Tag Archives: Nigeria

~ In the Library

In the Library: Things Fall Apart: by Chinua Achebe ~ born 11/16


Author Chinua Achebe died at 82 on March 22, 2013
Things Fall Apart tells two intertwining stories about Okonkwo, a “strong man” of an Ibo village in Nigeria. The first, a powerful fable of the immemorial conflict between the individual and society, traces Okonkwo’s fall from grace with the tribal world. The second, as modern as the first is ancient, concerns the clash of cultures and the destruction of Okonkwo’s world with the arrival of aggressive European missionaries. These perfectly harmonized twin dramas are informed by an awareness capable of encompassing nature’s life, human history, and the mysterious compulsions of the soul.
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My first exposure to the author, Chinua Achebe, was during my first-year lit class in college. Unfortunately, there were far and few books from authors like Chinua available at my high school. I thank the Ethnic Studies Prof for the experience and will always think of Chinua Achebe, as a pioneering African writer, government critic, and advocate for African storytelling. His books, are filled with great imagery of a place I know is a part of my ancestry but will never visit …  I may not agree with or like some of the practices of some sub-cultures, but this book gives the reader a better understanding of traditions, trials, and tribulations of the times
~ Nativegrl77

 

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

CEO John Watson … Wake Up


Rainforest Action Network
Send Chevron CEO John Watson a wake up call now!
BoA AGM Image
Take Action

RAN activists will be joining a large coalition of labor groups, community organizers, climate activists, and other environmentalists tomorrow at a protest outside of Chevron’s annual shareholder meeting. While protesters call out Chevron for putting profits ahead of people and planet outside, I’ll be going inside the meeting with people from communities impacted by Chevron operations from Nigeria to Brazil.
Two of the brave Ecuadoreans suing Chevron to clean up of its massive oil contamination in the Amazon — Luz Trinidad Andrea Cusangua and Robinson Yumbo —  will travel to San Ramon, CA to take their calls for justice directly to the company.
Chevron needs to know that for every person like Luz and Robinson inside the meeting and for every protestor outside the meeting, there are thousands more who stand with us. Can you call Chevron CEO John Watson and ask him to take responsibility for his company’s oily mess in Ecuador?
We’ve set up a page that has everything you need to send a wake-up call to Watson: Phone number, sample call script, and a form so you can report back to us how the call went. Send Chevron’s CEO a wake up call now!
Even a large number of Chevron shareholders feel the company’s executive team has badly mismanaged the Ecuador lawsuit. One recently wrote: “Chevron’s actions are hurting shareholders as well as the indigenous people of the rainforest.” You can be sure Chevron shareholders will make their voices heard at the meeting, just as Luz and Robinson will be making their calls for justice in Ecuador loud and clear.
Chevron CEO John Watson needs to hear from you too.

Ginger Cassady

For a cleaner future,
Ginger Cassady             Change Chevron
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Polar Bear Cubs Won’t Stand a Chance …Dan Howells, Greenpeace


It’s getting harder for a polar bear mother and her cubs to survive in the Arctic.

Each day she has to travel farther and farther for food as the sea ice she relies on to hunt rapidly disappears because of global warming. Each day brings her hungry cubs closer to starvation. And now she has to deal with the prospect of an oil spill.

Oil giant Shell is heading her way right now to drill the very first wells in the pristine waters off the coast of Alaska this summer. If the company finds what it is looking for the Arctic oil rush will be on — and a spill won’t be far behind. This polar bear mother and her cubs won’t stand a chance.

Donate now and help us raise $35,000 by midnight March 30th to save this polar bear mother and her cubs from Arctic drilling. We need just 50 donors from WA to make this happen.

Greenpeace plans to mobilize millions of people around the world in 2012 to save the Arctic by using creative campaigning. It’s all hands on deck. We know that it’s the only way to get the attention of policy makers and put a stop Arctic drilling.

Our goal is to permanently ban oil drilling and industrial fishing in the Arctic and to establish the area around the North Pole as a ‘global commons.’ It may seem ambitious, but we’ve done it before. In 1991, a Greenpeace campaign much like this one helped establish Antarctica as a world park and off limits to commercial extraction.

We can do it, but not without your support.

This polar bear mother needs our help now. Please make an urgent donation by our midnight March 30th deadline to help save her cubs from starvation and protect our planet. Just 50 gifts from WA will ensure that we reach our goal to raise $35,000 by Saturday.

Last year alone Shell admitted to causing 207 ‘significant’ spills worldwide in places like Nigeria and Britain’s North Sea. Any one of those would be an even greater disaster in the harsh waters of the Arctic and for the polar bear mother trying to feed her cubs.

Carmen, this is your chance to be part of history. This drilling is happening in our backyard and to stop it we are going to need massive support in this country. Greenpeace doesn’t take a dime from corporations or governments. All we care about is doing what is necessary to save the Arctic. But our plans and the polar bears that call the Arctic home all depend on your support.

Please make a donation today to help save this polar bear mother and her cubs and ensure that we reach our goal to raise $35,000 by March 30th.

For the Arctic,

Dan Howells
Greenpeace USA Deputy Campaign Director

P.S. We need just 50 supporters from WA to reach our goal. Please make your donation to save polar bears by midnight March 30th on our secure website or by calling 1-800-722-6995. Thank you!

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Nigeria to Charge Dick Cheney in Pipeline Bribery Case


Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) — Nigeria will file charges against former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and officials from five foreign companies including Halliburton Co. over a $180 million bribery scandal, a prosecutor at the anti-graft agency said.

Full report here: http://bit.ly/f8JJos

More info here: http://halliburtonwatch.org/about_hal/nigeria_timeline.html

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

0 children dead from preventable causes


Change.org

Take action to reduce the number of preventable child deaths to zero.

Sign the Petition

Big news: UNICEF just announced that the number of children under the age of five dying each day has significantly dropped over the past year: from 24,000 to 22,000.

We’re asking you to take action today and help make that number ZERO.

We know you believe that 22,000 children dying from preventable causes each day is 22,000 too many. They die from causes most of us will never have to worry about – such as starvation, unsanitary living conditions, no access to clean drinking water, or lack of a five-cent vaccine.

We are making remarkable progress toward a world in which no child dies from preventable causes, and can see a light at the end of the tunnel. But without a strong commitment by the U.S. government, we will never reach zero. Please urge Congress to fully fund our committment to UNICEF this year to help save millions of children’s lives and protect their futures.

From measles campaigns in Pakistan to emergency food in Ethiopia; from hurricane relief in Haiti to anti-malarial bed net distribution in Nigeria – UNICEF’s work is having a huge impact. And with this latest announcement comes more hope – we can see that the drop in child mortality is actually accelerating.

In a very concrete way, the news about a drop in child mortality demonstrates that global investment and strategic partnerships are putting comprehensive child survival strategies in place that get results. Over the last 50 years, UNICEF and its partners have helped reduce the worldwide child mortality rate by more than 50%. This pace of improvement is increasing, and we are getting closer to a day when zero children die from preventable causes.

Please write Congress today and urge continued strong support of UNICEF so that we can continue to reduce the number of preventable child deaths around the world.

Thanks for all that you do,

– The Change.org Team