BBC News – Canadian Omar Khadr goes on trial at Guantanamo Bay

via BBC News – Canadian Omar Khadr goes on trial at Guantanamo Bay.

Canadian citizen Omar Khadr is the only Westerner still being held at Guantanamo Bay military prison; he was detained in Afghanistan at the age of 15. He’s now 23.

International law says children captured on the battlefield must be treated as victims, and not as perpetrators. Child-soldiers are supposed to be rehabilitated and given the chance to re-enter society.

Please write to President Obama at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact and ask him to halt this trial, which is in violation of international law, and instead arrange for the repatriation and rehabilitation of Mr. Khadr.

COUNTDOWN TO COPENHAGEN: Time to Ensure Enough for All

December 2009 will bring a great opportunity to curb climate change.  Government representatives will be meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark for crucial international talks and to finalize a new global agreement to follow the Kyoto Protocol.  Currently CO2 emissions are contributing to changes in the earth’s climate, causing suffering to the poorest of the poor in both industrialized and developing countries.  People who have benefited the least from activities that cause climate change are suffering the most.

It is time for the developing world, and in particular the United States, to come together to act responsibly to address this injustice.

Please call on your government leaders to seize this opportunity to curb carbon emissions and protect the earth that sustains us all.

Write to:
Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

Office of the Prime Minister
10 Downing Street,
London,
SW1A 2AA
https://email.number10.gov.uk/

Stephen Harper
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Canada
K1A 0A2
pm@pm.gc.ca

Dear __________________:
In December 2009, world leaders will meet in Copenhagen for crucial international talks about climate change. I’d like you to be there in person to demonstrate how much we care about our global family and our willingness to do what it takes to address this challenge with compassion and resolution.

I believe everyone needs to do their part, so I will:

• Personally evaluate my lifestyle and commit to actions that significantly reduce my carbon footprint.
• Let my elected representatives know my views about domestic legislation needed to address climate change and to create a greener, more just economy.
• Urge you and our country’s negotiating team to commit, along with other industrialized countries, to:
• Make at least an 80% cut in domestic carbon emissions by 2050.
• Assist and help to pay for developing nations to reduce their emissions, develop cleanly, and adapt to climate change.
• Hold you and the negotiators in my prayers and meditations as leaders meet in Copenhagen.

Sincerely,

______________________________

Background:

The last international agreement to stabilize carbon emissions was signed in 1997 in Kyoto, Japan. The targets set by that agreement, called the Kyoto Protocol, expire in 2012. It is time to strengthen it and extend it. It also is time for the United States to join the global community in addressing climate change.
Since 1997, scientific research has dramatically increased our knowledge about the speed and extent of climate change and how it is harming God’s creation. The world’s leading scientists recommend limiting the rise in global temperature to less than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Here’s what they say can happen if we don’t:

• Acute water shortages for 1 to 3 billion people
• 30 million more people going hungry
• 40 to 60 million more Africans exposed to malaria
• In the U.S., heat-related premature deaths would increase

We need to set the bar high. The new deal must effectively curb high carbon emissions. It also must require industrialized nations like the U.S. to act responsibly by making the largest cuts in their carbon emissions, and by contributing the most money to help the developing countries now suffering the worst effects of climate change.
More than just an agreement is at stake. Climate change goes to the very heart of how people live in this world that God created and we all share. We can make a difference for generations to come. We can help make sure that women and girls in the developing world are not stuck in poverty, having to choose between going to school or walking more and more miles in search of less and less water.

It is within our power to create an earth where all of God’s children share in the abundance of this magnificent creation. Now is the time for us to ensure that there is enough for all.

US citizens can access the Countdown to Copenhagen pledge online at the Church World Service website: http://www.churchworldservice.org/site/PageServer?pagename=how_adv_copenhagen_pledge

Additional Resources can be found at:

http://www.un.org/wcm/content/site/climatechange/gateway
http://www.arcworld.org/ (The Alliance of Religions and Conservation)
http://www.catholicsandclimatechange.org/

Partnership for Global Justice
211 East 43rd Street, Suite 708
New York, NY 10017
212-682-6481
www.partnershipforglobaljustice.com

President Obama Calls Wall Street Bonuses Shameful

It’s official: your suspicions of Wall Street greed have been confirmed. Despite last year’s huge losses, multibillion-dollar bailouts and closings of some of the biggest names in the industry, Wall Street still gave out an estimated $18.4 billion in bonuses. Indeed, last year’s bonuses were the sixth-largest on record.

On Thursday, President Obama, in a flash of anger, called these bonuses “shameful,” suggesting that he intended to take a hard line against excesses in executive compensation. http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/29/bonuses-for-bad-performance/

The thing that most concerns me about this is that we have become a culture that admires people like this, ruthless people who beat the system, win the game and take it all, with no thought of the carnage they leave in their wake. We only mind now because we are feeling the effects ourselves. They are taking our money.

What will it take to get us to value honor over greed? Doesn’t this make you sick?

President-elect Obama Wants Your Advice!

via Change.gov: The Obama-Biden Transition Team | momentvision

Houston Obama mural

I don’t remember a President-elect ever inviting people to share their vision for America and the world with him. Believe it or not, President-elect Obama is asking. Visit the Obama-Biden Transition team website where he is asking you to submit suggestions for his new administration.

You might want to take the opportunity to urge him to attend the UN climate change treaty negotiations to be held in Poznań, Poland in December.

Eight years of inaction on the part of the Bush administration has left us with very little time to stop the worst effects of global warming. By personally attending the UN climate change talks, President-elect Obama would signal that the United States is ready to join the fight against global warming and contribute to the success of the talks. His presence would also raise awareness about climate change here in the US.

Heartwarming Photos from Election Night

via Daily Kos: State of the Nation

If you do nothing else today, take a look at this post. It is a photo montage from the Obama rally in Manassas, VA on election night. The photos tell a story that will warm your heart and fill you with hope. We can build a better future for our children!!