows them to live in the city of Seattle.

Currently there is no such guarantee. Even though Washington State’s minimum wage is higher than the federal minimum, the state minimum is still below the very basic minimal costs of living in Seattle, for even a single person. For those with a child to take care of, the situation is worse: a single parent with one child would need to work over 80 state-minimum-wage hours every week to support the basic needs of their family.

Let’s establish a city-wide minimum wage that begins to correct this injustice. If you work here, you should be able to live here!

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

Thanks!

–Matt Perry

This petition was created on MoveOn’s online petition site, where anyone can start their own online petitions. Matt Perry didn’t pay us to send this email—we never rent or sell the MoveOn.org list.

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Shutdown is over: now what?

11/06/2013 Nativegrl77

Unemployment benefits related to federal shutdown

Updated October 17, 2013

Now that the federal shutdown is ending, how do I close my unemployment claim?

The easiest thing is to stop filing your weekly claims.

Should I file a weekly claim next week for the time I was unemployed this week?

That’s up to you. Federal employees and federally funded state employees will receive back-pay for the time they were furloughed, and any unemployment benefits they received must be repaid.

However, it may take some time before the next payroll is processed. If you were furloughed long enough this week to qualify for unemployment benefits, you may want to file a weekly claim for this week (beginning 12:01 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 20). You would need to report the number of hours you worked this week and the amount of money you earned, and then repay the unemployment benefits later.

(Employment Security employees, watch your office email for more details about back-pay, timesheets and payroll.)

What’s the process for repaying unemployment benefits?

After the shutdown is over, Employment Security will attempt to arrange with federal agencies to withhold the appropriate amount of funds from the future paycheck/s of furloughed employees and to reimburse us on their behalf. If we cannot make those arrangements, we will send each worker a notice with the amount they must repay.

(Employment Security employees will receive instructions by email.)

What if I didn’t get a benefit check yet?

There could be a few reasons why you didn’t get a check. You can contact the claims center for more information:

Through our website.
By phone, 800-318-6022.

Here are a couple things to keep in mind:

If you’re eligible for benefits, we will pay you retroactively, even after you’ve returned to work.
If you know you’re going to receive backpay and don’t want the hassle of repaying unemployment benefits, contact the claim center right away to put a hold on your claim.

Taken directly from the ESD website