Sign here If you do not have a US address, just scroll to the bottom of the page to change the country of origin. You can also forward it to others who may wish to sign. You may also hope that Canada is vigilant about personal data and a similar agreement with 'security' databases.
The Washington Post reported that Google is negotiating an information-sharing agreement with the National Security Agency (NSA) to help the company defend its networks. The NSA is part of the military, and its primary mission is spying. It collects the equivalent of the contents of the Library of Congress every six to eight hours, every single day. And in the last decade, it turned its surveillance efforts inward on the American people -- in violation of the law and the US Constitution.
The ramifications of companies like Google working with the NSA are frightening. Google and other private companies must figure out how to protect our sensitive information without giving the government access to it.
Wednesday
Sign: Letter against censoring Gaza photography exhibit in Montreal
Protest Censorship: From Muzzlewatch
CJPME’s Human Drama in Gaza Photo Exposition features 44 photos, taken before, during and after last winter’s 22-day assault on Gaza by professional photographers from Israel, Palestine, and the West. Produced by CJPME, and funded through private donations, the Montreal stop at Cinema du Parc is the first in a series of cross-Canada shows. Canadians for Justice and Peace (CJPME) in the Middle East just sent out this action alert. You can see some of the photos in the video on the above page.
"On Monday, Feb. 15th, Cinema du Parc received an email insisting that CJPME’s Photo Exposition, Human Drama in Gaza, be immediately removed from the Cinema. The email was from a legal representative of Gestion Redbourne PDP Inc., the owners of the building housing Cinema du Parc. The Cinema has hosted dozens of expositions in the past three years, and this is the first time that such action has been taken. This move on the part of Redbourne seems entirely political, to muzzle the message of Human Drama in Gaza"
If you live outside Montreal, click here to protest this action.
If you live in Montreal, click here to protest Redbourne’s action and to support the Cinema and the Exposition.
Cinema du Parc has been great partner in the hosting of the Exposition in Montreal, and is standing its ground in the face of Redbourne’s action.
CJPME’s Human Drama in Gaza Photo Exposition features 44 photos, taken before, during and after last winter’s 22-day assault on Gaza by professional photographers from Israel, Palestine, and the West. Produced by CJPME, and funded through private donations, the Montreal stop at Cinema du Parc is the first in a series of cross-Canada shows. Canadians for Justice and Peace (CJPME) in the Middle East just sent out this action alert. You can see some of the photos in the video on the above page.
"On Monday, Feb. 15th, Cinema du Parc received an email insisting that CJPME’s Photo Exposition, Human Drama in Gaza, be immediately removed from the Cinema. The email was from a legal representative of Gestion Redbourne PDP Inc., the owners of the building housing Cinema du Parc. The Cinema has hosted dozens of expositions in the past three years, and this is the first time that such action has been taken. This move on the part of Redbourne seems entirely political, to muzzle the message of Human Drama in Gaza"
If you live outside Montreal, click here to protest this action.
If you live in Montreal, click here to protest Redbourne’s action and to support the Cinema and the Exposition.
Cinema du Parc has been great partner in the hosting of the Exposition in Montreal, and is standing its ground in the face of Redbourne’s action.
Monday
Sign: Anti-death penalty law for Uganda
If you haven't signed the petition yet, here it is. Avaaz says: Uganda’s parliament is preparing to pass a brutal new law that would punish gay people with prison -- even death.
Initial international criticism drove the President to call for a review. But after a well-funded and vicious lobbying effort by extremists, the bill looks set to be passed -- threatening widespread persecution and bloodshed. Opposition to the bill is rising, including from the Anglican church. Ugandan gay rights advocate Frank Mugisha writes, "This law will put us in serious danger. Please, sign the petition and tell others to stand with us – if there’s a huge global response, our government will see that Uganda will be internationally isolated by the proposed law, and strike it down."
Note, the petition is being supported by activists INSIDE Uganda, and will be delivered to President Museveni and the parliament at the end of this week by top Ugandan civil society and Church leaders.
Initial international criticism drove the President to call for a review. But after a well-funded and vicious lobbying effort by extremists, the bill looks set to be passed -- threatening widespread persecution and bloodshed. Opposition to the bill is rising, including from the Anglican church. Ugandan gay rights advocate Frank Mugisha writes, "This law will put us in serious danger. Please, sign the petition and tell others to stand with us – if there’s a huge global response, our government will see that Uganda will be internationally isolated by the proposed law, and strike it down."
Note, the petition is being supported by activists INSIDE Uganda, and will be delivered to President Museveni and the parliament at the end of this week by top Ugandan civil society and Church leaders.
Friday
GO: 5th annual rally for Missing Women from Turtle Island
Rabble.ca alert..
Start: Feb 14 2010 - 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Location(s) Police HQ 40 College St. at Bay, Toronto, ON
Over 500 Indigenous women have been murdered or gone missing –- most over the last 30 years –- on Turtle Island. We come together in defense of our lives and to demonstrate against the complicity of the state in the ongoing genocide of Indigenous women and the impunity of state institutions and actors (police, RCMP, coroners’ offices and the courts) that prevents justice for all Indigenous Peoples.
By the way, this alert is hosted by riseup.net (Seattle). You may be interested in their statement of principles - looks pretty Humanistic to me!
Principles
The purpose of our organization is the creation of a free society organized along the following principles:
* Democracy: A free society depends on a free media and organizes civic, social, and economic life using the principles of participatory democracy arising from direct action and public accountability. Those affected by a decision have an opportunity to participate in that decision.
* Equality: All people are welcomed as part of a free society. All people are equal and all labour is valued equally.
* Diversity: All people in a free society are different, and space for their difference is paramount to their equality.
* Security: Every human in a free society has secure access to meet their basic needs of food, shelter, health care, information, education, and transportation.
* Creativity: A free society values culture, art, and leisure as fundamental needs. Every person has the right to their own culture and to practice creative expression.
* Self-Determination: A free society is decentralized and all localities are autonomous and self-determined so long as they do not infringe upon the other basic principles of a free society.
* Interdependence: Communities in a free society are dependent on one another through mutual aid and exchange.
* Justice: All people have the right to be free from coercion, threat, and violence. A justice system should reside in the community it affects, seek resolution rather than revenge, and should work towards abolition of authoritarian prisons and jails.
* Peace: A free society uses conflict as an opportunity to learn from divergent views, opinions and experiences, with the goal of crafting agreements and taking actions that affirm the humanity and basic rights of all parties.
* Ecology: Humans live in balance with, and are part of, the natural world. A free society recognizes the right to clean water, clean air and food free of industrial toxins and genetic engineering.
* Economy: In a free society the means of production should be placed in the hands of the people, empowering communities to organize meaningful employment, and provide a responsible and sustainable standard of living which tries to meet the needs of all people.
Start: Feb 14 2010 - 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Location(s) Police HQ 40 College St. at Bay, Toronto, ON
Over 500 Indigenous women have been murdered or gone missing –- most over the last 30 years –- on Turtle Island. We come together in defense of our lives and to demonstrate against the complicity of the state in the ongoing genocide of Indigenous women and the impunity of state institutions and actors (police, RCMP, coroners’ offices and the courts) that prevents justice for all Indigenous Peoples.
By the way, this alert is hosted by riseup.net (Seattle). You may be interested in their statement of principles - looks pretty Humanistic to me!
Principles
The purpose of our organization is the creation of a free society organized along the following principles:
* Democracy: A free society depends on a free media and organizes civic, social, and economic life using the principles of participatory democracy arising from direct action and public accountability. Those affected by a decision have an opportunity to participate in that decision.
* Equality: All people are welcomed as part of a free society. All people are equal and all labour is valued equally.
* Diversity: All people in a free society are different, and space for their difference is paramount to their equality.
* Security: Every human in a free society has secure access to meet their basic needs of food, shelter, health care, information, education, and transportation.
* Creativity: A free society values culture, art, and leisure as fundamental needs. Every person has the right to their own culture and to practice creative expression.
* Self-Determination: A free society is decentralized and all localities are autonomous and self-determined so long as they do not infringe upon the other basic principles of a free society.
* Interdependence: Communities in a free society are dependent on one another through mutual aid and exchange.
* Justice: All people have the right to be free from coercion, threat, and violence. A justice system should reside in the community it affects, seek resolution rather than revenge, and should work towards abolition of authoritarian prisons and jails.
* Peace: A free society uses conflict as an opportunity to learn from divergent views, opinions and experiences, with the goal of crafting agreements and taking actions that affirm the humanity and basic rights of all parties.
* Ecology: Humans live in balance with, and are part of, the natural world. A free society recognizes the right to clean water, clean air and food free of industrial toxins and genetic engineering.
* Economy: In a free society the means of production should be placed in the hands of the people, empowering communities to organize meaningful employment, and provide a responsible and sustainable standard of living which tries to meet the needs of all people.
Tuesday
SIGN: the IRC petition on the UN Convention on Children's Rights
For nearly 20 years, 193 nations have stood up one by one to declare their commitment to protecting children, but only two countries in the world have yet to ratify the UN's convention: Somalia and the United States.
Don't let another year go by without the United States' ratification of the UN Convention. Sign the International Rescue Committee's petition to urge Obama to ratify the CCR convention. You can folow the work of the IRC (including reporting from Haiti) on their blog: blog.theirc.org.
Don't let another year go by without the United States' ratification of the UN Convention. Sign the International Rescue Committee's petition to urge Obama to ratify the CCR convention. You can folow the work of the IRC (including reporting from Haiti) on their blog: blog.theirc.org.
Friday
JOIN: Turkish Girl buried alive for talking to boys
The Guardian: Turkish police have recovered the body of a 16-year-old girl they say was buried alive by relatives in an "honour" killing carried out as punishment for talking to boys
The girl, who has been identified only by the initials MM, was found in a sitting position with her hands tied, in a two-metre hole dug under a chicken pen outside her home in Kahta, in the south-eastern province of Adiyaman.
Police made the discovery in December after a tip-off from an informant, the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported on its website. The girl had previously been reported missing.
The informant told the police she had been killed following a family "council" meeting. Her father and grandfather are said to have been arrested and held in custody pending trial. It is unclear whether they have been charged. The girl's mother was arrested but was later released.
Media reports said the father had told relatives he was unhappy that his daughter – one of nine children – had male friends. The grandfather is said to have beaten her for having relations with the opposite sex.
A postmortem examination revealed large amounts of soil in her lungs and stomach, indicating that she had been alive and conscious while being buried. Her body showed no signs of bruising.
The discovery will reopen the emotive debate in Turkey about "honour" killings, which are particularly prevalent in the impoverished south-east. Official figures have indicated that more than 200 such killings take place each year, accounting for around half of all murders in Turkey.
You may wish to joinStopHonourKillings.com, which is an international movement, and posts actions, letters, petitions, etc.
There is a good discussion of "honour killings", anger in immigrant communities about youth adopting western lifestyles, patriarchal and gender bias in various communities HERE.
The girl, who has been identified only by the initials MM, was found in a sitting position with her hands tied, in a two-metre hole dug under a chicken pen outside her home in Kahta, in the south-eastern province of Adiyaman.
Police made the discovery in December after a tip-off from an informant, the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported on its website. The girl had previously been reported missing.
The informant told the police she had been killed following a family "council" meeting. Her father and grandfather are said to have been arrested and held in custody pending trial. It is unclear whether they have been charged. The girl's mother was arrested but was later released.
Media reports said the father had told relatives he was unhappy that his daughter – one of nine children – had male friends. The grandfather is said to have beaten her for having relations with the opposite sex.
A postmortem examination revealed large amounts of soil in her lungs and stomach, indicating that she had been alive and conscious while being buried. Her body showed no signs of bruising.
The discovery will reopen the emotive debate in Turkey about "honour" killings, which are particularly prevalent in the impoverished south-east. Official figures have indicated that more than 200 such killings take place each year, accounting for around half of all murders in Turkey.
You may wish to joinStopHonourKillings.com, which is an international movement, and posts actions, letters, petitions, etc.
There is a good discussion of "honour killings", anger in immigrant communities about youth adopting western lifestyles, patriarchal and gender bias in various communities HERE.
Tuesday
News: Haiti Feed
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