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TAKE ACTION: “Tell your senators to vote YES to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell!”

Rightswire — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 17:50:08 +0000

The Senate is set to vote soon on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” – but a right-wing barrage of emails and calls opposing repeal is already well underway.

We need your help to drown them out and show that a majority of Americans wants this discriminatory law repealed – once and for all.

We have a chance to make history here. Please, send your message today.

Click here to act now.

TAKE ACTION: Pressure Senators to Ask HHS Nominee Kathleen Sebelius about the HIV Ban Help lift the HIV immigration ban...
TAKE ACTION: Help Keep Shelters Open and Expand Services to Survivors of Domestic Abuse The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, a vital source...
TAKE ACTION: Tell the President to ban landmines (HRW) President Obama has an opportunity to get US landmine policy...

TAKE ACTION: Help Keep Shelters Open and Expand Services to Survivors of Domestic Abuse

Rightswire — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 17:43:54 +0000

The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA), a vital source of funding for programs that aid survivors of domestic abuse, expired in 2008 and desperately needs to be reauthorized this year. The Senate HELP committee, led by Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) is currently drafting its version but there is a House bill (H.R. 4116), sponsored by Gwen Moore, (D-Wis.), that needs your support. There are currently 103 sponsors, and we need many more to get the attention of the House leadership.

Click here to act.

TAKE ACTION: Stop Harmful Anti-Youth Legislation Harmful gang legislation is pending in Congress that places excessive...
TAKE ACTION: Stop Violence Against Women Support legislation to end violence against women and girls across...
TAKE ACTION: Tell the President to ban landmines (HRW) President Obama has an opportunity to get US landmine policy...

TAKE ACTION: Tell the President to ban landmines (HRW)

Rightswire — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 17:29:03 +0000

Landmines claim thousands of casualties every year and inhibit socio-economic development in countries recovering from conflict. As Commander in Chief, President Obama has an opportunity to get US landmine policy back on the right track by acceding to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, an international agreement that 156 governments have joined.

The US participated in the “Ottawa Process” that created this international treaty, but the Clinton administration decided at the last moment against signing and instead set 2006 as the objective for the US to join. In February 2004, the Bush administration reversed course and announced that it did not ever intend to join the Mine Ban Treaty.

The United States is already compliant with the key provisions of the Mine Ban Treaty. It has not used antipersonnel mines since 1991, has had an export ban in place since 1992, and has not produced since 1997. The US is already the world’s largest contributor to global mine clearance and victim assistance programs. Acceding to the treaty would reinforce President Obama’s stated commitment to international humanitarian law, protection of civilians, arms control and disarmament, and multilateralism.

Tell President Obama that you support the landmine ban and want to see the United States join the Mine Ban Treaty without delay.

Photo: Angola’s four-decade war ended in 2002. Parties to the conflict mined roads, high-voltage electricity pylons, reservoirs and dams. © Gervasio Sanchez

TAKE ACTION: Help Raise the US HIV Travel Ban at HHS Senate Confirmation Hearings Act to end the US ban on the entry of...
TAKE ACTION: Pressure Senators to Ask HHS Nominee Kathleen Sebelius about the HIV Ban Help lift the HIV immigration ban...
TAKE ACTION – March 30: National call-in day to ban cluster bombs Call your Representative and Senators and ask them to co-sponsor...

TAKE ACTION: Tell Google: Don’t be evil

change.org — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 22:25:23 +0000

Targeting: Larry Page and Sergey Brin (Founders, Google)
Google’s motto is “Don’t be evil,” but Google is about to cut a deal with Verizon that would end the Internet as we know it.

According to a front-page New York Times story, the deal would allow “Verizon to speed some online content to Internet users more quickly if the content’s creators are willing to pay for the privilege.”1

It would create fast Internet lanes for the largest corporations and slow lanes for the rest of us.

That is why CREDO is joining MoveOn, Free Press, and Color of Change in rallying Google users to tell Google, “Don’t be evil.”

Speak up for a free and open Internet by signing this petition. With massive amounts of public pressure, we can stop this deal.

From the beginning, the Internet has been a level playing field that allows everyone to connect to one another and to the world of content available online — whether it’s Daily Kos or FOX News.

This deal would change all of that by allowing Google and Verizon to pick what websites you can see over others. It would undermine the open Internet upon which hundreds of millions of people rely.

Our Internet connection should be free of corporate gatekeepers — there’s only one Internet, and it shouldn’t matter who your provider is or whether you’re logging on from home or your cell phone.

Sign this petition to tell Google, “Don’t be evil.”

Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin created Google to make information freely available to everyone online.

But this deal is a complete reversal that abandons their core principles. It’s evil and Google must walk away from it.

Sign this letter and tell Google’s founders: “Your Verizon deal IS evil, and it must be stopped.”

TAKE ACTION: “Tell your senators to vote YES to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell!” The Senate is set to vote soon on "Don't Ask,...
TAKE ACTION: Pressure Senators to Ask HHS Nominee Kathleen Sebelius about the HIV Ban Help lift the HIV immigration ban...
TAKE ACTION: Tell the President to ban landmines (HRW) President Obama has an opportunity to get US landmine policy...

TAKE ACTION: Pressure Senators to Ask HHS Nominee Kathleen Sebelius about the HIV Ban

Victoria Neilson — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 15:24:14 +0000

Physicians for Human Rights has set up an action page asking Senator Senator Barbara Mikulski and Senator Bernie Sanders to make sure that Sebelius will make lifting the HIV immigration ban a priority if she is confirmed.

As most of you know, last summer Congress completed step one in a two step process to remove the HIV ban on travel and immigration by removing the ban from the language of the Immigration and Nationality Act. To fully remove the ban, however, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must issue regulations which remove HIV from its list of “communicable diseases of public health significance.”

Please take a minute to visit the PHR page and call these Senators.

TAKE ACTION: Help Raise the US HIV Travel Ban at HHS Senate Confirmation Hearings Act to end the US ban on the entry of...
Just Say No – to the HIV Ban Can civil disobedience change America's policy of HIV-based restrictions for...
TAKE ACTION: Tell the President to ban landmines (HRW) President Obama has an opportunity to get US landmine policy...

TAKE ACTION: Help Raise the US HIV Travel Ban at HHS Senate Confirmation Hearings

Jirair Ratevosian — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:27:26 +0000

This week’s Senate confirmation hearing for President Obama’s nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) offers a key opportunity to press the Administration on its plans to end the US ban on the entry of people living with HIV/AIDS.

With last summer’s passage of PEPFAR, Congress removed the statutory requirement to deny people living with HIV entry into the U.S as visitors and immigrants. However, HIV remains on the HHS list of “communicable diseases of public health significance,” preventing the entry of people living with HIV into the US, despite the lack of scientific evidence supporting the ban as an effective strategy for preventing HIV infections or reducing public healthcare costs. The current law also violates the human rights to privacy, freedom of movement and freedom from discrimination.

Pat Daoust, MSN, RN, the Director of the Physicians for Human Rights Health Action AIDS campaign, said today:

It is far past time for the US to join the community of nations whose HIV entry policies are rooted in sound public health practices, rather than discrimination and ignorance.

What You Can Do

Senators can use the confirmation hearings for President Obama’s Secretary of HHS to urge the nominee, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, to lift the ban swiftly once in office.

Contact Senate committee members Mikulski and Sanders and urge them to press Secretary-designate Sebelius on the Obama administration’s plans for repealing the highly discriminatory ban.

You may reach Senator Barbara Mikulski’s office at (202) 224-4654.

You may reach Senator Bernie Sanders‘ office at (202) 224-5141.

Suggested script for your call:

Hello, I am a member of Physicians for Human Rights calling regarding the confirmation hearing of HHS Secretary-designate Kathleen Sebelius.
I would like the Senator to ask a question regarding her plans to remove HIV from the list of communicable diseases that prevent entry to the US.

Travel restrictions violate the human rights of people living with HIV and place the US among 14 countries that either refuse entry of people living with HIV or require disclosure of HIV infection even for short-term stays. With your help, we can ensure that reducing HIV discrimination and defending human rights is a priority for Secretary Sebelius on day one.

TAKE ACTION: Pressure Senators to Ask HHS Nominee Kathleen Sebelius about the HIV Ban Help lift the HIV immigration ban...
Just Say No – to the HIV Ban Can civil disobedience change America's policy of HIV-based restrictions for...
TAKE ACTION: Tell the President to ban landmines (HRW) President Obama has an opportunity to get US landmine policy...

TAKE ACTION – March 30: National call-in day to ban cluster bombs

Mary Shaw — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 10:34:00 +0000

I’ve written in the past about the problems associated with the use of cluster bombs in warfare. They are indiscriminate and imprecise, and they are notorious for killing or maiming innocent civilians, including children.

In fact, according to a study by Handicap International, 98 percent of cluster bomb victims are civilians and 27 percent are children.

How can anyone justify their use when 98 percent of these things lead to these horrific violations of the Geneva Conventions?

So, earlier this month, Congress and President Obama permanently outlawed exports of nearly all U.S. cluster munitions.

But exporting is one thing, and using is another. We need to take another step. The U.S. must have absolutely nothing to do with these weapons. We need to make sure sure the U.S. military never again uses its own vast arsenal of nearly 700 million cluster munitions.

Legislation was recently introduced that would effectively block the use of cluster munitions by the United States (S. 416/H.R. 981). But we need to build strong co-sponsorship of this legislation to make it happen.

To that end, the United Nations Association of the USA’s Adopt-A-Minefield campaign has named today, March 30, as a National Call-In Day to give cluster bombs the boot.

To participate, first check to see if your Representative and/or Senators have already signed on. If not, call them and ask that they co-sponsor this important legislation.

Passing this bill will help to restore this country’s reputation as one that respects human rights and international law. But, most importantly, it’s the right thing to do.

TAKE ACTION: Tell the President to ban landmines (HRW) President Obama has an opportunity to get US landmine policy...
TAKE ACTION: Help Raise the US HIV Travel Ban at HHS Senate Confirmation Hearings Act to end the US ban on the entry of...
TAKE ACTION: Pressure Senators to Ask HHS Nominee Kathleen Sebelius about the HIV Ban Help lift the HIV immigration ban...

TAKE ACTION: Stop Violence Against Women

Rightswire — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 16:52:15 +0000

Every day, millions of women and girls across the world are beaten and abused. They are someone’s mothers, daughters, sisters, and friends. Many are abused in their homes by members of their family or community. Others are raped or harassed by the very security forces that are meant to protect them. Some victims of gender-based violence are employed outside their homes, some are not. Some are rich, some are poor. Some are literate, some are not. They have only one thing in common: they are female, and they are abused because of it.

The International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA) is a major step in the effort to end violence against women and girls across the globe. It directs the U.S. government to create a comprehensive, 5-year strategy to reduce violence in 10-20 diverse countries identified as having severe levels of violence against women.

TAKE ACTION: Ask your Senator and Representative to co-sponsor this bill today!

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TAKE ACTION: Stop Harmful Anti-Youth Legislation Harmful gang legislation is pending in Congress that places excessive...
TAKE ACTION: Help Keep Shelters Open and Expand Services to Survivors of Domestic Abuse The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, a vital source...

TAKE ACTION: Stop Harmful Anti-Youth Legislation

Rightswire — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 16:38:58 +0000

Harmful gang legislation is pending in Congress that places excessive emphasis on increasing sentences (including life without parole penalties for youth) and will disproportionately harm communities of color. Sen. Feinstein’s Gang Abatement and Prevention Act passed out of the Senate and a similar bill, H.R. 3547, has been introduced in the House by Representative Adam Schiff. The punitive approach that the Feinstein and Schiff bills take does not address the root causes of gang crime.

Representative Bobby Scott has, however, introduced a positive alternative. H.R. 3846, the Youth Prison Reduction through Opportunities, Mentoring, Intervention, Support, and Education Act (Youth PROMISE Act), takes an innovative approach to addressing the problem of gangs and crime. By investing resources in youth and local communities, this legislation prevents crime and redirects at-risk youth toward productive and law-abiding alternatives.

Please urge your elected representatives to oppose Representative Schiff’s H.R. 3547 and instead support the Youth PROMISE Act, H.R. 3846.

(republished from the Human Rights Watch website)

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TAKE ACTION: Uphold Human Rights in the Gulf Coast

Rightswire — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 06:11:58 +0000

August 29th, 2008 marks the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Thousands of people are still homeless or live in inadequate temporary housing. Every Katrina survivor has the right to return home. Uphold human rights in the Gulf Coast.

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