More Important Politics, Also from Japan

The toxin pushing honeybees to extinction is having a devastating effect across the

ecosystem.

Tell Home Depot, Lowe's and other retailers to stop stocking bee-poisoning neonicotinoids.

Sign the petition

Share on Facebook.

Scientists hot on the trail of the cause behind the massive global bee die-off have

unearthed a slew of evidence on the devastation across the food chain caused by the

most widely-used pesticide on Earth, neonicotinoids.

 Once they enter the water supply, neonicotinoids wipe out dragonflies, snails and

other waterborne life. The few hardy species that survive are left so toxic that

they're killing birds -- and

Lowe's and Home Depot are putting this toxic product right in our back yards.

The European Food Safety Authority just imposed a two-year ban on neonicotinoids.

 It's a bold step taken to avert a new Silent Spring. With up to a third of all honeybees

vanishing each winter,

beekeepers are saying that we are "on the brink" of not being able to pollinate all

our crops

.

Lowe's and Home Depot still stock their shelves with neonicotinoid pesticides

, spreading the ecosystem-destroying toxin to homes and gardens across the United

States. As consumers, we need to demand that these retailers pull the devastating

pesticides from the shelves.

Tell Home Depot and Lowe’s to stop stocking neonicotinoids.

Bayer and other pesticide manufacturers are shoveling cash at lobbyists in order

to continue selling their poisonous products. But

we're not here to protect corporate profits, we're here to protect our ecosystem

to ensure our future.

 The first thing we need to do is take this devastating toxin out of our own neighborhoods.

One of the reasons these pesticides are so toxic is that they don't simply coat the

surface --

neonicotinoids are absorbed into the plant itself

. Scientists believe honeybees that stop by later to pollinate the crops accrue a

lethal dose in their systems as they wander from flower to flower. Research suggests

that

 the neurotoxin scrambles their system of navigation and other critical parts of

the bee's brains.

 Even when it doesn't kill the bees outright, neonicotinoids alter immune system

function in bees, making them more vulnerable to parasitic infections that are spreading

through bee populations like wildfire.

Major retailers don't care what type of pesticides they sell, only what type of pesticides

their customers will buy.

 If we send Lowe's and Home Depot, the nation's two largest home-and-garden superstores,

a loud, clear message, we can get these toxic products off their shelves and out

of our back yard

s -- and get smaller retailers around the country to follow suit.

Tell Home Depot and Lowe’s to get rid of the bee-killing neonicotinoids.

Thank you for being one of us,

Claiborne and the team at SumOfUs.org

**********

More information:

The Independent:

'Victory for bees' as European Union bans neonicotinoid pesticides blamed for destroying bee population

, 29 April 2013

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation:

Are Neonicotinoids Killing Bees? (PDF)

, 2012

American Bird Conservancy:

Birds, Bees, and Aquatic Life Threatened by Gross Underestimate of Toxicity of World's Most Widely Used Pesticide

, 2013

Mother Jones:

3 New Studies Link Bee Decline to Bayer Pesticide

, 29 March, 2013

 SumOfUs is a world-wide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations

accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.

You can follow us on

Twitter

, and like us on

Facebook

.

Change.org

 — There's a new petition taking off on Change.org, and we think you might be interested

in signing it:

Prada: Drop your lawsuit against former-employee Rina Bovrisse

By Ayako B.

Sign Ayako's Petition

Rina Bovrisse, a former employee at Prada in Japan, was shocked when her boss told

her to fire scores of coworkers because they were

“old, fat, ugly, disgusting or did not have the Prada look.”

 When Rina spoke out, she was fired.

Now, Prada is suing HER for $780,000 for allegedly damaging the Prada brand even

though they don’t deny their discrimination.

Prada Japan hired Rina, a Japanese national, in April 2009 as Senior Retail Operations

Manager and tasked her with overseeing 500 Prada employees. She moved to Japan with

her two year old son, excited about the opportunity ahead.

Almost immediately, Rina began observing evidence of discrimination in Prada’s HR

department. She recalls the company’s CEO ordering the demotion and transfer of fifteen

female employees (many of them long-serving, top saleswomen) because they were “old,

fat, ugly, disgusting or did not have the Prada look.”

When she spoke out against this injustice, Rina was criticized for her own appearance,

offered a demotion to an entry-level sales staff position, and then urged to resign.

In 2010, Rina and two of her Prada colleagues decided to take a stand. They filed

a lawsuit against the luxury fashion label, arguing that Prada’s appearance-based

discrimination and harassment violated Japanese law.

But in 2012, the judge ruled that Prada’s demonstrated discrimination was acceptable

for a luxury fashion label and that a well-compensated female employee should be

able to withstand a certain level of harassment.

Now, Prada is taking the outrageous step of countersuing the single mother to the

tune of $780,000 for speaking out about the company’s discrimination.

 It's bad enough Prada is discriminating this way, but to SUE a woman who fought

back? That’s unacceptable and Prada must drop the suit.

As a woman and a mother in Japan, I have experienced gender discrimination in employment

too. It’s a huge problem in my country where none of the top companies are led by

women. Rina has become the symbol of this injustice in Japan and if we let a major

company like Prada bully her, other women will be afraid to stand up against discrimination

too.

Join me in standing for gender equality by calling on Prada to stop bullying Rina

and to drop its suit against her.

Sign Ayako's Petition

Start a petition on Change.org.

Ayako, who created this petition, is not affiliated with Change.org. Change.org did

not create and is not responsible for the petition content.

Mailing address: Change.org · 216 W 104th St., #130, New York, NY 10025 USA

Teresa,

T

Some Politics I've missed.

My personal hope is that I can contribute a bit toard making multi-national corporations accountable for the things they do to people everywhere and to Earth.  But if I were involved in one of the tragedies brought out by some personal petitions I know I would want people to care enough to offer a signature.

Gap was supplied with clothing by the workers in a   building in Bangladesh which was stories taller than it should have been.  This structure also was Not meant to contain heavy moving factory machinery.  When the building collapsed more than a thousand workers were killed.

Wow! So many of us emailed Gap executives that

Gap had to shut down the executives' inboxes

 (which you may have noticed if you emailed them and got a boune-back).

We know Gap is hearing us now!

 But if you want to help drive home our point that consumers care about the people

who make our tshirts, then you can

email Gap's PR division at

.com

, or

go to its whitewashing website

 and scroll down and leave a comment.

Gap's latest excuse is that American companies can't sign the binding agreement for

some

new

 unexplained reason. But that hasn't stopped American companies like Abercrombie

& Fitch and PVH (which owns Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein) from joining.

It's time for Gap to stop siding with Walmart and join the Bangladesh Fire and Building

Safety Agreement.

Thanks for keeping up the fight!

Rob and the team at SumOfUs.org

Here's the email we sent earlier today

**********************************

Gap thinks its consumers are idiots. It says it will sign the Bangladesh Fire Safety

Agreement with one small change: the removal of the provision that makes the Agreement

legally binding. But

that "small change" would gut the entire Agreement and make it totally unenforceable

. And as Gap tries to stop real reform in the Bangladeshi garment industry, it keeps

trying to convince that it's a leader in social responsibility, even putting a ridiculous

website to brag about how much it cares about workers. We're not fooled by Gap's

PR tricks:

right now, activists are descending on Gap's shareholder meeting in San Francisco

 to demand that the world's third largest apparel company get serious about workers'

safety.

We've been ratcheting up the pressue for weeks -- now we need to use the shareholder

meeting to remind Gap that we're not going anywhere.

Can you take a few minutes to hold Gap accountable?

Here’s how to make sure Gap gets the message:

phone

(for North Americans)

Call Gap's customer service line at 800-427-7895

 and press 4 to speak to a live representative. When you get an answer, let Gap know

that it needs to sign a

binding

 agreement to protect Bangladeshi workers. Feel free to use our talking points:

The binding Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Agreement is now the industry standards.

More than 35 companies have signed on.

Non-binding, corporate-controlled codes of conduct have failed Bangladeshi workers

for 20 years. A non-binding agreement is more of the same. Only a binding agreement

can reform the garment industry in Bangladesh.

Many of Gap's top competitors have signed the Agreement, including H&M, Abercrombie

& Fitch, Zara, and Benetton.

fb

Click here to write on Gap’s Facebook wall.

 Here are some examples of messages you can leave for the company, or you can write

your own.

Gap needs to make a stand, right now, to ensure that tragedies like Rana Plaza never

happen again. Gap should stop trying to undermine the Agreement by preventing it

from being legally binding. Sign the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Agreement.

http://on.fb.me/13woD9D

I will not shop at a store that gambles with people's lives. By refusing to sign

the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Agreement, Gap is displaying a disgusting

level of greed. Stop putting lives at risk and sign now.

http://on.fb.me/13woD9D

Gap's refusal to sign the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Agreement is a disgrace

to the company, and to everyone involved in decision-making. Shame on Gap. Stop dragging

your feet and join the many other companies that have already signed the Agreement.

http://on.fb.me/13woD9D

em

You can email Gap's

VP for social responsibility, Kindley Walsh-Lawlor at

Kindley_Walsh-Lawlor@gap.com

.

You can email VP for Employee relations Eva Sage-Gavin at

Eva_Sage-Gavin@gap.com

. Here's are talking points you can use, but feel free to modify it if you'd like:

The binding Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Agreement is now the industry standards.

More than 35 companies have signed on.

Non-binding, corporate-controlled codes of conduct have failed Bangladeshi workers

for 20 years. A non-binding agreement is more of the same. Only a binding agreement

can reform the garment industry in Bangladesh.

Many of Gap's top competitors have signed the Agreement, including H&M, Abercrombie

& Fitch, Zara, and Benetton.

Non-binding, corporate-controlled codes of conduct have been in effect in Bangladesh

for decades, and garment workers keep dying -- most recently in the collapse of the

Rana Plaza buildding, the worst workplace disaster in history. That's why

35 major apparel companies, including major Gap competitors like H&M, Abercrombie

& Fitch, and Benetton have agreed

 to an independent, binding safety agreement. When it insists on a non-binding agreement,

Gap is effectively telling consumers

"we'll tell you whatever you want to hear, as long as there are no consequences when

we don't follow through."

According to workers who were on the scene in the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh

a few weeks ago, a crack had developed in the building on a Tuesday, triggering an

evacuation order. Bank employees were told to stay home on Wednesday, but

garment workers sewing clothes for major western brands were ordered to return to

the production floor.

The SumOfUs.org community has been campaigning for months for major global

retailers like the Gap to sign the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Agreement,

which would ensure basic worker protections for Bangladeshi workers.

 In the wake of the Tazreen fire, which killed 112 Bangladeshi garment workers last

November, the SumOfUs.org community mobilized to show these brands that we are paying

attention to the deplorable conditions in their supply chains.

Over 150,000 SumOfUs members petitioned global brands to sign the Bangladesh Fire

and Building Safety Agreement. Then thousands of us donated to fund a trip by Sumi

Abedin, a Tazreen survivor, and Kalpona Akter, a Bangladeshi labor activist, to come

to the U.S. to challenge brands to take responsibility for their workers' safety.

We even held a rally outside Gap’s corporate headquarters, just days after this latest

tragedy -- which was covered in the New York Times. Gap might not have sourced from

Rana Plaza, but if it doesn't sign the building safety agreement,

 a similar disaster could strike a Gap supplier any day.

The bottom line for Gap is this: No one should die making your clothes. Sign the

Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Agreement.

Thank you for standing up for workers everywhere,

Rob, Kaytee, and the rest of us

P.S. We still need consumers to take our message directly to Gap stores.

To download a letter to Gap store managers and get instructions on delivering it, click here.

 SumOfUs is a world-wide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations

accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.

You can follow us on

Twitter

, and like us on

Facebook

New Subject:  Violence is discussed in the petition below:  You may not wish to read it!

I do not know what the groups of numbers and letters are below.  If they are references to pictures, and the pics come through on Blogger, you may Not wish to see them.

I chose to sign this petition with no personal knowledge about the case.  Wouldn't I want you to sign it if it were true that a DNA test could prove I Didn't commit some crime I was accused of?  I didn't read all of the crime scene details below.  If DNA proves guilt, then the conviction of this woman will stand.  I do know DNA evidence can be tampered with but there is nothing like that in this petition.  If DNA proves this woman innocent she Must be set free.

Change.org

Kirstin Lobato was sent to prison for a crime she says she didn’t commit -- and DNA tests could prove it. Tell the District Attorney to allow the tests immediately.

wf/click?upn=1mmeex-2FjZn-2FwcNsRwSa6VYoFB62phX1wASdBX2-2BsR6uLYDXQ4PE0E0UeIFvY34IQu8pDZQsV1Gt7-2FbB2LFyHtPw5Rm-2F5fWIOg3QJuce9cax4dBvkd6cdaGAkJb-2B4H38oo33njk8se2VsNXx4QNYMg1uVuuCQrr9jhgYO2tsLVKrMKxf5O6jLcmQlbNuBxA1i930jGA4u9VwbfAZOY1-2FlPDgye4hh2UwcC9IU1J5UMU0-3D_M97dK4ppjqAUhQa03OdsxnXFjwvZVp-2BcPZpDEKfq2Ds60Pfo03Nj9IryL-2FsRbqMQhZctcoP256zfC-2FVIfyN-2FeplHLv1-2B1LUt3og0CB-2FnKpQYgxlSUQ8qhDdj7KHUUzskHjEn1MtalpOTZtAABntxS2BnYRf9MNHaaML3VfbFcRWrb-2Bge7RjEOxvR5gUny89Prk2pIwz70hNxobrK8LTF0cOvbyMM9cgyiAqK8QLYQtXViPEWD-2BG6EW6DcvOjSviDrzYxcPmnuhsx-2Frij4B0ugA-3D-3D

Sign Michelle's Petition —

The "all time champ in wrongful convictions"?

Kirstin Lobato was 19 when she was sent to prison for murder -- despite the fact

that no physical evidence tied her to the crime scene, multiple witnesses testified

that she was almost 200 miles away at the time, and other evidence pointed to a completely

different person.

Crucial DNA evidence ignored:

 For ten years, law enforcement officials have refused to test DNA evidence from

the crime scene, even though it could exonerateKirstin and find the real killer.

Kirstin's friend Michelle Ravell says the reason is clear: they know it could prove

they've kept an innocent woman in prison for ten years. But now, there is new hope.

You can help exonerate an innocent woman:

 A new District Attorney has just been appointed, and he has the power to agree to

new DNA tests. Michelle says it's a chance for him to right an historic wrong --

and she knows that if he hears from thousands of people across the country, he'll

be convinced to take this opportunity to uncover the truth.

Click here to sign Michelle's petition asking District Attorney Stephen Wolfson to allow DNA testing in Kirstin’s case.

------------------

Here's more information about

Michelle's campaign

, in her own words.

Kirstin Blaise Lobato is an innocent woman stuck in prison while evidence in her

case goes untested for DNA.

In 2002 at 19 years old, Kirstin was convicted for the murder and sexual assault

of a homeless man named Duran Bailey in Las Vegas. But there was no physical evidence

tyingKirstin to the crime and the evidence that was tested for DNA actually excluded

her. There were four identifiable crime scene fingerprints - none matched Kirstin's.

A bloody shoe print was found next to the body and a footprint expert testified that

it came from a "U.S. men’s size 9 athletic shoe." Pubic hair found on the victim

was tested for DNA and the results excluded both Blaise and the victim as the hair's

source. Multiple people testified that Kirstinwas nearly 200 miles away from Las

Vegas at the time of the crime.

What happened to Kirstin could happen to anyone. But now, Kirstin has the opportunity

to prove her innocence if Clark County District Attorney Stephen Wolfson makes two

very reasonable decisions:

to allow DNA testing of crime scene evidence and to not file any opposition to Kirstin's

appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court.

The Innocence Project, an organization whose DNA testing work has freed 292 innocent

people from prison, has offered to pay to test and re-test 13 pieces of evidence

related to the crime using the latest in DNA technology and Wolfson still won't allow

it.

In addition to the DNA evidence, Kirstin has proven her innocence by way of her Habeas

Corpus petition's new evidence grounds. If the State of Nevada District Attorney

doesn't oppose her Appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court, justice will finally be served

and she can regain her life.

Clark County District Attorney Stephen Wolfson has a chance to do the right thing

and to seek true justice in the murder of Duran Bailey.

Please sign this petition and ask District Attorney Wolfson to allow DNA testing

of crime scene evidence and to not file any opposition to Kirstin's appeal to the

Nevada Supreme Court.

wf/click?upn=1mmeex-2FjZn-2FwcNsRwSa6VYoFB62phX1wASdBX2-2BsR6uqJy0ksv-2F2Fjp2BgRCIvpAkbrh1LynNDHqUJOqeNuAsJOHyo8VZ4cLl1lR0vS59qGvS4VXjXnWOW59FXPOGgp6q-2FIpJ7OxydL61kg-2BN1eV1Q-3D-3D_M97dK4ppjqAUhQa03OdsxnXFjwvZVp-2BcPZpDEKfq2Ds60Pfo03Nj9IryL-2FsRbqMQhZctcoP256zfC-2FVIfyN-2FeplHLv1-2B1LUt3og0CB-2FnKpQYgxlSUQ8qhDdj7KHUUzska1SOS3jKoiTMVN5UYhakiSJtkwIeT7sP8zQiROOIzMEfjjkR71Ia20VG6pxtB69iBCP-2BMUA-2B9jbkVNW-2FzrN9m-2BGf-2FseFPWFat-2BEIdwIIoCr3QPNIuhCLgHDn-2Bc-2Bnu9mQI2MGUek-2B4Oj5LLQPX3UkjA-3D-3D

Click here to sign the petition.

Sign Michelle's Petition

., #130 · New York, NY 10025

My personal hope is that I can contribute just a bit toward

Personal Report

Personal Report

I am fine and want to thank the people who cared enough to write and ask!

The whole garden had to be moved to a new spot, lots of Heavy work, moving the dirt, sand, pete moss and compost combo.  Then the landscape timbers and rebar had to be put back in place to hold the raised bed together. 

I planted this weekend.  Everyone is planting late because it keeps raining and storming!  So far we have been mercifully spared the fate of Joplin or Moore, Oklahoma.  But we still have at least another day and night of storms to go.

If anyone feels like helping the people of Moore I would recomment Convoy of Hope, an interfaith Christian organization.  Though I'm not Christian, Convoy of Hope was on the ground last night providing hot food and clean water to people with no homes, even though Their facilities had sustained some damage.  They worked for people after Hurricane Sandy, after the Joplin tornado which took 162 lives, and during the ice storm which left my trailer park without power for a month after the ice storm of 2007.  The ground stayed frozen and the trailer park had to pay to have underground lines dug up as it was privately owned.

Also, 90% of donations to Convoy go toward helping people.  Most organizations which do good work have an 80% direct aid effect.  This is because Convoy brings in all existing resources within a community.  They don't have to pay for buildings, except for wearhouses for supplies.  They distribute food, clean water, and clothing or blankets through local churches, food pantries, etc.  They also have mobile feeding stations which drive to stricken areas.  They are a world wide organization which you can find online.  The last time I checked Charity Navigator they had the best rating available.

I am fighting an ear infection which is trying to start because I'm allergic to mold and with the rain, it's Everywhere!

Also, I am finding Fair Trade items made by people with disabilities.

Last, after reading a number of chapters from Andrew Solomon's book, "Far from the Tree:  Parents, Children, and Identity" I'm writing my own chapter on deaf-blindness.  I don't know if I'll do anything with it, post it here, send it to Mr. Solomon, etc.  There is no way he could cover every subset of people who must find their identities through peers, so deaf-blindness isn't covered in his excellent book.  But he does have a Great chapter on the Deaf Community. 

It is painful to read this book, but I am learning a Grate deal.  In a similar way, it's painful to write about deaf-blindness.  My hope is that by writing things down I can let go of at least Some of them, emotionally.

A busy time during which I hope to be of use to others as well as myself. 

Good News, and a Chance to Be Heard

Good News and a Way to Be Heard!

This is why I bother.  I think what moves our government more than anything is multi-national corporations:  their money, their pressure and lobbyists, and their belief that they can continue to run over us, both as individuals and as groups of people.  Bad publicity and Losing Money are the bottom line.  I contribute money to individual candidates occasionally, but not to any political party.  Below is a Lot of good news and a chance to share your views.  We drops in the bucket sometimes DO make a difference.

Change.org —

Earlier this year, we were devastated to learn of the sexual assault of a young girl

in Steubenville, Ohio by members of a high school football team -- athletes whose

coach allegedly covered up their crimes rather than holding them accountable. As

a college football player at Colby College and a young

feminist with SPARK Movement, we wanted to take action to stop something like this

from happening again.

We started a petition on Change.org calling on the National Federation of High Schools

(NFHS) to provide resources to high school coaches to help them teach student athletes

to prevent sexual assault.

And today, we have amazing news to share: after more than 65,000 people -- including

you! -- signed our petition, the NFHS announced it will work with SPARK and our partners

including Futures Without Violence and the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence to

make sure coaches in 18,500 schools with more than 11 million students have access

to the resources they need to teach student athletes to prevent sexual assault.

This is an exciting moment, not only because these important resources will now be

available to so many coaches in so many schools, but because we are finally starting

to change the conversation about sexual assault and how to prevent it. For too long,

we've asked young women to protect themselves, but the truth is we must start educating

young men about the meaning of sexual assault and how to prevent it.

Today, we've taken an important step in the right direction. And we got here because

of you.

Thank you. Let's keep fighting to make sure there's never another Steubenville again.

Carmen Rios & Connor Clancy

P.S. Have you seen

this petition

 asking the FCC to create a "sexual violence warning" for TV shows that may be upsetting

to survivors of sexual assault? This is a small change that would make a huge difference

to survivors who don't want to experience traumatic memories when they watch TV.

Please click here to sign.

Mailing address for change.org:

Change.org · 216 W 104th St., #130, New York, NY 10025 USA

Change.org —

Here's what it feels like to win a campaign on Change.org: it feels like 14 year-old

Morgan getting the life-saving treatment she needs to survive. It feels like Carson

Rubin finding out he's going to get his "robot ears" and be able to hear for the

first time at age 5. It feels like Kathryn Jones saving her home from foreclosure.

Those are just three of the recent victories that were made possible because you

signed a petition.

 Check out more below – and see which ones you helped win.

Caroline Pla is a 11 year-old football player who was told that she couldn't play

anymore because she's a girl.

After 108,728 people signed a petition to let her play again, she was allowed back

on the team.

When tuition assistance for the military was threatened by the sequester,

a wife of an active duty Marine launched a petition on Change.org calling for the

program to be restored

 by Congress and won.

Amy Gleason's 14 year-old daughter Morgan needs monthly IV treatments to survive,

but her health care provider wouldn't cover it.

Within two weeks of launching her petition, Blue Cross called Amy to tell her that

all future and past treatments were approved.

 She says, "I am shocked at how quickly this petition got them to evaluate the situation."

Kathryn Jones of Pennsylvania won a loan modification with Bank of America that will

allow her family to stay in their home after receiving over 185,000 signatures on

her petition. Kathryn says,

"For those who signed, you have our most humble gratitude.

 May your kindness find its way back to you."

15 year-old Rehtaeh committed suicide after being raped and cyber-bullied.

Authorities launched an investigation surrounding her death when 455,000 people signed

a petition

 started by Sherri, a family friend.

5 year-old Carson Rubin's parents started a petition asking their health care provider

to cover the cost of Carson's cochlear implant surgery, and after 111,653 signatures,

Coventry Health Care not only agreed to cover the cost, but to change the policy

statewide.

When Ankur Singh was left outside in subzero temperatures by Greyhound bus company,

he started a petition. More than 90,000 signatures later,

Greyhound agreed to make sure stations are open for passengers.

Jonathan Hankins and his family got sick after moving into a home Freddie Mac sold

them because it used to be a meth lab.

His petition asking the mortgage lender to cover the cost of decontaminating their

home won

 with 211,995 signatures.

The

University of Virginia stopped "cruel trainings" on cats named Alley, Fiddle, and

Kiki

after a petition started by a doctor and animal lover got over 185,000 signatures.

The cats are now in good homes.

Each of these victories represents an adversity overcome, a life made better – or

even possible – because you signed a petition.

What will you change next?

Katie and the Change.org team

Start a petition on Change.org.

Mailing address: Change.org · 216 W 104th St., #130, New York, NY 10025 USA

From Ultra Violet

Last week, House Republicans voted on a disastrous bill that would allow employers

to demand more work for less pay. It's time to show Congress what a pro-woman economic

agenda really looks like.

Tell us what matters most to you.

click here

Click Here

Eric Cantor and House Republicans are intent on rolling back women's economic rights

and we have to push back.

Last week, they passed a disastrous bill that would allow employers to demand more

work for less pay

 under the guise that it would give women and families more flexibility.

1

50,000 UltraViolet members weighed in and made it clear that women aren't falling

for this gimmick--and President Obama heard you and vowed to veto the bill.

2

But now pro-woman champions in Congress are left wondering, what does a pro-family,

pro-woman economic agenda look like?

With 42% of women having to choose between their paycheck and taking care of a sick

child,

3

 childcare being more expensive than rent in 22 states,

4

 and the average woman losing almost $11,000 dollars every year due to wage discrimination,

5

 this is an urgent priority to figure out.

So can you tell us: What policies are imperative to increasing the economic security

of women and our families?

 And what is your experience with them--does your office offer child care? Paid sick

leave? We'll take the top responses from all UltraViolet members and put them into

a 21st agenda for family economic security and make sure every member of Congress

knows where we stand.

Tell us what's most important to you in a pro-woman economic agenda.

The gender wage gap has been stagnant over the last decade.6

 So far, Connecticut is the only state that requires paid sick leave,7

 which ensures workers can stay home when they’re sick. And don’t even get us started

on how the US is one of only three nations in the entire world that doesn't offer

paid maternity leave.

8

All of this makes it harder to be a working woman, a parent, and a caregiver in America.

We need to show Eric Cantor and his fellow Republicans what a pro-woman economic

agenda really looks like.

 UltraViolet is launching a major campaign to push it, but first we want to hear

about what matters most to you.

Will you take 5 minutes to fill out the survey?

Tell us what matters most to you in a pro-woman economic agenda.

Thanks for speaking out.

Nita, Shaunna, Kat, Malinda, and Karin, the UltraViolet team

Sources:

1.

Working Families Flexibility Act Passes House Over Opposition Of Democrats, Labor

, Huffington Post, May 8, 2013

2. Ibid.

Harkin, DeLauro Renew Fight for Paid Sick Days

, Senator Harkin press release, March 12, 2013

3.

Working Women Need Paid Sicks Days

, National Partnership for Women and Families, 2013

4.

Parents and the High Cost of Child Care

, Child Care Aware of America, 2012

5.

What Could Women Do With $10,662 Per Year?

, National Women's Law Center, April 20, 2010

6.

The Wage Gap is Stagnant in Last Decade

, National Women's Law Center, September 2012

7.

State and Local Action on Paid Sick Days

, National Partnership for Women and Families, April 2013

8.

How The Zero Weeks Of Paid Maternity Leave In The U.S. Compare Globally

, Think Progress, May 24, 2012

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From SumOfUs.org

WHOA. Yesterday, something huge happened:

Hundreds of Detroit fast food workers went on strike demanding $15 an hour and the

right to form a union.

 So many workers went on strike, in fact, that

McDonald’s had to call in replacement workers

 so that they didn’t have to close.

And guess what happened then? SOLIDARITY, that’s what. The replacement workers saw

the picket line -- and decided to go on strike too!

Since last night, thousands of people have already shared this image on Facebook.

Click the image below to join them and share it now to show mad respect for these

workers

 who are standing up for their rights -- and for each other!

Detroit workers go on strike -- turn on your images to see!

As Joe Biden might say,

deciding to go on strike is a Big Eff-ing Deal.

 Some workers who strike face illegal retaliation, even though they have every right

under the law to organize and fight for better working conditions. But in the past

year,

low-wage fast food and retail workers -- from Burger King to JCPenney to Walmart

-- have gone on strike in dozens of cities

.

These workers have jobs where they are paid as little as $7.25/hour, even after years

of reliable job performance. And they often have no control over their hours. No

one can support a family on that.

But the thing about solidarity -- like the solidarity shown by these McDonald’s workers

in Detroit -- is that if

enough workers stand up together, they have the power to force big corporations to

the table

 and change their destructive penny-pinching business models.

Share the image if you think this country would be better off if everyone who held down a steady job made a living wage and had the right to form a union.

In solidarity,

Kaytee, Claiborne, Taren, Rob, Tara, Angus, Marguerite, Anthony, and the rest of

us

P.S. The strikes are getting big national press coverage. Read more:

Salon:

Fast food strikes spread to Detroit

, 10 May, 2013

Washington Post:

Fast-food workers in Detroit joining a growing wave of walkouts over wages

, 10 May, 2013

Huffington Post:

Fast Food Strike: Detroit Walkouts, Protests Continue National Movement For Higher Wages, Union

, 10 May 2013

 SumOfUs is a world-wide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations

accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.

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, and like us on

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.

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Short Deaf Chat Attended Without Hearing Aids

Deaf Chat Without Hearing Aids

Where to start?  First, if you are talking ASL or TASL to a deaf-blind person it is Extremely helpful to go through the whole alphabet with them.  Names have to be spelled and so do some other words and abbreviations.

Everyone's hands are different and everyone makes letters in an individual way.  Some people bend their wrists down to make the letter P.  Some can't or don't, so it looks a lot like a K.  Some people make a letter H with the index and middle fingers sticking straight out, away from their bodies.  Others point the H sideways, as it is more comfortable for them.  This can be confusing.  If two people in a conversation both know what the other person's letters look like it helps cut out guess work.

Mo. Medicaid looks like it will be cut for people of my income level who are blind.  This means if my hearing aids break I'm Not "hard of hearing".  I'm DEAF!  Partly for this reason and partly because I wanted to know what it would be like I went to a short Deaf Chat tonight without my hearing aids.

All I could hear was a bit of the drumming from the rock music playing and a chair scraping backward with a loud noise if it was right next to my chair.

In for a try, in for an idiot.  And that is Just how I felt, like a damned embarrassed Idiot when I went up to the counter with a deaf friend to order a chocolate coffee.  I asked in English and Pigeon signed English, "I would like a chocolate coffee, please."  "Me like chocolate coffee please".  I don't know what happened.  Did they not hear me?  Were they not paying attention?  I think my deaf friend whom I can understand some with my hearing aids in, but whom others do not understand tried to ask also.  I think he had to end up Writing what I wanted.  I felt so bad for putting him through that when I did speak clearly.  So did it Really take them That long to make it?  Probably.  Living on a fixed income I have never learned "coffee language."  I don't know what an "Americano" or a "mahkiado" are.  I know coffee, sugar, milk, chocolate, caramel, etc.  Never make it, me in yuppie town, nope!

Maybe That's what took so long, questions about how fancy I wanted my coffee.  I felt very ashamed for putting a friend through the hassle.  But without my hearing aids I couldn't understand a Word.

I learned something else which made me feel Not so stupid.  My TASL instructor has very tunneled vision, but depends on it a LOT!  She couldn't read my signs and spelling.  When I asked why she said the room was too dark.  I had to slow down my fingerspelling so she could Feel the letters.  I didn't know she was reading them by sight before.  When I asked if it was hard for her to understand her partner with such low lights she said yes.  So I'm not such a rotten speller or signer as I feel, always around deaf people with flying hands.  My instructor was reading my hands against a black shirt with Good light from behind her.

Yet when I said that I thought the sighted deaf man who put on sleep shades and walked around with a deaf sighted guide was brave, my instructor disagreed.  He wasn't brave.  Hell, I don't know too many people who are willing to be Truly blind folded and walk around with a guide, let alone a deaf person who would.

I'm often faster in a crisis than my sighted hearing friends.  I freak only After it is well over.  On the ride home the vehicle stopped at a light and I realized I didn’t know if it was time to get out or not.  I couldn't hear seat belts retracting, doors opening, but the motor kept running.  So I decided to sit tight until either the motor turned off or someone signed to me that we were at my house.  Good choice, because we started moving again in a couple of minutes.  I decided correctly that I didn't want to risk getting out at a stop light in the midst of an intersection.

When we got6 to my house I recognized the bump into my driveway and the wise deaf driver who is used to deaf-blind people turned off the motor.  I could feel that.

The music at that place wasn't super loud, so I know I missed some drumbeats and I Certainly couldn't have moved surely in time to it.  For that it would need to be loud enough to vibrate the tables or floor, or I would have to gain a lot more skill at picking up vibrations by touch.  I tried while my friends were talking to others.

Some of the time was very boring, I sat and fast ASL speakers talked.  I may bring something to do if I go back, to fill in this empty space.

It was when I got home and locked in that I began feeling much about the experience.  I felt very sad that I might lose my hearing aids if they break when Medicaid is gone.  I felt sad that I might lose that much hearing someday.  And I felt an adrenaline rush of Fear, belatedly.  One way of calming down is writing this and my typing fingers are flying!

I thought about a Cochlear Implant, if needed.  But of course, Medicaid won't pay for that if it is taken away.  I am Very Dependent on this computer for communication!  Without either hearing aids Or a cochlear implant I will have to work with some device which transmits Braille into print and vis versa.

I thought about whom  I wanted for friends and the answer is I want deaf people for friends and I want hearing people for friends.  Deaf people say more with a touch than hearing people. And I Love learning new languages, even Visual ones by touch, turning ASL into TASL.  Before I lost so much hearing I could converse in rudimentary Spanish and a bit of Cherokee, which is nothing like any European language I've run into.  So I enjoy learning what little grammar and structure I can in TASL, although I know I speak a pigeon form of it and probably always will.  I think ASL must be a full body language which, as a totally blind person, I can never imitate.  The grammar structure  is different enough that you cannot speak ASL and English at the same time.  You can't translate Cherokee into literal English and have it make any sense, either. 

 But while I can, I love music, I love to sing, and though I'm neither "deaf enough" by the standards of many deaf people, nor Hearing when with my family, for instance, I don't want to give up what I love until I have to.  I already have to give up most music I don't already know, because the instruments drown out the words or the words are spoken or sung too fast for me to understand.

Would I accept a Cochlear Implant?  Yes, though I abhor the thought of yet Another invasive surgery, I've had so damned many.  The thought of it scares me so I am glad I don't have to face it now.  But I wouldn't want to give up my deaf or deaf-blind friends and talking TASL either.  No one knows the future, and I'm not Quite being forced to make those choices yet.

If you have a TTY you can't use a "regular" phone.  And to contact Fair Trade vendors, for example, for business purposes, I will have to use the "relay" system in which I type in or Braille in what I want to say, an operator with the "relay system" says what I type as she reads it, and types the answer back to me.  I could learn to text, which is what most deaf people with any usable vision do, but growing up totally blind means I don't even know what letters go with which numbers on a phone keypad, so learning another language, "texting" seems line a nuisance, unnecessary!

The words  I learned in TASL tonight are "frustrate" and "look for" (a single sign) because my TASL instructor and a friend of hers kept looking for the boss to try and get the lights turned up.

Sometimes, though I would Never want her to walk in my shoes, it felt like she was cheating, just because I hadn't known she had been reading my signs and fingerspelling visually.  Still, very few people, (Thank Heaven) aare both deaf and totally blind, so now I will know that this is usually the case for deaf-blind friends.

I'm toast! Tired, time to stop, if you aren't bored out of your skulls already!

Good night.

Frustrations

I was so mad when I wrote this that I forgot to spell check it, sorry.

Being institutionalized, as I was at blind school leads to what shrinks call "learned helplessness", or, like me you are always in trouble because you are fighting for your sanity!

Some days the Extreme frustration of disability brings back that same old feeling, Rage, with No feeling of ability or control over what happens in my life.

Night before last I woke myself up yelling because a big cricket was crawling up my face.  Not being awake enough to grab it and toss it outside, I grabbed At it and it clung to my finger.  Instinctively, I tossed it across the room.  Could I look for it once I woke?  Nope.

Yesterday I tried to purchase something from an online store.  Could I see the code hidden in the image?  Nope.  Could I hear it?  My computer kept gibbering over it and it was too soft anyway.

I began reading a book called "Far from the Tree" by Andrew Solomon.  A long but worthwhile read.  But he's mostly talking about families who came to love and accept their disabled kids, count me out, but it's mother's day.  He also talked about how often deaf children are sexually abused and when they report it, using sign language, written statements in clear English, or by using graphic gestures to show what was done to them no one cared or believed them.  Yep, they thought because I was "Only" blind back then I wouldn't know who they were and when I tried to tell, well how did I know, I didn't See them did I?

I need to reset my pay pal password, same problem of the code I can no longer see or Hear, anymore.

In his chapter on deafness Mr. Solomon spoke of the decline of deaf culture.  We deaf-blind are a tiny minority.  But if Deaf Culture wants to survive, acceptance of us might help.  Ok, I sign Pigeon Spoken English.  I miss the flowing beauty of whole body expression through "pure ASL".  Not deaf enough or not sighted enough?  Both!

The volunteer free ASL class I was attending keeps shutting down and starting up again and even when home work is assigned I never get a chance to present it to find out if I am speaking ASL correctly in my presentations. 

So my deaf-blind teacher says I should pay cab fare to go to "Deaf Chat".  Why, when no one talks to me?  She wants me to pay someone to drive to her town to keep learning.  I can't remember twenty new words mixed with ones I know in a two hour session without writing directions to make those signs down in Braille, which is time consuming.  Why try?

Because if I lose Medicaid and my hearing aids break, I have a "severe to profound" hearing loss.  No one in my family wants to learn ASL.  Who the hell will I talk to then?

There is a device costing thousands of dollars which transcribes Braille to print and vis versa.  Will I be able to get it?  Will others Use it to "converse" with me?  I have already asked for it but I'm "not deaf enough yet."

When I lived with Ann we pooled our income and could pay to have the windows plasticed for Winter and the plastic removed, if my ladder wouldn't reach the windows.  I need help with the garden And removing the plastic.  The only people who will help are a Christian Sunday school class.  I am Truly thankful for their help, (and tthey have helped a Lot!)  but No One Likeds feeling indebted, like someone's pet project!  I always feel like there's a price to pay and sometimes I'm right.  It doesn't feel emotionally comfortable, natural, or safe!

I found some cool places selling Fair Trade items made by people with disabilities.  But they all want $500 to $700 Minimum orders, Plus frate, shipping.  I have saved about $400.

Saturday, when I went to get my last anti-rabies shot a lose dog came running into my front yard, growling at me and my dog.  I was scared but lucky.  It ran away when I yelled at it angrily.  I don't like going to sleep wondering where that damned cricket and its relations are and I don't feel safe outside when a dog barks nearby and I have to listen hard and try figuring out if it's lose or not.

I'm trying to read the second part of Mr. Solomon's book, but Audible.com has stopped allowing me to download purchased books.  They have technical support like most, telling me all I have to do is look for the icon and move the mouse pointer to . . .  Many of their customers are blind, why don't they HIRE a BLIND PERSON who can Touch Type and knows keyboard commands?

My sewing ability has improved greatly, but I still cannot cut out a pattern.  Bood thing my mind is often filled with designs, when I'm not so angry.

A friend always says "concentrate on what you CAN DO" and in general, I agree.  So I fed and medicated the animals as directed by my vet, took the dog out to pee and did the flipping dishes!

Then I wrote This!  Do I think I'm worse off than a garment worker in Bangladesh or someone caught in the Civil War in Syria?  Never.  Do I have a right to my own feelings?  Yes.

Personal Data, and Who Is a Terrorist?

Last anti-rabies shot was the Saturday just past, Yeah!

Personal: and Who is a Terrorist?

I signed the petition to close Guantanamo because I believe our court system is capable of trying terrorism suspects, as it did the "underwear bomber".  I also signed it because if we haven't already, we may Create future terrorists by holding people without trial or charges for so many years, (in some cases) without either charges or trials.  I do not Want any more acts of terrorism carried out here or anywhere.

Then there is the question of just who Is a terrorist?  Sometimes it seems to me that a terrorist is someone the government in power is fighting and needs to label.  All of the young people protesting against autocratic rule during the "Arab Spring" were labeled "terrorists" by their ruling governments.  All Syrian rebels are now labeled in the same way.  My best guess is that some are and some are not.  And at this late date it might be impossible to tell them apart.

But I suspect that black South African protesters, along with those called "colored" in S. Africa would have been labeled "terrorists" who wanted to bring down the state and destroy the country, if they had been protesting After Sept. 2011.  Leonard Peltier, (who is now 68 and has serious health problems)  would have gotten the same label, although people from around the world call for his release as it was not proven that he fired the shot which killed an FBI agent in the mid-1970's.

Then there is the case of the high school girl below.  I haven't yet signed this petition, as I want to read more about it first.  But where does this intentionally scary labeling stop?

Israel has Never been accused of terrorism by the US., even when their military destroyed hundreds of olive trees, depriving farmers of a livelihood and craftspeople from the wood they use when the trees are prooned to keep them healthy.  Israeli military soldiers have been accused of stopping ambulances from reaching the wounded after battles, something the "refusenicks" in Israel have refused to do. 

The burning of a mosque in Joplin Mo. Was not called "terrorism" it was arsen.

This word "terrorism" should be used only to label Specific acts or it loses its meaning.  Or, as I think may be  intended, it sets a vaguely scary feeling inside us which has no outlet or relief.  I object to this. This charge can be misued in dangerous ways. What do you think?

Change.org

President Obama: Close Detention Facility at Guantanamo Bay

By Morris D.

Gainesville, Virginia

Sign Colonel Davis's Petition

I served 25 years in the US Air Force, I was the Chief Prosecutor for the Terrorism

Trials at Guantanamo Bay for more than two years, and now I need your help.

I personally charged Osama Bin Laden’s driver Salim Hamdan, Australian anathema David

Hicks, and Canadian teen Omar Khadr.

All three were convicted … and then they were released from Guantanamo.

More than 160 men who have never been charged with any offense, much less convicted

of a war crime, remain at Guantanamo with no end in sight.

There is something fundamentally wrong with a system where not

 being charged with a war crime keeps you locked away indefinitely and a war crime

conviction is your ticket home.

As of April 29, 2013 – 100 of the 166 men who remain in Guantanamo are engaged in

a hunger strike in protest of their indefinite detention.  Twenty-one of them are

being force-fed and five are hospitalized.

Some of the men have been in prison for more than eleven years without charge or

trial.

The United States has cleared a majority of the detainees for transfer out of Guantanamo,

yet they remain in custody year after year because of their citizenship and ongoing

political gamesmanship in the U.S.

That is why I am calling on Secretary of Defense Charles Hagel to use his authority

to effect cleared transfers from Guantanamo and on President Obama to appoint an

individual within the Administration to lead the effort to close Guantanamo.

Obama announced on April 30 that he plans to do his part to close Guantanamo,

 but he has made this promise before

.  Now is the time to hold him to his promise and urge him to take the steps necessary

to dismantle Guantanamo Bay Prison.

If any other country were treating prisoners the way we are treating those in Guantanamo

we would roundly and rightly criticize that country.

We can never retake the legal and moral high ground when we claim the right to do

unto others that which we would vehemently condemn if done to one of us.

It is probably no surprise that human rights and activist groups like the Center

For Constitutional Rights, Witness Against Torture and Amnesty International have

been outspoken critics of Guantanamo.

It may surprise you that a former military prosecutor and many other retired senior

military officers and members of the intelligence community agree with them.

The Patriotic thing, the American thing, the Human thing to do here is to Close Guantanamo.

Please join us in the fight by signing this petition.

Sign Colonel Davis's Petition

Start a petition on Change.org.

Morris, who created this petition, is not affiliated with Change.org. Change.org

did not create and is not responsible for the petition content.

Mailing address: Change.org · 216 W 104th St., #130, New York, NY 10025 USA

Change.org

Teresa

 — There's a new petition taking off on Change.org, and we think you might be interested

in signing it:

State Attorney Jerry Hill: Drop charges against Kiera Wilmot

By Maggie G.

Corbett, Oregon

Sign Maggie's Petition

Kiera Wilmot has been described as an exemplary student and a wonderful young woman.

Why is it then that an experiment gone wrong is being dealt with by the police and

school as a felony offense? According to the Miami Times:

"7 a.m. on Monday, the 16 year-old mixed some common household chemicals in a small

8 oz water bottle on the grounds of Bartow High School in Bartow, Florida. The reaction

caused a small explosion that caused the top to pop up and produced some smoke. No

one was hurt and no damage was caused."

The principal has said that that he doesn't believe she had any malicious intentions.

Yet she now faces two felony charges as an adult. These includ

making, possessing or discharging a destructive device and with possessing or discharging

weapons on school grounds!

I've learned that the charges have not yet been filed and this means that Florida

State Attorney Jerry Hill and Assistant State Attorney Tammy Glotfelty have an opportunity

to the right thing, use common sense, and drop these charges against Kiera.

Please sign this petition to challenge any decision to so drastically charge this

young woman for something that was a simple mistake. Her life should not be turned

upside down, her future crushed, because someone wants to make a statement. There

was no criminal activity here - she does not deserve to be punished like this. Help

Kiera find real justice!

I also recommend checking out this article about the situation

http://feministing.com/2013/05/01/the-effects-of-unchecked-criminalization-teen-charged-with-felony-for-science-experiment/

Sign Maggie's Petition

The person (or organization) who started this petition is not affiliated with Change.org.

Change.org did not create this petition and is not responsible for the petition content.

Start a petition on Change.org

Mailing Address: Change.org · 216 W 104th St., #130 · New York, NY 10025