FROM SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS

World leaders gathered Tuesday for a memorial service for Nelson Mandela, who went from being a prisoner to being the president of his nation. “The extraordinary quality of Mandela was his persistence and refusal to give up even at extraordinarily disheartening moments,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, who witnessed Mandela’s inauguration. He said Mandela had an impact not only on South Africa but on the entire world “and he will continue to be a model as we continue our struggle to end racism and oppression.” WATCH WCAX COVERAGE       LONG-TERM UNEMPLOYMENT       While the official 7 percent unemployment rate in November was the lowest in five years, long-term unemployment remained near record highs. More than 1.3 million Americans without jobs for six months or more face an unemployment insurance cutoff at the end of December. Another 1.9 million workers would have their benefits cut later in the coming year. Bernie joined 31 other senators who signed a letter urging Congress to preserve federal unemployment insurance for another year. New research from the National Employment Law Project shows that unemployment insurance keeps workers in the job hunt and families out of poverty.       WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CAN DO TO HELP THE U.S. ECONOMY?       WATCH BERNIE ON MSNBC           POVERTY AND THE POPE       In a nation where more people are living in poverty than ever before and the gap between the rich and the rest of us is growing wider, Bernie has found wisdom in the words of Pope Francis, who called on the world’s political and financial leaders to “ensure that all citizens have dignified work, education and healthcare.”       READ MORE           60 MINUTES       Bernie couldn’t believe it when the CBS News magazine gushed about Wall Street billionaire Pete Peterson's so-called philanthropy. "You said his cause is cutting the national debt. What Pete Peterson has done is throw hundreds of millions of dollars into lobbying campaigns to cut Social Security, Medicare and disabled veterans’ benefits. That, to my mind, is not philanthropy,” Bernie wrote in a letter broadcast on 60 Minutes.       READ MORE           BIG OIL       In a significant shift, at least 29 major U.S. corporations, including the five biggest oil companies, expect that the government will force them to pay a price for carbon pollution to control global warming and are incorporating a price on carbon into their long-term financial plans, according to published reports on Thursday. Sadly, some in Congress still call global warming a hoax. But Bernie and Sen. Barbara Boxer, who chairs the Senate environment committee, are cosponsors of a pioneering bill to tax the carbon emissions that scientists say are causing dramatic global climate changes. Bernie also introduced a bill with Rep. Keith Ellison to take away subsidies for the hugely profitable oil, coal and gas industry.       READ A SUMMARY OF THE SANDERS, BOXER CARBON TAX BILL   READ MORE ABOUT THE END POLLUTER WELFARE ACT           BIG BANKS       There are 6,891 banks in the United States today, according to a new federal report, fewer than half as many as the 18,000 peak. The decline was predicted in 1999 by then Rep. Bernie Sanders as the House debated a bill to deregulate the financial industry. The bill passed and led to the 2008 financial collapse which in turn caused huge taxpayer bailouts of “too-big-to-fail” banks. Lesson learned? Not yet. Today there are even fewer big banks. Bernie wants to break them up. “No single financial institution should be so large that its failure would cause catastrophic risk to millions of American jobs or to our nation's economic wellbeing,” he wrote earlier this year in a column for The Huffington Post.       READ MORE       MUST READS     The Pope Versus Unfettered Capitalism     The Nation         You're Secretly Subsidizing a Fast-Food CEO's Million-Dollar Salary     The Huffington Post         Low Bank Wages Costing the Public Millions, Report Says     The Washington Post         Wages Stagnate as U.S. Manufacturers Reap Record Profits     Bloomberg     COMING EVENTS     Listen to "Brunch with Bernie" Fridays at 3 p.m. ET       SHARE THIS BERNIE BUZZ

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Activists seek sharp swords in human rights battle

Dec 9th, 2013

by John Donovan. 

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Human rights organizations were bitterly disappointed when the United States Supreme Court rejected legal claims made by the family of Nigerian activist Barinem Kiobel against oil multinational Shell earlier this year. Kiobel and eight other activists had been sentenced to death and executed in 1995 for protesting against oil extraction in the Niger Delta. The plaintiffs in the case had accused the company of colluding with the Nigerian government in the activists’ deaths.

Human rights sometimes suffer when companies extract oil, mine the earth or produce cheap clothing. When those affected take the matter to court, they often have little hope of compensation or support.

• Date 09.12.2013
• Author Jennifer Fraczek / sad
• Editor Nancy Isenson, André Leslie   MORE HERE

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AFTER first attempt 8dec13

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NUGGETS OF CREATIVITY

Thanks Paul, Linda and staff.

GREENPEACE, from Dr. Amy Moas

Take action now and help stop the destruction of Indonesian rainforest by corporate greed. Every day, Indonesian rainforest is being destroyed and replaced with palm oil plantations. Laying waste to what little is left of Sumatran tiger habitat. An organization called the Consumer Goods Forum has the power to stop it. But they need to hear from you. The Indonesian rainforest is disappearing at an alarming rate — pushing species like the Sumatran tiger and orangutan to the brink of extinction. It’s a familiar story. The destruction has been going on for decades. But it’s no longer just the trees that companies are after. It’s the land. Many palm oil producers are bulldozing Indonesian rainforest at a rate of acres an hour to make way for even more palm oil. And that palm oil ends up in products from companies like Procter & Gamble, L’Oreal and Colgate Palmolive. These companies share something else in common. All are part of an organization called the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) that could require its member companies to stop buying palm oil linked to rainforest destruction —completely transforming the palm oil industry.   The CGF made big changes like this to protect the environment before, but not until the public demanded it. To make this happen, we need to generate massive public pressure. Greenpeace is launching a campaign to do just that. We need your help sending 75,000 message to the CGF by December 10th. Take action now and tell the CGF to require that its over 400 member companies commit to stop buying palm oil linked to forest destruction. Momentum is already on our side. There has never been a better moment for the CGF to demand change. After strong campaigns from Greenpeace, some of the CGF’s most well known members, Unilever and Nestle, have made commitments to stop buying dirty palm oil. Just last month, even the makers of Nutella decided to end deforestation in their supply chains. But saving the Sumatran tiger, orangutan and all the amazing creatures that call the Indonesian rainforest home is going to take something more. For the palm oil industry to change, its best customers — the members of the CGF — must demand better. Send the world’s largest organization of palm oil customers a message today, demanding that it require its member companies to end their part in deforestation. It may be the best chance we have to save the Indonesian rainforest. Time is running out. The palm oil industry has become the number one cause of forest destruction in Indonesia. We have to act before it wipes out the only remaining Sumatran tiger habitat on Earth. Palm oil is an important part of the Indonesian economy and is responsible for millions of jobs. It can — and must — make a genuine contribution to Indonesia’s development. What it can’t do is destroy the future for its people, its wildlife and the global climate on which we all depend. Backed by a growing movement of supporters demanding clean palm oil, we can push the palm oil industry to make that change. It’s a strategy that we know works from experience. Thanks to people like you, this April the largest pulp and paper company in Indonesia committed to stop rainforest destruction. Together, we will win this campaign too. Please take action today and help us send 75,000 messages to the Consumer Goods Forum by December 10th. For the Sumatran tiger. For our climate. For all of us. For the forests, Dr. Amy Moas Greenpeace Senior Forest Campaigner P.S. There are as few as 400 Sumatran tigers left in the world, and palm oil produced on their destroyed habitat is being used by major companies worldwide. Take action now to demand the Consumer Goods Forum tell its member companies to end their part in rainforest destruction.
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SANDY HOOK PROMISE

Friend,

One year ago, 20 first-graders and 6 educators were torn from Newtown in one unthinkably violent moment.

People talk about the emotional scars we bear after a disaster or loss, but that implies we've actually healed. For many of the families who lost loved ones last December, the wounds are still raw and may never go away.

For those of us at Sandy Hook Promise, we're committed to turning our tragedy into transformation, and making sure that this time, there will be change. And we're doing that by building a community of people united in our love for all children. United by love, we can rise above our differences to bring about the changes we all desperately want.

Will you show your support and join us by adding your name to our card promising to Parent Together to end gun violence in our communities?

Click here to sign our card now – because united by love we can accomplish anything, even change that seems as hard as this.

Hundreds of thousands of people like you have put aside their differences and joined our community of people who agree that our children's safety comes first. That in itself is transformation, I can promise you.

I'm more committed than ever to being a part of that – to make sure tragedies like ours never happen again. Will you join me by signing our card today?

Thank you so much for your support. It really means the world to us.

Sincerely,

Tim Makris
Executive Director
Sandy Hook Promise

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