Stand up for Internet freedom

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	We Have Five Days to  Stand Up for Internet Freedom

Nation Action on September 10, 2014 - 11:00 AM ET

Net Neutrality protest (Courtesy: Flickr user Steve Rhodes, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

When people across the country visit many of their favorite sites today, they will be greeted by the “spinning wheel of death” that every frustrated Internet user knows as the sign of a slow connection. It isn’t because their computers are broken; it’s because a coalition of organizations including Fight for the Future, Demand Progress, Free Press Action Fund, Reddit, Netflix and The Nation have banded together for today’s “Internet Slowdown.” All over the web, sites are giving readers a taste of what it could feel like if big cable companies have their way and net neutrality is undermined.

If that happens, it could suddenly become much more difficult to visit under-funded start-ups, nonprofits or independent media outlets like The Nation—basically any site that doesn’t have the extra funds to pay for “fast-lane” service. Instead of the freewheeling, dynamic place we know it to be, the Internet would become more like cable television, with giant corporations essentially choosing what you can and can’t see.

 TO DO

The Federal Communications Commission will be accepting public comments on net neutrality until September 15. Use our advocacy tool to demand that the FCC stand up for real net neutrality. The FCC is particularly interested in personal messages, so be sure to add your thoughts on what net neutrality means to you as a business owner, student, activist or any other Internet user.

 TO READ

In the fight for net neutrality, we’re up against some powerful players. Earlier in August, Lee Fang reported on the censorship of his reporting by a telecom-industry related lobbying group.

 TO WATCH

When John Oliver pointed out the absurdity of net neutrality opponents earlier this year, thousands submitted comments on the FCC’s website, temporarily causing it to crash.

Related Topics: Internet and New Media | Activism


The TRUTH will set you FREE.

Boycott Shell says Gerd Müller

German Minister calls for boycott of Shell

Sep 13th, 2014 

by John Donovan. 

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“If you went to the Niger Delta and saw the standard of oil extraction, none of you would use the petrol stations of that oil firm,” he said. He said the company prioritized profit over concern for the environment. “That is unacceptable,” Müller added.

By John Donovan

Germany’s development minister Gerd Müller attacked the production practices of Shell on Tuesday, suggesting indirectly that German consumers should boycott the companies’ products.

During a speech on Tuesday to the Berlin Chambers of Commerce and Industry (IHK), Müller denounced Shell’s poor regard for the environment, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported.

He said that during a recent trip to Nigeria, he witnessed the oil production methods. “If you went to the Niger Delta and saw the standard of oil extraction, none of you would use the petrol stations of that oil firm,” he said.

He said the company prioritized profit over concern for the environment. “That is unacceptable,” Müller added. Shell is the major oil extractor in the Niger Delta but Exxon-Mobil, Chevron, Agip and Total are also active in the country.

Environmental activists have long protested Shell’s oil production in the Niger Delta. Amnesty International and other groups released a report in August that stated the oil company had done little to clean up pollution from its oil production. Such production has left at least 10 communities in the area with contaminated drinking water, according to the report.

A United Nations assessment of the pollution in 2011 estimated that it could take up to 30 years to clean up.

Shell has blamed the spills on local villagers who drill holes into the pipelines to steal oil, leaving the pipelines open and causing spills. The company’s figures on the frequency of these incidents have been contested by Amnesty International and Friends of the Earth International.

About 200 business people came to hear Müller discuss Germany’s role in pushing for better social and environmental standards worldwide.

SOURCE

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Posted in: Africa, Business Principles, Environment, Germany, John Donovan, Nigeria,Ogoniland, Oil, Oil Spill, Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
Tagged: Niger Delta · Nigeria · Oil · Royal Dutch Shell Plc

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

SDG&E wants an extra $120 from you

RSVP to join us at one of the CPUC hearings to show local elected officials that San Diegans want clean energy options. SDG&E has just announced that it would like residential customers like you to pay a fixed charge of $120 per year.   If you have rooftop solar — or would like to get it — you wouldn’t be able to erase this charge. The same goes for energy efficiency upgrades to your home. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) should reject this proposal because it would decrease the incentive for people to go solar, do energy efficiency upgrades, and conserve electricity.   With longer fire seasons and shrinking water supplies, Californians are already feeling the damage to our economy and environment brought by climate change. More roadblocks to clean energy investment like SDG&E’s proposed fixed charge are only going to make things worse. Fortunately, we as electricity customers have an opportunity to speak out against SDG&E’s proposal.  The CPUC is holding public hearings in San Diego on September 16thand in El Cajon on September 18th to get feedback from our community.  Click here to RSVP to one of the public hearings and join us as we speak out against clean energy roadblocks like this proposal. One viable alternative to SDG&E’s monopoly is Community Choice Energy. This is a nonprofit electricity provider established by one or more local governments that delivers much more renewable energy to its customers than the monopoly utility. Aside from delivering much more clean energy, Community Choice electricity rates are highly competitive because there are no shareholders to take care of. Revenues are poured back into the local community, with programs to buy increasing amounts of power from rooftop solar and other clean sources. Right now, the City of San Diego is overseeing a feasibility study of Community Choice and could be our first city in the county to launch it. Our elected officials need to know that the public wants a choice about where they get their power, so even if you can’t attend one of the hearings go to the RSVP page and check the "learn more about Community Choice Energy" box so we can stay in touch with you about it. RSVP to join us at one of the CPUC hearings and help us show local elected officials that San Diegans want clean renewable energy options. Thank you for all you do to protect the environment. Sincerely, Pete Hasapopoulos My Generation Campaign – San Diego P.S. Please share this important event with your friends and family near San Diego: Share this action on FacebookShare this action on Twitter

The TRUTH will set you FREE.

Immigration Reform and Living Wage

SATURDAY, 13 SEPTEMBER 2014 Finding a Nexus between Immigration Reform and Living Wage Victor Narro: The Raise LA policy is a model of a living wage that would help a large immigrant workforce, mostly women, win dignity and respect in the workplace.    READ MORE HERE Friend on Facebook Follow on Twitter Forward to a Friend Inequality for All Screening In partnership with Bend the Arc and 20+ cosponsoring organizations, the ACLU is presenting a Sundayafternoon screening of Inequality for All. READ MORE Solidarity Forever! Berry Craig: Scotland’s exit would greatly, if not fatally, weaken Britain’s still strong trade union movement, which has been under Tory attack since the 1980s when Margaret Thatcher declared holy war on organized labor. READ MORE Hamas Rocket Launches Don’t Explain Israel’s Gaza Destruction Gareth Porter: The IDF obviously did not have actual intelligence on each of those homes that had been reduced to rubble. The massive designation of houses as “hideouts” indicates the Israelis believed Palestinian fighters were hiding in some of them. READ MORE Oh, Ye Masters of War: Marking 9/11 Again With A New Dragon To Slay Danny Schechter: That old “bomb them back into the stone age” strategy that failed in Vietnam, failed in Afghanistan, and failed in Iraq as “Shock And Awe’ is back because the Pentagon doesn’t know what else to do. READ MORE

The TRUTH will set you FREE.