Tag Archives: sign

Join me in helping end extreme poverty – Petition

Posted by raburcke on

Percentage of world population in extreme pove...

Percentage of world population in extreme poverty as defined by the World Bank ($1.25 per day). Sources: Poverty triennially 1981-2005: World Bank (2008), The Developing World Is Poorer Than We Thought, But No Less Successful in the Fight against Poverty Projections for 2008 and 2009: World Bank (2009), GLOBAL MONITORING REPORT 2009, p. 48 Population: UN Population Prospects (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Dear readers,

In just a few weeks, presidents, prime ministers and chancellors from around the world are heading to Northern Ireland for a BIG meeting: the G8 Summit.

They have a lot to deal with, but we’ve got to make sure the fight against extreme poverty gets bumped to the top of their list.

Extreme poverty has been cut in half in the last 20 years, and the facts show that we can get it to virtually zero within a generation – but only if world leaders take action.

And do you know what could push them to take action right now? Your name.

Please join me in signing ONE’s petition:

<Click here!>
Thanks,

Ralphie A Burcke

There came an email from one-help@list.one.org to thank us:

THANK YOU
YOU MADE A DIFFERENCE

Dear Ralphie,

I’m just on my way back from the G8 summit in Northern Ireland, and I wanted to get in touch about the difference you made.

What an amazing two weeks – 350,406 ONE members called on world leaders to back Africa’s food revolution and unleash a transparency revolution, and they acted!

Thanks to you and thousands of others, we are a few steps further down the road towards ending extreme poverty. 20 million children will now be helped to avoid chronic malnutrition, and real steps forward have been taken on opening up secret data, alongside increased natural resource, aid and tax transparency.

Whether you signed our petition, contacted your representative, or spread the word about agit8 and the power of protest – this success is yours.

As ever, there’s a lot more to do to achieve our vision of a world without extreme poverty by 2030 – leaders didn’t go as far as we’d like, for example, in cracking down on phantom firms that rob Africa of its resources – but for today, I just wanted to say thank you.

Pull Down The Ivory Towers

Posted by raburcke on

1246

From The Flaming Vegan:

I know  that this is a depressing subject for a blog but there has been a lot in the news lately about  the poaching of wild animals so I felt moved by my anger and sadness to write about it. The news items lately have mainly featured  the  spate of killing by poachers of endangered species like rhino and elephants in Africa. Just recently an entire family of elephants, twelve of them (eleven adults and a calf) were brutally slaughtered in the Tsavo National Park in Kenya for their ivory. The family were ruthlessly gunned down by automatic rifles and their tusks were hacked out. In 2012 alone the number of elephants killed by poachers is believed to be 360, according to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS).

Shockingly, the illegal ivory trade is believed to be the highest it has been in two decades, since being banned internationally since 1989. Apparently there is a growing demand for ivory in Asia, particularly in China, among the expanding middle class. Organised crime syndicates are thought to be behind the buying up and smuggling of ivory into Asian countries such as China, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Hong Kong and the Philippines. A report  shows that over half the illegal ivory ends up in China, where it is openly sold, despite certification which bans it. It is sickening to discover that most of the large-scale seizures of ivory fail to result in arrests and prosecutions which it obviously should do, so we need to really pile on the pressure to get these scumbags who deal in ivory to feel the full force of the law! Unbelievably, some are proposing lifting the international ban , in the wake of this growing demand for illegal ivory. How can we justify making something legal when it causes so much suffering and death to wild animals, and is  causing the near-extinction of certain species? What we need is better law enforcement against poachers and to deter consumers from buying it, not re-legalising it. Unfortunately, the very fact that it is banned and illicit is what makes it so desirable to many people. Why are the lives and well-being of other creatures of so little value?

Please sign this petition to keep ivory  illegal: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/779/245/607/keep-the-ban-on-elephant-ivory/

I gather that the park rangers in Africa are all armed and have a shoot-to-kill policy when it comes to poachers, which I am very pleased about! There was at least  one report of a poacher being shot dead recently in a stand-off with rangers, whilst trying to kill rhino. I don’t feel sorry for any poachers who die this way: after all, they have absolutely no mercy towards defenceless animals, they are hunting them for sheer human greed and vanity. So I say GO park rangers! Ah, if only the poachers were the endangered species, eh?

Sorry this is such a sad and angry blog, but I hope it has at least raised more awareness of the scale of this problem. Your votes and comments are much appreciated.

Picture courtesy of http://www.faceofmalawi.com

From Avaaz – Petition!

Posted by raburcke on

Maasai people #15

Maasai people #15 (Photo credit: rogersmithpix)

At any moment, a big-game hunting corporation could sign a deal which would force up to 48,000 members of Africa‘s famous Maasai tribe from their land to make way for wealthy Middle Eastern kings and princes to hunt lions and leopards. Experts say the Tanzanian President‘s approval of the deal may be imminent, but if we act now, we can stop this sell-off of the Serengeti.

The last time this same corporation pushed the Maasai off their land to make way for rich hunters, people were beaten by the police, their homes were burnt to a cinder and their livestock died of starvation. But when a press controversy followed, Tanzanian President Kikwete reversed course and returned the Maasai to their land. This time, there hasn’t been a big press controversy yet, but we can change that and force Kikwete to stop the deal if we join our voices now.

If 150,000 of us sign, media outlets in Tanzania and around the world will be blitzed so President Kikwete gets the message to rethink this deadly deal. Sign the petition now and send to everyone:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_maasai/?bYtzmcb&v=17092

Related articles

Save the Internet from Big Brother(again!)

Posted by raburcke on

A map showing the level of Internet censorship...

Right now, the US Congress is sneaking in a new law that gives them big brother spy powers over the entire web — and they’re hoping the world won’t notice. We helped stop their Net attack last time, let’s do it again.

Over 100 Members of Congress are backing a bill (CISPA) that would give private companies and the US government the right to spy on any of us at any time for as long as they want without a warrant. This is the third time the US Congress has tried to attack our Internet freedom. But we helped beat SOPA, and PIPA — and now we can beat this new Big Brother law.

Our global outcry has played a leading role in protecting the Internet from governments eager to monitor and control what we do online. Let’s stand together once again — and beat this law for good. Sign the petition then forward to everyone who uses the Internet:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_cispa/?vl

Related articles