Monday, August 30, 2010

Some Xanthone notes: polyphenols and solar power? - #mangosteen #solar


1,3,5,6-Tetrahydroxyxanthen-9-one AIDS-011165 AIDS011165 Xanthone der.

Just some initial notes here.  More to come I would imagine.

Xanthone, ... can be used for the production of third generation printed solar cells. #wikipedia http://ping.fm/c8cy5
via Ping.fm

  • Bioavailability and Antioxidant Effects of a Xanthone-Rich Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) Product in Humans - Journal of Agricultural and
  • xanthone Molecules@GNU-Darwin.org Structural Archive and Gallery http://ping.fm/UWSBO
  • I was surprised to learn tetrahydroxyxanthone from mangosteen can be used in solar cells. It appears to be a resveratrol-like polyphenol.

  • Regards,
    proclus
    http://www.gnu-darwin.org/

    Posted via email from #p

    Help Protect #Alaska's Wild #Salmon Populations - #fish #mining

    I thought you might be interested in this opportunity to protect America's wild salmon from short-sighted mining operations.

    To take action on this issue, click on the link below:
    http://online.nwf.org/site/Advocacy?s_oo=FDp5jZ3twHsxT_H_tWJEvA..&id=915 If the text above does not appear as a link or it wraps across multiple lines, then copy and paste it into the address area of your browser. 

    Posted via email from #p

    Sunday, August 29, 2010

    Help Maintain Healthy Populations of Sandhill Cranes

    Dear Friend,

    USDA Conservation Programs have had great success in improving habitat in places like the Platte River in Nebraska, which is renowned for being the largest staging area for Sandhill Cranes during their Spring migration. But now, the programs that are critical to maintaining healthy populations of Sandhill Cranes and other wildlife, are at risk of being cut. Please join me in urging our federal officials to avoid cutting critical conservation funding. Take action: http://bit.ly/cNaXpi

    Regards,
    proclus
    http://www.gnu-darwin.org/

    Posted via email from #p

    Thursday, August 26, 2010

    Face the facts - #global #warming #climate #change

    Hi,

    You've probably heard about the flooding in Pakistan that's left millions of people homeless.  But did you know that similar weather disasters are expected to become more frequent and more damaging because of global climate change?

    Get the facts about the link between global warming and extreme weather.

    http://acp.repoweramerica.org/extremeweather-taf

    It's up to people like you and me to get educated and get involved -- so let's start today.

    Thanks!

    Posted via email from #p

    Defeating the GOP - #greens #progressives

    How can we assure that third parties are heard and the Republicans
    are defeated in upcoming elections? Here is an outline of a
    strategy. Congratulations to those who are already doing these
    things!

    1. It is imporant to keep the GOP marginalized.


    a. hammer on teaparty and other wackos
    b. never forget Bush
    c. support popular initiatives that the GOP opposes
    d. be honest and explain positions clearly and succinctly
    e. build broad-based coalitions, cooperate, emphasize
    commonalities

    2. Keep the based engaged.


    a. follow through on promises
    b. doing 1. helps keep the base engaged

     

    3. Use the courts.


    Most of the courts are GOP friendly at this time.
    Legal battles should be fought vigorously and
    protracted to illustrate the fact that a change
    is needed in the courts. Don't give up. Make
    the arguments a matter of public debate, so that
    the courts will perceive that the mood of the
    country has changed. This could affect many
    rulings.


    4. Undermine their sources of economic strength.


    This is the most important one, but it requires
    individual imagination. Use your creativity
    to blockade, boycott, and strike at the GOP
    centers of economic power.


    The metaphor for our time is the FDR years, and the left is in a
    position of great strength. Act with strength, and the people
    will be supportive. If the GOP is stonewalling, don't try to
    negotiate with them, and let them talk their talk. It will be
    self-defeating for them. Let's not forget that the aim is to
    defeat the GOP. Let's make sure that they never give us the
    problems that they have given us ever again. End the GOP in this
    generation. We can do it, if we do it now, while they are weak.

    Regards,
    proclus
    http://www.gnu-darwin.org/

    Posted via email from #p

    Tell the Senate: Say No to

    Walter Pincus reported recently in the Washington Post that the Pentagon is planning to build long-term U.S. military bases in Afghanistan.

    Join me in urging your Senators to reject or restrict the Pentagon's funding request, as it rejected a long term military construction request for Iraq in 2008:

    http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/afghanistanbases

    Regards,
    proclus
    http://www.gnu-darwin.org/

    Posted via email from #p

    <em>NYT</em> Exploits Own Iraq Death Toll Denial to Trash Venezuela

    What I want to know is why do people read the Times at all? There are far better and far more accurate sources of news (hint!). I do not read it, and I do not link to it, which is the advisable course of action.



    Regards,

    proclus

    http://www.gnu-darwin.org/
    Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

    Public Citizen Is Doing Good Work on Our Behalf

    Public Citizen is keeping an eye on Washington -- and beyond -- for us.
    Sign up to receive their activist newsletter, Citizen Direct, and their regular action updates:
    http://action.citizen.org/signUp.jsp. You'll find out how we can take back our democracy.

    Posted via email from #p

    Oil Threatens #Endangered #Whales! - #greenpeace #BP Oil Spill #boycottbp #oilspill #whale

    Hey there,

    I just sent a message through Greenpeace to Dr. Jane Lubchenco, the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, asking her to protect the sperm whale and the entire Gulf ecosystem by establishing marine reserves in ecologically critical areas. We can't afford another disaster like the one in the Gulf. Join me and take action here:

    http://us.greenpeace.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=705&s_src=taf&sub_src=ty

    Greenpeace has sent a ship to the Gulf to do an independent assessment of the possible damage done to the sperm whale population. Hopefully, people like Dr. Lubchenco make sure the next disaster never happens.

    http://us.greenpeace.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=705&s_src=taf&sub_src=ty

    Sincerely,

    Posted via email from #p

    Wednesday, August 25, 2010

    Tell NBC: Sunday Morning Needs a Real War Debate

    The war in Afghanistan has re-emerged as a major news story, thanks to the controversies surrounding the removal of Gen. Stanley McChrystal and the WikiLeaks release of classified documents. But on NBC's Meet the Press, the opportunity to engage in a robust debate about the war has taken a back seat to promoting the views of the military and supporters of Obama's Afghanistan policies. Please join me in calling on Meet the Press to put more war critics on the public airwaves. Sign FAIR's petition today:

    http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/592/action/nbc-war

    ACTION ALERT:
    Tell NBC: Sunday Morning Needs a Real War Debate
    Meet the Press features a parade of Afghanistan hawks

    The war in Afghanistan has re-emerged as a major news story, thanks to the controversies surrounding the removal of Gen. Stanley McChrystal and the WikiLeaks release of classified documents. But on NBC's Meet the Press, the opportunity to engage in a robust debate about the war has taken a back seat to promoting the views of the military and supporters of Obama's Afghanistan policies.

    The most recent example came on August 15, when Meet the Press devoted the entire episode to a profile of Gen. David Petraeus. Host David Gregory's opening indicated it wasn't going to be a feet-to-the-fire interview: "At 57, General David Petraeus is easily America’s most famous warrior. On this morning we find him in the middle of physical training as this fiercely competitive four-star general works over soldiers half his age with the same intensity as he works the war plan."

    Gregory questioned Petraeus about the timeline for withdrawal of U.S. troops as if it were an irritant: "How stifling is the concept of this deadline and this Washington debate to what you're trying to do here?" At the close of the broadcast, Gregory echoed that sentiment and worried about the public's lack of support:
    General Petraeus is a military leader with great commitment and great intellectual rigor, but you have to wonder whether he has enough time politically to achieve what he thinks is possible here.... The question now for the American public is whether it has the stomach and the will to do what it takes to succeed here, and whether it has the stomach for what could happen here if the U.S. and its allies fail.

    The hour with Petraeus was in keeping with recent patterns on the show. Right after the WikiLeaks disclosure, the show's August 1 broadcast led with Gregory announcing, "The leaking of secret Afghanistan war documents has enraged U.S. military officials who warn of serious consequences for the leaker and the man behind the Web site WikiLeaks." The featured one-on-one interview was with Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. There were no guests on hand to comment from an antiwar perspective.

    On July 11, the program featured a one-on-one interview with White House press secretary Robert Gibbs that touched briefly on the war. The show's panel discussion featured MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, who offered a somewhat mild critique of the war, mostly stressing that a withdrawal timeline improves the performance of the Afghan government. Her co-panelists were conservative pundit David Brooks and Ed Gillespie of the Republican State Leadership Committee, both of whom support the war effort to varying degrees (Brooks called himself a "strong supporter," while Gillespie opposes any talk of a withdrawal timeline).

    On June 27, Meet the Press devoted significant time to Afghanistan, thanks to the McChrystal controversy. The one-on-one interview was with Republican Sen. John McCain, a die-hard supporter of the war who opposes a withdrawal timetable.

    The panel discussion that followed was notable in that it featured a rarity: a bona fide anti-war voice in Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.). But Lee was surrounded by pro-war guests: writer Sebastian Junger, retired U.S. Army captain Wes Moore, retired general Barry McCaffrey and Tom Ricks of the Center for a New American Security. Any talk of leaving Afghanistan was outnumbered by the pro-war majority. Junger stated that if U.S troops leave, the Taliban are "going to be right back in Afghanistan." Ricks added, "I think if you want an endless war, Congresswoman, leave Afghanistan right now, and you'll find us having to go after Al-Qaeda again and again there for decades." At one point Junger even objected to Lee's terminology, arguing that "the word occupation really is not accurate."
    So in weeks when public support for the war has continued to drop (CNN's most recent poll shows 62 percent oppose the war--8/6-10/10), why has NBC been so intent on promoting the war? It is hard to overlook the fact that NBC's parent company General Electric is heavily involved in weapons-related contracts with the U.S. military, and has also benefited from reconstruction contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan (Center for Public Integrity, 10/31/03).

    On one recent show (7/11/10), Gregory mused that "finding the ideological fault lines here are difficult between left and right, frankly." But the host of Meet the Press can't "find" a debate only because he refuses to have one on his show.

    Add your voice here: https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/592/action/nbc-war

    ***
    FAIR, the national media watch group, has been offering well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship since 1986.

    www.fair.org

    Posted via email from #p

    Tuesday, August 24, 2010

    A very interesting social bookmarking site!

    Interesting bookmarking site

    Propeller
    http://www.netscape.com/submit/

    Keep Oil Drilling Out of Florida Panther Habitat

    Big Cypress National Preserve was created in 1974 to stave off a proposed airport in the heart of the western Everglades. Now Miami-Dade County, whose land surrounds the preserve, finds itself with a cash shortfall and a proposal has been made to squeeze the money it lacks for airport expansion out of the very nature preserve that was set aside to prevent new airport construction - Big Cypress.

    Under the proposal, Miami-Dade County would lease out the land for oil drilling — a cynical, grasping move that would undermine decades of preservation and be certain to hurt Florida panthers. Already one of the most endangered species on the planet, panthers depend on Big Cypress for living space.

    For now, the proposal has been shelved at the last minute by Miami Mayor Carlos Alvarez due to public outcry. But though it won’t be discussed at the very next county commission meeting, this destructive plan could still be brought to life again. And we need to make sure that doesn’t happen.

    So please, send a letter asking Miami's mayor to make sure this absurd and destructive idea to allow new oil operations in the Big Cypress National Preserve remains completely off the table.

    Visit http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2167/t/5243/p/dia/action/public/?action_... to take action now.

    Posted via email from #p

    Monday, August 23, 2010

    Stem cell research - #embryo #embryos #stemcell

    If I had to destroy a small glob of cells (#embryo) to get my stems cells, I would obviously do it. An embryo is not a human being, and far from it. A potential human being is not a human being, just a grain of pollen or a seed is not a tree.  Meanwhile there are actual crimes against real human beings happening. Where is the sense of scale? There is real illness and actual human suffering, beside which that glob of cells is comparitively nothing. Outside the womb, the embryonic stem cells are a possible relief to some of this illness and suffering, and we have so much to learn about it. I gravely doubt the moral sensibilities of anyone who would block our access to stem cells and stem cell research.  Many of them are all too happy to see the bombs raining on other countries, deprive others of basic human rights, and some of them are blind to the suffering they are causing. They have no credibility whatsoever to judge the ethics of stem cell research.  It is a crime to deprive people of the option of embryonic stem cell therapy, which could possibly relieve their suffering.  Come into the new millenium folks! If it is not done in this jursidiction, it will be done elsewhere. In fact, it already is. Stem cells are a wave of the future. If the US does not get on board, they will lose the game.

    Regards,
    proclus
    http://www.gnu-darwin.org/

    Posted via email from #p

    Stem cell research - #embryo #embryos #stemcell

    If I had to destroy a small glob of cells (#embryo) to get my stems cells, I would obviously do it. An embryo is not a human being, and far from it. A potential human being is not a human being, just a grain of pollen or a seed is not a tree.  Meanwhile there are actual crimes against real human beings happening. Where is the sense of scale? There is real illness and actual human suffering, beside which that glob of cells is comparitively nothing. Outside the womb, the embryonic stem cells are a possible relief to some of this illness and suffering, and we have so much to learn about it. I gravely doubt the moral sensibilities of anyone who would block our access to stem cells and stem cell research.  Many of them are all too happy to see the bombs raining on other countries, deprive others of basic human rights, and some of them are blind to the suffering they are causing. They have no credibility whatsoever to judge the ethics of stem cell research.  It is a crime to deprive people of the option of embryonic stem cell therapy, which could possibly relieve their suffering.  Come into the new millenium folks! If it is not done in this jursidiction, it will be done elsewhere. In fact, it already is. Stem cells are a wave of the future. If the US does not get on board, they will lose the game.

    Regards,
    proclus
    http://www.gnu-darwin.org/

    Posted via email from #p

    Wednesday, August 18, 2010

    Support the Global Food Security Act - #food #gmo #africa #foods #poverty

    Hi-

    I just asked my senator to support the Global Food Security Act, and I hope you'll do the same.

    One billion people -one in every six - are suffering from hunger, a problem that will only get worse as climate change makes weather less predictable and farming more difficult.

    Women and children are often the hardest hit by hunger. In 2009, hunger and malnutrition contributed to the death of more than 3 million children.

    I understand that there is some controversy about language in the bill regarding GMO food research. It is clear that more GMO food research is needed, but perhaps the language can be modified in response to the critics, and natural allies will join in supporting the bill that they now oppose.

    No one should have to go hungry, and we have the tools to address global food security head on. Can you help me by taking action?

    Regards,
    proclus
    http://www.gnu-darwin.org/


    To take action on this issue, click on the link below:
    http://act.oxfamamerica.org/site/Advocacy?s_oo=Y-wLrZZRAJ2RnX_vEW-_mg..&id=1151 If the text above does not appear as a link or it wraps across multiple lines, then copy and paste it into the address area of your browser.

    Posted via email from #p

    Tuesday, August 17, 2010

    Yahoo has some interesting social networking tools

    [FSF] Delivering the ACTA petition: Sign before Thursday to have yo ur voice heard!

    ------ Forwarded message ------
    From: John Sullivan
    Subject: [FSF] Delivering the ACTA petition: Sign before Thursday to have your voice heard!
    Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 14:07:30 -0400
    To: info-fsf@fsf.org
    Reply-To: info@fsf.org


    A month ago, we published a statement against ACTA
    (http://www.fsf.org/campaigns/acta/acta-declaration) and asked for your
    signatures in support. Over 3,000 of you joined us in calling on ACTA
    negotiators to either dramatically change the agreement or drop it all
    together.

    We did this because ACTA attacks the rights of computer users
    (http://www.fsf.org/campaigns/acta/why-acta-declaration) around the
    world and threatens, in a disguised way, to punish Internet users with
    disconnection if they are accused of sharing. It also requires countries
    to prohibit software that can break Digital Restrictions Management
    (DRM), also known as digital handcuffs.

    Yesterday was the start of a week-long series of ACTA meetings in the
    US between country representatives. This makes now a key time to
    ensure your voices are heard. As Dr. Michael Geist said yesterday,
    "With the US on its home turf and having pushed for an accelerated
    schedule...the next week could decide the fate of ACTA."

    This Thursday, August 19th, we will be delivering the petition -- with your
    signatures -- to the ACTA negotiators.

    If you haven't signed already
    (http://www.fsf.org/campaigns/acta/acta-declaration), please do, and
    help spread the word so we can get as many signatures as possible before
    Thursday!

    info-fsf mailing list
    info-fsf@fsf.org
    Unsubscribe: http://lists.fsf.org/mailman/listinfo/info-fsf

    Posted via email from #p

    Monday, August 16, 2010

    130 million tons of toxic #coal ash - #BP Oil Spill #boycottbp #oilspill

    Hi -

    Did you know that coal companies dump more than 130 million tons of coal ash, containing toxins like arsenic, chromium, lead and mercury, into the air every year?

    There are next to no federal regulations on it -- it's loosely regulated on a state-by-state basis. In some states, it's less regulated than household waste. All too often, coal ash gets dumped into our landfills and waste ponds -- and from there it leaks into our drinking water and fragile ecosystems. Right now, the EPA is considering options that could either reel in Dirty Coal's assault on the environment or maintain the status quo. I just signed a petition demanding the EPA say no to the status quo! I hope you will too -- it just takes a second.

    Click here: http://action.lcv.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&id=519

    Thanks for your help!


    To take action on this issue, click on the link below:
    http://action.lcv.org/site/Advocacy?s_oo=lR-jlokCit_FNtFXPBdJoQ..&id=519 If the text above does not appear as a link or it wraps across multiple lines, then copy and paste it into the address area of your browser. 

    Posted via email from #p

    Saturday, August 14, 2010

    Tell Obama: Prioritize Pakistan Flood Relief Over Afghan War

    Pakistan has asked that the U.S. immediately provide more helicopters that are urgently needed to save victims of the flood disaster that has affected 14 million people. The U.S. military says that it has helicopters in Afghanistan but that redirecting them requires a political decision in Washington.

    Join me in asking President Obama to make that political decision by following the link below:

    http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/pakistanfloods

    Regards,
    proclus
    http://www.gnu-darwin.org/

    Posted via email from #p

    Help Increase Critical Sea #Turtle Protections - #BP Oil Spill #boycottbp #oilspill #turtles

    Dear Friend,
    The oil disaster in the Gulf has only increased the stress placed on the loggerhead sea turtle as their nesting season along the Gulf coast falls right between April and September. Please send a quick, but important message letting the National Marine Fisheries Service know that you support increased protections for the loggerhead sea turtle. http://bit.ly/aMxW3K

    Regards,
    proclus
    http://www.gnu-darwin.org/

    Posted via email from #p

    Thursday, August 12, 2010

    What Will It Take to Save the Arctic?

    Last month a federal lawsuit brought by the Center for Biological Diversity and our allies stopped a flawed and illegal Bush-era plan to drill in the Chukchi Sea. But no matter how much evidence piles up against drilling in the Arctic, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar keeps pushing ahead. Given the disaster we've seen in the Gulf of Mexico, there's no reason to run those same terrible risks in the Arctic. The stakes are simply too high.
    The inadequate and illegal Arctic drilling plan that is currently in place dramatically increases the odds of a large spill. Last week, the Canadian government produced a report finding that it would take three years to cap a blown-out well in the Arctic.The disastrous BP blowout in the Gulf of Mexico spewed a vast amount of oil into the ocean in just three months before it was finally stopped. If a similar disaster happened in the Artic, the situation would be far worse. This should never be allowed to happen again.
    Despite all the warning signs, Secretary Salazar continues to ask the courts to allow oil companies to go forward with their Arctic drilling plans. Please join the Center in telling Secretary Salazar that the Arctic is too important to sacrifice to America's addiction to oil.
    Visit http://action.biologicaldiversity.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=4587 to take action now.

    Tell President Obama to take it up a notch!

    Hey - I don't know if you've heard, but the Millennium Development Goals Summit is coming up, and even though President Obama recently released a plan to address the MDGs, it still comes up short. What we really need is a global development strategy, one that will serve as a compass for efforts to end global poverty. Will you join me in telling President Obama to take it one step further?

    Regards,
    proclus
    http://www.gnu-darwin.org/

    To take action on this issue, click on the link below:
    http://act.oxfamamerica.org/site/Advocacy?s_oo=0bcHE1lpY-G8iFdpJ8TxWQ..&i... If the text above does not appear as a link or it wraps across multiple lines, then copy and paste it into the address area of your browser. 

    Posted via email from #p

    Tuesday, August 10, 2010

    Tell Congress: No new drilling. Period. - #greenpeace #BP. Oil Spill #boycottbp #oilspil

    Hey there,

    I recently sent a message through Greenpeace to my members of Congress
    telling them to ban all new drilling. We can't afford another disaster
    like the one in the Gulf. Join me and take action here:

    http://us.greenpeace.org/site/R?i=KFhST8gr4v9__OfQaqiBaQ..

    Greenpeace has sent a ship to the Gulf to do an independent assessment
    of the damage. Hopefully, Congress makes sure the next disaster never
    happens.

    Regards,
    proclus
    http://www.gnu-darwin.org/

    Posted via email from #p

    Monday, August 9, 2010

    How Many Iraqis Did We 'Liberate' From Life on Earth?

    I don't like these types of analyses because the always seem to neglect the harm that was done by years of sanctions and bombings during the Clinton presidency. Obviously, this is no defense of what happened in the Bush years, but neglect of the harm that was done in the Clinton years brings suspicion of partisanship. Clinton paved the way for Bush in Iraq by decimating the country's infrastructure and demoralizing the people, and the damage and loss of life that occurred in those years is likely comparable to the invasion and occupation.



    Regards,

    proclus

    http://www.gnu-darwin.org/
    Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

    Friday, August 6, 2010

    Michael wants you to take action on "Tell the FDA to Come Clean About Gulf Seafood"!

    Michael Love has just read and signed the petition: Tell the FDA to Come Clean About Gulf Seafood

    You can view this petition at: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/tell-a-friend/7594164

    Message from Michael Love:
    -----

    Hi, I just signed the petition "Tell the FDA to Come Clean About Gulf Seafood". I'm asking you to sign this petition to help us reach our goal of 15,000 signatures. I care deeply about this cause, and I hope you will support our efforts.

    -----

    ThePetitionSite.com provides tools and empowers individuals to make a difference and effect positive change through online activism. Get connected with the causes you care about, take action to make the world a better place, and start your own petition at http://www.ThePetitionSite.com!

    ThePetitionSite.com is powered by Care2, the largest and most trusted information and action site for people who care to make a difference in their lives and the world. www.care2.com

    Posted via email from #p

    Join Al Gore for a Virtual Town Hall

    Hey --

    The climate crisis is getting worse, so we have to redouble our efforts and keep fighting.

    Al Gore is holding a special Virtual Town Hall on Tuesday, August 10 at 8:30 p.m. EDT, 7:30 p.m. CDT, 6:30 p.m. MDT, and 5:30 p.m. PDT on potential next steps for the climate movement.

    Can you join me? You can RSVP here:

    http://acp.repoweramerica.org/jointhecall-taf

    Thanks!

    Posted via email from #p

    SourceForge.net: GNU-Darwin Distribution: News

    http://sourceforge.net/news/?group_id=15543

    Another great source of GNU-Darwin related news is our SourceForge news roll.

    Regards,
    proclus
    http://www.gnu-darwin.org/

    Wednesday, August 4, 2010

    Join Robert Redford in defending the #Arctic Refuge - #BP Oil Spill #boycottbp #oilspill #bears #wildlife

    Dear Friend,
    Last week NRDC celebrated a major victory when a federal court stopped oil and gas companies from drilling in Alaska's Chukchi Sea -- one of our nation's two Polar Bear Seas.
    But that ruling does NOT apply to Shell's plans for drilling off the coast of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in the Beaufort -- the second of the two Polar Bear Seas.
    Please watch my new video about this critical issue.
    http://www.savebiogems.org/stopshell
    President Obama has stopped Shell's offshore drilling for this drilling season.
    But Shell will be back next summer, sinking its drill bits into the Beaufort Sea -- unless you and I apply overwhelming public pressure to stop them.
    We can't afford a repeat of the Gulf oil spill disaster in America's Arctic.
    That's why, after you watch my video, I need you to join me in signing our Petition, which urges President Obama to impose a seven-year timeout on offshore drilling in the Arctic. That reprieve is urgently needed so that scientists can carefully study the real risks of drilling in this most sensitive of all environments.
    http://www.savebiogems.org/stopshell
    You and I must act now to avert a disaster in the Arctic.
    Please tell President Obama to stand up to the oil industry and put the Arctic off-limits to offshore drilling for seven years.
    http://www.savebiogems.org/stopshell
    Thank you for fighting alongside NRDC to keep the Arctic wild and free.
    Sincerely,
    Robert Redford
    Trustee, Natural Resources Defense Council
    P.S. Time is running out. Shell has said they will apply soon for permits allowing them to drill next summer. Does anyone really believe that oil drilling in the Arctic will be perfectly safe by next summer? A spill in the Arctic would be devastating to polar bears and other wildlife. Please watch my urgent video and then take action to help stop Shell. Thank you.

    To take action on this issue, click on the link below:
    http://www.nrdconline.org/site/Advocacy?s_oo=BMpFShm2sj6Ci5-hMJpkjg..&id=... If the text above does not appear as a link or it wraps across multiple lines, then copy and paste it into the address area of your browser.

    Tuesday, August 3, 2010

    One step closer to ending the war

    Hey there,
    Did you hear the sad news?

    The House voted to keep spending trillions of dollars on the war in Afghanistan yesterday. I know, it's disappointing.

    But there is good news: more than 100 Democrats stood up to VOTE NO - more than triple the number who voted to end the war a year ago.

    Congress is changing it's mind about the war thanks to people like you and me. Which is exactly why we need to thank those members of Congress who VOTED NO and tell those members who voted yes how frustrated we are.

    I just sent a quick message to my member of Congress, can you do the same thing? It just takes a second, and it really makes a difference.

    This website makes it really easy:
    http://bit.ly/9J4tVF

    Posted via email from #p