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Use this form, provided by The Nation, to contact your representatives. First enter your zip code, and then you may also
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Friday, May 28, 2004
Posted 10:06 PM
by Mary
AREA: CEDAW, UNIFEM, WOMEN'S RIGHTS
ISSUE: US FDA DENYING EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION (EC)
SPONSOR 1: PLANNED PARENTHOOD www.plannedparenthood.org
ACT: www.ppaction.org/ (PP)
SPONSOR 2: FEMINIST MAJORITY www.feminist.org
ACT: www.feminist.org
ACTION: CALL FOR AN INVESTIGATION OF THE US FDA RULING ON PLAN B, EC
The FDA's decision to deny Plan B emergency contraception (EC) over-the-counter status goes against its own panel's recommendation. Comprehensive scientific data shows Plan B meets the FDA's criteria for over-the-counter status. Access to Plan B will help to reduce the need for abortion. American women deserve this same access that women in 25 other countries around the world already enjoy.
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AREA: HUMAN RIGHTS, CONVENTION ON TORTURE, GENEVA CONVENTIONS
ISSUE: INVESTIGATE IRAQ TORTURE ALLEGATIONS
SPONSOR: AMNESTY USA
ACTION: LETTER, PETITION
www.amnestyusa.org/
"Recent allegations of torture and ill-treatment by Coalition Forces in Iraqi prisons echo the frequent reports of human rights violations received by Amnesty International during the past year. Many former detainees have told Amnesty International that they were tortured and ill-treated by US and UK troops during interrogation. A credible, independent investigation is crucial to help restore public confidence in justice".
ADDITIONAL: CALL FOR OBJECTIVE REPORTING ON TORTURE
CONVENTIONS AND ABUSE
SPONSOR: FAIR.org
Remind the New York Times that independent experts on International Law and the Geneva conventions - not just Administration officials - should be consulted when discussing international events. www.fair.org/
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AREA: INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT, HUMAN RIGHTS
ISSUE: CHILD SOLDIERS IN UGANDA
SPONSOR: CITIZENS FOR GLOBAL SOLUTIONS http://www.globalsolutions.org/
ACTION: WRITE CONGRESS
www.globalsolutions.org
For 18 years the LRArmy has kidnapped more than 20,000 children in northern Uganda and forced them to commit inhuman acts, including ritual killings and mutilations. Children are frequently beaten and tortured. Following a formal referral by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni,
the Prosecutor of the ICC is preparing to investigate the rebel commanders, as well as members of the national army accused of human rights abuses. Tell congress to support the ICC during this crucial juncture.
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AREA: NUCLEAR TREATIES, NON-PROLIFERATION
ISSUE: CUT FUNDING FOR NEW NUCLEAR WEAPONS
SPONSOR 1: TRUE MAJORITY www.truemajority.com
ACT: http://action.truemajority.org/
SPONSOR 2: WAND www.wand.org
ACT: wand.org
SPONSOR 3: FRIENDS CTEE on NATIONAL LEGISLATION www.fcnl.org
ACT: www.fcnl.org
SPONSOR: 4: VOICE4CHANGE www.voice4change.org (& Peace Action)
ACT: www.voice4change.org
SPONSOR: 5: COUNCIL FOR A LIVEABLE WORLD www.clw.org
ACT: www.clw.org
*THIS VOTE MAY COME BEFORE MEMORIAL DAY RECESS*
Contact your representative to vote for the Tauscher-Markey amendment to cut funding for new nuclear weapons, including the nuclear "bunker-buster," in the defense authorization bill (HR 4200). A similar amendment will likely be offered by Sens. Feinstein and Kennedy in the Senate’s version of the defense authorization bill (S 2400). Costly new nuclear weapons will not provide security.
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AREA: FAIR TRADE, INTERNATIONAL LABOR
ISSUE: CAFTA VOTE
SPONSOR: OXFAM AMERICA
ACTION: EMAIL CONGRESS
www.oxfam.org
Help stop an agreement negotiated behind closed doors that will wipe out local agriculture in Central America, foster irresponsible foreign investment, and reduce access to essential medicines, in a region where 1 of every 4 people suffers from hunger. The Bush Administration announced that it will sign CAFTA in June.
EXAMPLE of CAFTA EFFECT::
BANANA PESTICIDE ABUSE BY CORPORATIONS USING CAFTA
http://www.corpwatch.org
Wednesday, May 05, 2004
Posted 8:33 AM
by Mary
AREA: DISARMAMENT / NON-PROLIFERATION,
ISSUE: CUT FUNDING FOR MISSILE SHIELD
SPONSOR: FRIENDS COMMITTEE on NATIONAL LEGISLATION
http://www.fcnl.org
ACTION: CONTACT CONGRESS
www.fcnl.org
The House and Senate Armed Services Committees are expected to mark up their versions of the annual defense authorization bill in early May. Bush requests $10.2 billion to develop and deploy a ballistic missile shield by September 2004, despite the impact on our strategic relationship with Russia and China, repeated test failures, and the diversion of resources from other more urgent budget priorities.
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AREA: DISARMAMENT / SMALL ARMS PROLIFERATION
ISSUE: RENEW US BAN ON ASSAULT WEAPONS
SPONSOR: Stop the NRA
ACTION: CONTACT CONGRESS
http://www2.stopthenra.com
"Shortly to be legal again will be the Colt AR-15, from Colt Industries of Hartford, CT, a civilian version of the company's M-16 machine gun used by the U.S. military: a gas-operated, magazine-fed weapon, still general-issue in the armed forces, which adopted it because of its ability to spray a high volume of ammunition within a distance of 100 meters. 39 inches long with a 5-round magazine but can accept higher-capacity magazines." Al-Qaeda advised operatives to buy these in the U.S.
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AREA: HUMAN RIGHTS
ISSUE: OPPOSE EXPANSION OF DEATH PENALTY
SPONSOR: ACLU.org
ACTION: FAX YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
http://www.aclu.org/
Due to opposition against the PATRIOT Act, Bush and Ashcroft have been unable to introduce "PATRIOT Act II" as a single package. Instead, they are trying to pass it in pieces, as in the "Terrorist Penalties Enhancement Act of 2003" (HR 2934) which would be an unwarranted expansion to create 23 separate new death penalties and an unprecedented “catch-all” death penalty for any crime meeting the PATRIOT Act’s overbroad definition of terrorism.
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AREA: PEACE AND CONFLICT, IRAQ
ISSUE: "Don't Destroy Iraq to Liberate It"
SPONSOR: Working4Change.com
ACTION: LETTER TO BUSH TO RESTRAIN TROOP OFFENSIVES
http://www.workingforchange.com/
Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N. Special Envoy to Iraq, is attempting to piece together a coalition government that can take over sovereignty from the United States. He has argued this is not possible if American troops go on the offensive again. There must be a political solution, and negotiations now under way must be given sufficient time to succeed. "Tell Bush to stand down the troops and leave Iraq's holy sites alone".
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AREA: HUMAN RIGHTS, CEDAW
(CONVENTION ON ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMATION AGAINST WOMEN)
ISSUE: REDRESS TO SURVIVORS OF RAPE AND GENOCIDE in RWANDA
SPONSOR: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
ACTION: WRITE to PRESIDENT / AMBASSADOR of RWANDA
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/action/
The legacy of genocide and war in Rwanda lives on ten years after the events in which as many as one million lost their lives. Compounding the trauma of being victims and witnesses of horrendous brutality, many women raped during 1994 now suffer the reality of living with sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS with little hope of legal recourse, medical care or compensation.
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AREA: CIVIL RIGHTS / PRIVACY
ISSUE: TRANSFER of PASSENGER RECORDS TO CAPPS II
SPONSOR: ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION, eff.org
ACTION: LETTER TO CONGRESS FOR HEARINGS
http://action.eff.org/action/index
CAPPS II is a system using private information in government and commercial databases to "tag" passengers with color-coded scores indicating the level of security risk they appear to pose. CAPPS II will soon be tested in airports using the "passenger name records" (PNRs) of real travelers. TSA has threatened to issue an unpublished, secret regulation, or "security directive," to force airlines to use passengers as guinea pigs for the system. After JetBlue and Northwest were exposed for secretly violating the privacy of millions by sharing passenger data with a Department of Defense contractor and NASA, American Airlines admitted to handing over 1.2 million passenger records to four CAPPS II contractors.
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AREA: FAIR TRADE / INTERNATIONAL LABOR
ISSUE: US WITHDRAWING FROM INTERNATIONAL COFFEE ORGANIZATION (ICO)
SPONSOR: OXFAM AMERICA
ACTION: LETTER TO CONGRESS, TELL BUSH TO REJOIN THE ICO
www.oxfam.org
The price of coffee has fallen almost 50 percent to a 30-year low, resulting in a widespread humanitarian crisis for 25 million coffee-growing families in over 50 developing countries. The International Coffee Organization (ICO) cannot develop solutions to the global coffee crisis without the participation of the US, the world’s largest coffee consumer, which withdrew from the ICO in the 1990's. Tell CONGRESS to adopt a global strategy to respond to the coffee crisis that includes re-joining the ICO.
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AREA: ENVIRONMENT / INTERNATIONAL LABOR
ISSUE: DIRTY GOLD MINING
SPONSOR: TIFFANY'S, OXFAM, nodirtygold.com
ACTION: CONSUMER PLEDGE, INFORMATION UPDATES, SHAREHOLDER ACTION
http://www.nodirtygold.org/home.cfm
"Tiffany products, precious metals and gemstones [should] be extracted in environmentally and socially responsible ways," This is the first time a major jewelry company has taken a highly visible stance urging reform of the industry supplying it with much of its gold, silver, and platinum. [Dirty gold is also found in cell phones, computers and other electronics]. Gold is sprayed with several tons of cyanide per day to leach out gold, destroying health and water and communities.
Sunday, May 02, 2004
Posted 5:58 PM
by Mary
U.S. PIRG
APRIL 29, 2004 / 1:41 PM CONTACT: U.S. PIRG
Liz Hitchcock, Anna Aurilio (202) 546-9707
Senate Rejects Disastrous Energy Bill
WASHINGTON - April 29 - Statement of Anna Aurilio, Legislative Director
The Senate's vote to reject this anti-environmental, anti-consumer energy bill is a huge victory for anyone who drinks water, breathes air, pays utility bills or pays taxes.
We are pleased that instead of rewarding the dirty, unsustainable and unreliable sources of energy being promoted by industry lobbyists in Washington, the Senate chose to pursue a smarter, cleaner energy future for America's consumers.
The energy bill would have:
• Delayed clean up of air pollution in smoggy areas.
• Increased our dependence on oil.
• Failed to harness the potential for diversifying our energy supply to include clean renewable energy sources.
• Authorized programs that increase the risk of nuclear proliferation.
• Weakened important drinking water and surface water protections.
• Further exposed electricity consumers to future Enrons and blackouts.
• Squandered billions in taxpayer handouts to oil, gas, nuclear and other dirty energy sources.
America deserves a clean safe energy future. We look forward to working for an energy policy that makes our electricity supply more reliable and prevents future Enron-type scandals, promotes clean, efficient, renewable energy like wind and solar power, protects the environment, cuts global warming pollution and moves America forward.
We applaud the Senate for once again rejecting this terrible energy policy and standing up for the public instead of the polluters. "
"War does not determine who is right--only who is left." - Bertrand Russell
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