I just sent messages to corporate tax dodgers telling them to pay their fair share. Will you join me? Just go here to take action: http://bit.ly/rx00E8
Monday, November 7, 2011
10,000 Surround White House to Protest Keystone XL Tar Sands Oil Pipeline
via Democracy Now! by mail@democracynow.org (Democracy Now!) on 11/7/11
More than 10,000 protesters surrounded the White House on Sunday calling on President Obama to reject the proposed Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast. The protest came exactly a year before the 2012 election and the pipeline is shaping up to be a major political issue. Last week, President Obama said for the first time he will make the final decision on whether to approve the controversial 1,700-mile pipeline proposed by TransCanada, which would transport oil from the Alberta tar sands fields to refineries in Texas. Up until now, Obama said the final decision rested with the State Department. “[Sunday protest] really underlines this has become not only the biggest environmental flash point in many years, but maybe the issue in recent times in the Obama administration when he has been most directly confronted by people in the street,” said leading environmentalist Bill McKibben, a key organizer in the protest. [Transcript to come. Check back soon.]
U.S. Drone Kills 16-Year-Old Pakistani Boy Days After He Attends Anti-Drone ...
via Democracy Now! by mail@democracynow.org (Democracy Now!) on 11/7/11
A group of Pakistanis met in Islamabad late last month to discuss the impact of U.S. drone strikes in their communities. One of the attendees was a 16-year-old boy named Tariq Aziz, who had volunteered to learn photography to begin documenting drone strikes near his home. Within 72 hours of the meeting, Aziz was killed in a U.S. drone strike. His 12-year-old cousin was also killed in the Oct. 31 attack. "People were aware of the threat to them. Yet they volunteered—Tariq, in particular, because he, at his age in that remote community, was familiar with computers, was excited about the idea of being able to document the civilian casualties," says reporter Pratap Chatterjee, who met Aziz days before he was killed. As part of a larger investigation on the CIA-led U.S. covert drone war, Chatterjee and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism reports that drone strikes in Pakistan have killed at least 392 civilians, including 175 children. "I question as to whether the CIA is really attempting to identify people before they kill them," he says. "It would have been so easy for the CIA, the ISI, to come question these kids, to have taken them aside, even put them in jail or interrogated them... But instead they chose to kill them." [includes rush transcript]
Sunday, November 6, 2011
: #OccupyBaltimore, only the best - #Baltimore #oo #p2 #ows #occupy #usdor #p2
My experiences at Occupy Baltimore have been inspiring and uplifting,
and I believe the best way to respond to the encampment is to assist
in any way possible. This is true of so many of the the #Occupy
encampments. Participate in this wonderful experiment of
participatory democracy happening in your own city. I was particularly
moved by the recent divenstment march, and feel that participation in
the #Occupy movement is inherently rewarding. We should give our best
to the aspirations of a emergent movement and rising generation. I have made an attempt below to collect some key information and
positive news about Occupy Baltimore. Our friends in the beautiful
encampments deserve our support. Check out their website. It is a
good one. Hopefully, everything you need to understand the camp is
here, except one thing. Go and visit them, and see for yourself what
the future might be like. Occupy Baltimore | Occupy Baltimore
http://occupybmore.org/ Occupy Baltimore also has a Twitter and Facebook page. I really enjoy
the Twitter updates on my phone, and recomend that you subscribe to
your local #Occupy by SMS text. Occupy Baltimore | Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Occupy-Baltimore/144588345637146 OccupyBaltimore (@OccupyBaltimore) on Twitter
http://twitter.com/occupybaltimore Occupy Baltimore has attracted blog articles in the local newspapers
and elsewhere. Marbella: Constellation and Occupy Baltimore, a tale of our times
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-marbella-constellation-201111... At Occupy Baltimore: A Cause! | Citypaper Blogs
http://blogs.citypaper.com/index.php/2011/10/at-occupy-baltimore-a-cause/ Occupy Baltimore Wins Support of Police and Firefighter Unions
http://october2011.org/blogs/kevin-zeese/occupy-baltimore-wins-support-police... Here are some more useful Occupy Baltimore related news and
information. They are making history. Happy Reading! Protect Occupy Baltimore | OccupyWallSt.org
http://occupywallst.org/article/baltimore-intensification/ Occupy Baltimore planning meeting draws about 150 - Baltimore Sun
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-10-02/news/bs-md-occupy-baltimore-20111... Occupy Baltimore resumes protest | Baltimore Brew
http://www.baltimorebrew.com/2011/10/05/occupy-baltimore-resumes-protest/ Occupy Baltimore, One Month Later - Reisterstown, MD Patch
http://reisterstown.patch.com/articles/occupy-baltimore-one-month-later-565eec2d It is so unfortunate that some seem to feel that the #Occupy movement
is something that needs to be stopped and suppressed. Has the Bill of
Rights become so tattered that we can no longer recognize a free
expression assembly? Please stop fighting them, and give them your
support, or else it may your assembly that is in the crosshairs next.
We must protect our liberties. Regards,
proclus
http://www.gnu-darwin.org/
and I believe the best way to respond to the encampment is to assist
in any way possible. This is true of so many of the the #Occupy
encampments. Participate in this wonderful experiment of
participatory democracy happening in your own city. I was particularly
moved by the recent divenstment march, and feel that participation in
the #Occupy movement is inherently rewarding. We should give our best
to the aspirations of a emergent movement and rising generation. I have made an attempt below to collect some key information and
positive news about Occupy Baltimore. Our friends in the beautiful
encampments deserve our support. Check out their website. It is a
good one. Hopefully, everything you need to understand the camp is
here, except one thing. Go and visit them, and see for yourself what
the future might be like. Occupy Baltimore | Occupy Baltimore
http://occupybmore.org/ Occupy Baltimore also has a Twitter and Facebook page. I really enjoy
the Twitter updates on my phone, and recomend that you subscribe to
your local #Occupy by SMS text. Occupy Baltimore | Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Occupy-Baltimore/144588345637146 OccupyBaltimore (@OccupyBaltimore) on Twitter
http://twitter.com/occupybaltimore Occupy Baltimore has attracted blog articles in the local newspapers
and elsewhere. Marbella: Constellation and Occupy Baltimore, a tale of our times
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-marbella-constellation-201111... At Occupy Baltimore: A Cause! | Citypaper Blogs
http://blogs.citypaper.com/index.php/2011/10/at-occupy-baltimore-a-cause/ Occupy Baltimore Wins Support of Police and Firefighter Unions
http://october2011.org/blogs/kevin-zeese/occupy-baltimore-wins-support-police... Here are some more useful Occupy Baltimore related news and
information. They are making history. Happy Reading! Protect Occupy Baltimore | OccupyWallSt.org
http://occupywallst.org/article/baltimore-intensification/ Occupy Baltimore planning meeting draws about 150 - Baltimore Sun
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-10-02/news/bs-md-occupy-baltimore-20111... Occupy Baltimore resumes protest | Baltimore Brew
http://www.baltimorebrew.com/2011/10/05/occupy-baltimore-resumes-protest/ Occupy Baltimore, One Month Later - Reisterstown, MD Patch
http://reisterstown.patch.com/articles/occupy-baltimore-one-month-later-565eec2d It is so unfortunate that some seem to feel that the #Occupy movement
is something that needs to be stopped and suppressed. Has the Bill of
Rights become so tattered that we can no longer recognize a free
expression assembly? Please stop fighting them, and give them your
support, or else it may your assembly that is in the crosshairs next.
We must protect our liberties. Regards,
proclus
http://www.gnu-darwin.org/
Stop the Tea Party's attack on clean air
Dear Friend,
On Tuesday, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) is expected to force a vote in the Senate to prevent the EPA from implementing its life-saving Cross State Air Pollution rule.
Because the Tea Party darling Sen. Paul is using an obscure procedural tactic called the Congressional Review Act, he only needs 51 votes to pass the law to handcuff the EPA from enforcing the Clean Air Act.
Support in the Senate for the Clean Air Act is extremely tenuous. I just signed a petition making sure my Senators know I expect them to protect my health and reject the Tea Party's attack on clean air.
Learn more and sign the petition here:
http://ping.fm/1EtHx
On Tuesday, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) is expected to force a vote in the Senate to prevent the EPA from implementing its life-saving Cross State Air Pollution rule.
Because the Tea Party darling Sen. Paul is using an obscure procedural tactic called the Congressional Review Act, he only needs 51 votes to pass the law to handcuff the EPA from enforcing the Clean Air Act.
Support in the Senate for the Clean Air Act is extremely tenuous. I just signed a petition making sure my Senators know I expect them to protect my health and reject the Tea Party's attack on clean air.
Learn more and sign the petition here:
http://ping.fm/1EtHx
Friday, November 4, 2011
We need whistle-blowers. Three reasons why.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[FSF] Stop the Internet Blacklist legislation
Join us, EFF, Demand Progress, and Fight for The Future in opposing the latest round of Internet Blacklist legislation.
Take action and sign petitions on the following sites:
The EFF explains the legislation, which is titled the PROTECT-IP Act in the Senate and SOPA in the House, as follows:
As drafted, the legislation would grant the government and private parties unprecedented power to interfere with the Internet's domain name system (DNS). The government would be able to force ISPs and search engines to redirect or dump users' attempts to reach certain websites' URLs. In response, third parties will woo average users to alternative servers that offer access to the entire Internet (not just the newly censored U.S. version), which will create new computer security vulnerabilities as the reliability and universality of the DNS evaporates.
It gets worse: Under SOPA's provisions, service providers (including hosting services) would be under new pressure to monitor and police their users’ activities. While PROTECT-IP targeted sites “dedicated to infringing activities,” SOPA targets websites that simply don’t do enough to track and police infringement (and it is not at all clear what would be enough). And it creates new powers to shut down folks who provide tools to help users get access to the Internet the rest of the world sees (not just the “U.S. authorized version”).
This legislation is an example of the severely flawed thinking you get when approaching issues in terms of "intellectual property".
We helped stop this bill before, but now it's back under a different name. Please take a minute and help stop this one too!
In Solidarity,
Josh, John, Matt, and Richard
--
Follow us on identi.ca at http://identi.ca/fsf | Subscribe to our blogs via RSS at http://fsf.org/blogs/RSS
Join us as an associate member at http://fsf.org/jf
Sent from the Free Software Foundation,
51 Franklin Street
Fifth Floor
Boston, MA 02110-1335
United States
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You can unsubscribe to this mailing-list by visiting the link http://crm.fsf.org/index.php?q=civicrm/mailing/unsubscribe&reset=1&jid=125339&qid=752337&h=9c48a8388087616f.
To never receive email from the Free Software Foundation, including Defective by Design,
our monthly newsletter and more, click this link:
UNICEF USA: Tell the whole world about the 320,000 starving children on the brink of death in East Africa.
 |  | | ||||
| ||||||
Dear Michael, You and so many like you have been incredibly generous, helping UNICEF feed and treat hundreds of thousands of children. But tragically, 320,000 children are still acutely malnourished and on the brink of death in East Africa. Elijah is one of them. He is 11 months old – though he doesn't look like it. When he was admitted to the UNICEF-supported Provide Clinic in Korogocho in Nairobi, Kenya, he weighed less than 10 pounds. He had malaria and measles, and suffered dramatic weight loss. He can make it. But only if the world remembers we have the power, and the will, to save lives. More people need to see these images, need to read these stories... and it starts with you. I want you to share the image in this email. It's so easy – just click here and click "Share" to share with your friends on Facebook. Or, forward this email to a friend. There are more than 600,000 people receiving this image of Elijah today. All it will take is each of us sharing this image once – either on Facebook or by forwarding this email – and we will literally flood the Internet with a simple, powerful story. This is precisely what this crisis needs right now. But it won't work without each us doing our part right now and sharing this image. Let's use our collective power to turn the world's eyes back to the children who desperately need more help. With gratitude,
P.S. – You can also make a donation, right now, to help save children's lives in the Horn of Africa. | ||||||
Net Neutrality is under attack!
Friends, The Senate is voting to kill Net Neutrality on TUESDAY -- it's a power grab by big Telecom so they can control what information you're able to access online. Will you urge your Senators to stand strong and fight back? Just click here: http://act.demandprogress.org/letter/hutchison_nn?referring_akid=996.45919.OH... As The Hill newspaper notes, "Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) said she will push for a Senate vote on a resolution of disapproval to negate the regulations this fall. A similar vote passed the House earlier this year but stalled in the Senate." Please click here to push back: http://act.demandprogress.org/letter/hutchison_nn?referring_akid=996.45919.OH... Thanks!
CIA’s ‘Vengeful Librarians’ Monitoring Twitter, Facebook
via (title unknown) by andrea on 11/4/11
In an anonymous industrial park in Virginia, in an unassuming brick building, the CIA is following tweets – up to five million a day.
At the agency’s Open Source Center, a team known affectionately as the “vengeful librarians” also pores over Facebook, newspapers, TV news channels, local radio stations, Internet chat rooms – anything overseas that anyone can access and contribute to openly.
![[field_image_caption-raw]](https://www.commondreams.org/sites/commondreams.org/files/imagecache/news_archive_thumbnail/article_images/ciasvengeful_0.jpg){kind=small}
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Way to go! You earned a President's Challenge award!
I'm rather proud of my progress in the Presidential Champions award
program. Perhaps you would like to give it a try as well. It is fun,
and good for your health too!
which is my current favorite. Almost any form of physical activity can
earn points. Give it a try, or at least, check out the website. You
may not be able to resist the temptation! Good health feels good. Regards,
proclus
http://www.gnu-darwin.org/ ------ Forwarded message ------
From: "The President's Challenge"
Subject: Way to go! You earned a President's Challenge award!
Date: Wed, 02 Nov 2011 18:01:40 -0400
To: invitee You did it, Michael L.! You earned a Presidential Champions Bronze Award! What progress! What dedication! What a lot of points!
You deserve a pat on the backâ€"and a T-shirt, medallion, or other reminder of your achievement.
Check out our selection in the President's Challenge Shop, and keep up the good work!
Tell President Obama: Don't sell us out to Wall Street
Dear Friend,
Americans are paying a heavy price for Wall Street greed. Millions are out of work, millions face foreclosure, and millions more are feeling the pain in some other way.
But not one of the Wall Street crooks who drove our economy off a cliff has gone to jail. And without aggressive investigation and prosecution of misconduct, none of them will.
Yet even as thousands are in the streets demanding Wall Street accountability, high-ranking officials in the Obama administration are actively pushing state Attorneys General to cut a terrible deal in the next few weeks with mortgage firms that lets these giant institutions off the hook for what appears to be widespread mortgage and foreclosure fraud.
President Obama needs to step in and put a stop to this.
I told President Obama not to sell us out to Wall Street, and I hope you will too. You can sign the petition at the link below.
http://ping.fm/XmDX6
Americans are paying a heavy price for Wall Street greed. Millions are out of work, millions face foreclosure, and millions more are feeling the pain in some other way.
But not one of the Wall Street crooks who drove our economy off a cliff has gone to jail. And without aggressive investigation and prosecution of misconduct, none of them will.
Yet even as thousands are in the streets demanding Wall Street accountability, high-ranking officials in the Obama administration are actively pushing state Attorneys General to cut a terrible deal in the next few weeks with mortgage firms that lets these giant institutions off the hook for what appears to be widespread mortgage and foreclosure fraud.
President Obama needs to step in and put a stop to this.
I told President Obama not to sell us out to Wall Street, and I hope you will too. You can sign the petition at the link below.
http://ping.fm/XmDX6
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
People in, Corporate Sponsors Out
Massive corporations have paid to sponsor the G20 summit and get access to our elected leaders, while people are locked out! Our massive outcry to Nicolas Sarkozy, boosted by a media firestorm, can kick out the sponsors and reclaim the G20 for the public good. Sign the petition here: http://www.avaaz.org/en/occupy_g20_d/?sbc
Subject: Call for an investigation of the State Department's tar sands scandal
Dear Friend,
For weeks we've watched the State Department's sham review of Keystone XL unfold, with no calls from congress for corrective action.
The silence was finally shattered this week, as a group of 14 Senators and Representatives, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders, sent a letter to the President and the Inspector General of the State Department, calling for a formal investigation into this scandal.
This process being conducted by the State Department is a crime in progress. But with a final decision is coming before the end of the year, it's not over yet.
I just signed a petition joining congressional leaders in calling for an independent investigation into the State Department's tar sands scandal.
Please join me to help build pressure before a decision is made. You can learn more and sign your name here:
http://ping.fm/inwnc
For weeks we've watched the State Department's sham review of Keystone XL unfold, with no calls from congress for corrective action.
The silence was finally shattered this week, as a group of 14 Senators and Representatives, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders, sent a letter to the President and the Inspector General of the State Department, calling for a formal investigation into this scandal.
This process being conducted by the State Department is a crime in progress. But with a final decision is coming before the end of the year, it's not over yet.
I just signed a petition joining congressional leaders in calling for an independent investigation into the State Department's tar sands scandal.
Please join me to help build pressure before a decision is made. You can learn more and sign your name here:
http://ping.fm/inwnc
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
End of Twitter
Friends, It's alive! And it's a nightmare. The rumors were true: The new Blacklist Bill could effectively destroy YouTube, Twitter, and other sites that rely on user-generated content by making the sites' owners legally responsible for content their users post. It also includes provisions that would make it a felony to stream unlicensed content -- including cover band performances, karaoke videos, video game play-throughs, and more. It's a grab-bag of Halloween goodies for a handful of big corporations -- but for us it's Frankenstein's monster, cobbled together from half-born bills, set to suffocate free speech and innovation and terrorize consumers and Internet users. Will you click here to ask your Congressmember to oppose the legislation? http://act.demandprogress.org/letter/sopa/?referring_akid=987.45919.Spu8f0&so...
Thanks!
Thanks!
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Shalit is Free. Lift the Siege of Gaza Now
With the recent release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in a prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas, the international community has a window of opportunity to press for ending the blockade of Gaza.Will you join me in asking President Obama and your representatives in Congress to press for the closure of Gaza to be lifted?http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/shalitfreegazaThanks!
EFF: Take Action | top the Internet Blacklist Legislation - #fsf #law #acta #arts #dmca #free #geek #open #coica #music #movies #piracy #source #freedom #radical
Dear friend,
I just emailed Congress to urge them to oppose the Internet Blacklist Legislation, known as the PROTECT-IP Act in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House. This legislation seeks to give the executive branch power to conduct slash-and-burn campaigns against websites that allegedly host – or even link to – content that infringes on intellectual property rights. That would “disappear” whole domain names, fundamentally undermining Internet security, and/or choke off their financial support. The Internet Blacklist Legislation puts more sites than ever at risk, effectively upending the DMCA safe harbors that have been crucial to the growth of Internet innovation and creativity.
Sadly, these short-sighted and dangerous bills won’t do much to stop online infringement – but they will jeopardize our ability to speak and read online with the kind of freedom we cherish in the offline world. Deep-pocketed Hollywood lobbyists are aggressively pushing to control and censor the open Internet, willing to sacrifice free speech and our Internet culture in hopes of controlling how people view their movies and products.
We need to stop this bill before it goes any further. Will you contact your representatives in Congress and urge them to oppose the Internet Blacklist Legislation? Visit: http://ping.fm/AHc7D
Regards,
proclus
http://www.gnu-darwin.org/
I just emailed Congress to urge them to oppose the Internet Blacklist Legislation, known as the PROTECT-IP Act in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House. This legislation seeks to give the executive branch power to conduct slash-and-burn campaigns against websites that allegedly host – or even link to – content that infringes on intellectual property rights. That would “disappear” whole domain names, fundamentally undermining Internet security, and/or choke off their financial support. The Internet Blacklist Legislation puts more sites than ever at risk, effectively upending the DMCA safe harbors that have been crucial to the growth of Internet innovation and creativity.
Sadly, these short-sighted and dangerous bills won’t do much to stop online infringement – but they will jeopardize our ability to speak and read online with the kind of freedom we cherish in the offline world. Deep-pocketed Hollywood lobbyists are aggressively pushing to control and censor the open Internet, willing to sacrifice free speech and our Internet culture in hopes of controlling how people view their movies and products.
We need to stop this bill before it goes any further. Will you contact your representatives in Congress and urge them to oppose the Internet Blacklist Legislation? Visit: http://ping.fm/AHc7D
Regards,
proclus
http://www.gnu-darwin.org/
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
: Beautiful #OccupyBaltimore (PHOTOS) #ows #usdor #occupy
I really enjoyed GA tonight, and looking forward to the bicycle parade. Democracy is hard work. Thanks to everyone who makes this work.
Our thoughts have been with the encampments who have been abused by authorities, and with those who defended liberty today. Many here are tired and in their tents now. It has been a big day for Occupy Baltimore. Sleep tight.
One reminder, freedom of assembly includes camping. Don't forget.
Regards,
proclus
http://www.gnu-darwin.org/
: #OccupyBaltimore - a glorious thing
GA is starting soon. Come and support #freedom of assembly, of speech, of life itself. Come and join us now.
Regards,
proclus
http://www.gnu-darwin.org/
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