Take The Initiative

Written on behalf of Allison Walsh (Alison’s Wildfire and Weather World)

The world’s largest firefighting plane has been shut down just as Western states prepare for a wildfire season that fire officials fear could be worse than the average year.

The decision to cease the SuperTanker’s operations was first reported by Fire Aviation, an industry website that reported an email was sent this week to officials in Colorado, Oregon, Washington and the U.S. government saying that the investor group that owns the plane was shutting it down.

A spokesman for company that operates the plane, Global SuperTanker Services LLC, declined to comment.

The Global SuperTanker is a converted Boeing 747 plane that can dump up to 19,200 gallons (72,678 liters) of water or flame retardant in just six seconds and fly as low as 200 feet (61 meters) above the ground to do its work. It can be refilled in just 13 minutes.

The SuperTanker has helped in many Western wildfires and was deployed in Israel in 2016 and in Chile in 2017.

https://fireaviation.com/2021/04/23/the-747-supertanker-is-ceasing-operations/

I was raised in Sonoma County, and lived there for 30 years. Year after year, someone I know loses a home to wildfires as they begin creeping into residential areas. Every year I go out with a camera and report and the devastation while keeping thousands calm as I report as best I can what’s going on, with worst case and best case scenarios.

Then there’s that huge sign of relief when we hear that the 747 supertanker is going to come and help. It’s hope, it’s progress, it can stop the forward progress of fires. It saves homes and lives.

Now investors want to take it away, as if the fate of fire country does not rest in their hands.

So I’m asking everyone to tell Global SuperTanker Services LLC and every other aviation investor how much we need this. How important it is.

We are asking them to either keep the Global Supertanker or asking for an investor or government budget who is willing to find it and keep it in service. We know that it is expensive and costly to use. But preservation of wildland, wildlife, and human life is priceless.

California Prop 19 was passed in November, and although there were some great protections for seniors, there is a huge problem for long term residents of California. Under the law as written, anyone who inherits a property from their parents or grandparents will have to pay a huge increase in property taxes as a result.

This is fine for people who are already wealthy, but what about families who aren’t wealthy who have lived here for generations? This is essentially a land grab by the wealthy at the risk of people who cannot afford to pay these exorbitant tax rates. This means that many California natives who have long made California their home will no longer be able to afford to live here. This means huge increases in rental rates. This means less affordable housing for our most vulnerable at a time when many are out of work and unable to foresee when they will be able to work again.

This is not right for long term Californians who have been here and made the state what it is today. This will cause an immeasurable loss of homes that working class people have built and cared for over decades. This proposition was and is the wrong way to go for millions of Californians who are struggling in a new post pandemic economic crisis.



https://thetruthaboutprop19.com/

Chevron has a history of dumping oil in our oceans around the world. On February 9th, 2021 about 600 gallons spill of oil near Chevron Richmond refinery occured in the San Francisco bays of California. Hold them accountable and make them clean up thoroughly. They put local Richmond residents and marine animals in danger.


I made this petition to make sure that Chevron Richmond refinery is held accountable for their own actions because they have a history of spilling oil all over the world and especially in the city of Richmond. In 2012, the Richmond Chevron refinery caused a disaster sending 15,000 residents to the hospital due to toxic smoke. Richmond has gone through so much that it's known to be a toxic land. There is a former Mayor named Gayle McLaughlin who has been fighting to end the Chevron refinery for many years because no human or animal deserves to live in a toxic land. This story has more than just Chevron cleaning up their oil spills, but for also hurting the city of Richmond.

This oil spill will harm marine animals by causing severe damage to their habitats. The exposure to the oil will irritate the skin of marine animals and cause their organs to get infected, which is often a death sentence. For humans, being exposed to oil can cause liver damage, respiratory damage, reproductive damage, increase cancer risk, and decrease the immune system. This is absolutely unacceptable, and the corporation behind this needs to be held responsible. We need a change now! Please sign and share with others!


SAVE OUR OCEAN !!!!!

Expanded polystyrene foam, also known as styrofoam, needs to be banned in food service containers in California. We produce over 3 million tons of styrofoam every single year, and use 25 billion styrofoam cups every single year. This means that just California consumes about 3 billion styrofoam cups a year.

If we ban styrofoam in California, it will save thousands of lives every year, human and animals. California has hundreds of endangered species, and banning styrofoam would increase the chances that these species’ populations recover.

Polystyrene foam service ware has become a concern for the environment as well as human health and safety. It is one of the top 10 contributors to environmental litter. It is not biodegradable, is resistant to photo-oxidization, and is difficult to recycle. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' National Toxicology Program has listed styrene, a chemical found in expanded polystyrene foam, as a reasonably anticipated human carcinogen that can be transferred from expanded polystyrene foam containers into food and beverages that people consume.

We need to save the Earth for future generations. Banning styrofoam will contribute to this effort greatly. California can lead the way in protecting our fragile ecosystems against human pollution. California needs to ban styrofoam food service containers.

Rodeos have already been banned in many parts of California for their cruel nature. However, where they have not been banned yet, they continue to promote abuse, exploitation, and killing of innocent animals, as well as violence to the public and to a new generation.



Rodeos are a deplorable form of entertainment, they involve activities such as CALF ROPING, in which calves suffer neck and back injuries, broken legs, spinal cord paralysis, severed trachea, internal hemorrhaging, damage to internal organs, bruises, and torn ligaments; BULL RIDING, in which bulls suffer injuries such as broken legs and back; STEER WRESTLING, in which young cattle suffer broken neck injuries, torn ligaments, broken bones, severed spinal cord, severed trachea, and internal bleeding; BRONC RIDING, which causes injuries to horses such as broken neck and spine, back problems, and tears in leg tendons; BUCKING EVENTS, during which horses often injure their backs and legs; STEER TRIPPING, in which young male cattle suffer fractured horns, neck injuries, back and hip sores.



During rodeos, participants use flank straps, ropes, electric prods, whips, raking spurs, sharp sticks, and caustic ointments, all of which cause tremendous physical and emotional pain to the animals. The pain is evident from the countless pictures, and videos of rodeos found online. You can see the terror painted on the animals’ faces as they try to get away and attempt to save themselves from being openly and brutally abused, tortured, beaten up, choked, slapped, stepped on, and shocked by electric prods.


The majority of the rodeo animals are not being treated with such major injuries but continue to be abused over and over again until they are too weak to perform. Often they die due to their injuries or tremendous loss of blood. A lot of them end up in a slaughterhouse.


So how can this brutal abuse, exploitation, and killing of innocent animals be called “entertainment”?


We must stop rodeos in the whole state of California before the big season begins this summer. Please sign this petition to end rodeos in the state of California and save beautiful and innocent animals from abominable and unnecessary tortures.

I'm a type 1 diabetic, and I have been for over half of my life. It's an immune depressing disease that attacks the pancreas and prevents the body from producing insulin, the necessary hormone, to break down food nutrients and carbohydrates in the body. Diabetics are a very high-risk group when it comes to COVID. We are much more likely to face severe complications because of the way the coronavirus attacks the immune system.

Governor Gavin Newsom has excluded type 1 diabetics from the current phase of the vaccine rollout – leaving some of the most at-risk people vulnerable. Please sign to tell Gov. Newsom to listen to the science and make the COVID vaccine available to people with type 1 diabetes.

A recent study found that the risk of dying from COVID-19 was almost three times higher for people with type 1 diabetes and almost twice as high for type 2 than for those without diabetes. The diabetic community is also at higher risk of severe illness and hospitalization.

The medical community has urged the CDC to update their guidance to recognize type 1 diabetes in the same risk category as type 2. They know that the risk level is just as high for type 1 diabetics if they get COVID, but they have not answered those calls.

Gov. Newsom: Please listen to the science. This community is at risk. If you allow all diabetics to get a vaccine, you will save lives.

The California circus ban hasn’t gone far enough to protect wild animals. We have seen that recently with a candidate for Governor dragging Tag, the bear, around for public appearances.

We need legislation enacted in California that will ban the use of wild animals such as bears, lions, tigers, chimpanzees and monkeys from being used as “performers”. The animals currently being used and abused for this need to go to accredited sanctuaries.

California needs our government officials to take the welfare of animals seriously. It’s time to close the circus ban loophole that allows this abuse to continue. There is no grey area when it comes to animal welfare. No wild animal performs voluntarily. They perform out of fear or out of hunger.

Please join me in urging our leaders to do the right thing for the animals.

S.B. 252 aims to end all black bear hunting in California. This bill is not based on science, biology or wildlife management. S.B. 252 would result in over 1 million dollars lost revenue for the state. S.B. 252 would potentially cause jobs to be lost in both the state and civilian sector. S.B. 252 falsely assumes it will end trophy hunting of bear which is already illegal in California as the meat from a bear must be taken according to California Fish & Wildlife law. Bear hunters along with their families and friends eat bear meat. S.B. 252 falsely claims the bear population in California is in jeopardy. Actual science and wildlife studies refute this evidence as the bear population in California has grown 400% in the last 40 years. S.B. 252 is deceptive and wildly dangerous. It's unacceptable.

According to a 4 year study in California conducted by wildlife biologists on deer equipped with gps & vhf collars bear are (1) the leading cause of deer fawn mortality and (2) the study points to bear causing mountain lions to kill more deer because of bear carcass stealing from lions. Lions already need to kill 1 deer per week. With bear numbers constantly rising (as our own states wildlife professionals have logged), this has led to a significant decline in deer numbers. Based on science & data S.B. 252 will cause even more damage to California's wildlife. We must protect California's Wildlife.

Put a stop to S.B. 252. It's dangerous for all California wildlife.

WHO ARE THE DUWAMISH?

The Duwamish are the First People of present-day Seattle, and are the original stewards of this land. Since time immemorial, the Duwamish Tribe has maintained their ancestral home in traditional, sustainable ways for the benefit of all. Seattle is built upon and thrives on the lands of the Duwamish People, and the City still carries the name of the Tribe’s most well-known leader, Chief Si’ahl (Seattle).

Chief Si’ahl of the Duwamish and Suquamish Tribes of Indians was the lead signatory of the Treaty of Point Elliott in 1855, and that agreement has never been invalidated. Yet the U.S. Government has continually failed to give the Duwamish People their rightful recognition.

This is an injustice that has persisted for far too long. The Duwamish Tribe’s leadership has fought long and hard to hold the U.S. Government accountable for the promises made in the Treaty more than 165 years ago. They are still waiting.

Federal recognition does not create a tribe, but honors the government-to-government relationship between tribes and the United States. It is also vital to protecting the cultural integrity of the Duwamish People.

The Duwamish are the “People of the Inside”. They are rooted to this place and these waters. They demand accountability for their People today and for all the generations to come. Now is your chance to act: Take action today and sign the petition. The Duwamish are counting on you.

SIGN AND SHARE THIS PETITION TODAY!

Duwamish Tribe's Website

Duwamish Tribe Fact Sheet

Duwamish Tribe & Environmental Advocacy

Promised Land Documentary

Real Rent Duwamish

Duwamish Tribe on Twitter

Deb Haaland, U.S. Secretary of the Interior

Martha Williams, Principal Deputy Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Disturbingly, the sale of elephant skins is growing around the world, especially in the United States. What’s even more shocking is that this sale is legal. While international agreements ban the trade of elephant Ivory, they do not ban the trade of elephant skins and other body parts. We think this is preposterous, and we’re sure you do, too. Elephant skins are used to make everything from wallets and purses, to gun holsters and boots.

It is an abomination that the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has not made the trade in all elephant body parts illegal. Left unchecked, this trade will continue to threaten the existence of all elephants, particularly Asian elephants.

The United States can lead the way for the protection of endangered wild elephant populations. As world leaders, Secretary Haaland and Deputy Director Williams are in positions to force CITES to ban the trade of ALL elephant body parts, not just ivory. They can also ban the import of all elephant body parts into the United States, greatly impacting the demand for elephant skins.

Please ask Secretary Haaland and Deputy Director Williams to act now! Your signature will help stop the international trade of elephant skin and save the remaining Asian elephants!

And please be sure to subscribe to Wildlife SOS email by checking the box on the right, or visiting subscribe.wildlifesos.org

I was dismayed to learn from Utah Animal Rights Coalition (UARC) that Utah County Cities contract with North Utah Valley Animal Shelter (NUVAS), a facility that still kills hundreds of dogs and cats each year in cruel carbon monoxide chambers. Dogs and cats killed in these chambers can take as long as 30 minutes to die, during which time they often gasp for air and frantically try to escape. Sometimes, the gas chamber is ineffective and bringing about death, and animals must be gassed repeatedly. This is why virtually every organization of veterinarians, animal control professionals, and animal advocates condemns the use of gas chambers in to kill animals in shelters.

There is a more humane method of euthanasia, which is in use already at every veterinary clinic in Utah – euthanasia by injection. Studies have repeatedly shown that this method of euthanasia is quicker, more humane, and more cost effective than outdated and cruel gas chambers. NUVAS is one of only four shelters in the United States still killing animals in gas chambers, a method of killing that is prohibited by law in 27 states.

It’s time for Utah to take action and amend its contract with NUVAS to stop this cruel killing. I urge you to add a requirement in the municipal agreement with NUVAS that prohibits the shelter from killing any animals originating from Utah in cruel gas chambers. Thank you.

The acts of terror by insurrectionist rioters at the United States Capitol building in Washington, D.C. on January 6th, 2021 were incited by President Donald Trump.

Trump's violent rhetoric has fully metastasized in the final days of his presidency when he urged his supporters to disrupt the certification of the 2020 Election results. Our democracy cannot afford another moment of his narcissistic recklessness.

Therefore, we are calling for:

Congressional leadership to pursue the immediate impeachment and removal of office of President Trump, and
Vice President Michael Pence to begin the Constitutional proceedings to invoke the 25th Amendment.
Sign the petition and urge members of the United States House of Representatives, United States Senate, and the Office of the Vice President to remove Trump from office.

In the United States, widows are expected to control most of the $30 trillion in wealth of the baby boomer generation by 2030 -- a potential wealth transfer that approaches the annual GDP of the United States¹; yet American WIDOWS remain mostly invisible in the eyes of policy makers and the law. Every day, widows continue to fight for their rightful estates, social security benefits, bereavement leave, and access to healthcare.

Internationally, over 300 million widows endure systematic disinheritance of their rightful property, eviction, discrimination at the hands of laws and culture, and violent traditional cleansing rights that plunge them, and 600 million children, into vicious underworlds of poverty, human trafficking, child marriage, and violence.

And Covid-19 is a #WidowMaker.

It’s time we begin to recognize the needs of widows, and their families, in the United States and beyond. It’s time to #MakeWidowsMatter.

We propose these important widow/widower recognitions:

1) Create a new office entitled The Office on Widowed Persons (OWP) within the Administration for Children & Families (ACF), a division of the US Department of Health & Human Services (H&HS). The purpose of OWP would be to protect and assist widows and widowers in the United States.

2) Increase the number of bereavement days to be equal to the current allowable days for childbirth leave provided under Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

3) Increase the current one-time survivor death benefit payment from $255 to $1,500.

4) Provide free healthcare (Medicare-like disability) for widows for a term of two to three years from the death of a spouse.

5) Introduce legislation ensuring the protection and monitoring of widows’ rights is prioritized in the future issuance of foreign aid.

6) Require the U.S. Department of State to include widows in its international human rights reporting requirements and to create programs to facilitate their economic and legal empowerment.

7) Call for the U.S. to propose a resolution in the United Nations General Assembly to protect rights and security of widows in the US and globally.

8) Call for the U.S. to propose a resolution in the United Nations Security Council to protect rights and security of widows in conflict and post conflict contexts.

9) Recognize International Widows' Day June 23 to coincide with the United Nations https://www.un.org/en/observances/widows-day

10) Designate U.S. National Widows' Week of Awareness - Annually, the week after Father’s Day. Father’s Day was inspired by a widower, and this is one way to honor mothers who act in place of fathers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fathers_Day_(United_States)

11) Designate U.S. National Widowers Week of Awareness - Recognized annually, the week after Mother’s Day. Mother’s day was inspired by a widow, and this is one way to honor fathers who act in place of mothers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother's_Day

Mr. President, Madam Vice-President, and members of Congress, the United States of America would be the first and only country to take such important steps towards the needs of this group of citizens. Let's lead the charge for these audacious and necessary changes.

Modern Widows Club, Global Fund for Widows, and our joint community of global supporters and partners are fully behind these important proposals to improve widowed persons’ lives worldwide.

#ModernWidowsClub #GlobalFundForWidows #OneMillionWidows #WidowAdvocacy #WidowRights #MakeWidowsMatter #CovidIsaWidowMaker

Citation: ¹ McKinsey & Company Financial "Women as the next wave of growth in U.S. wealth management" July, 29, 2020. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/financial-services/our-insights/women-as-the-next-wave-of-growth-in-us-wealth-management

The Securities and Exchange Commission is attempting to make virtually ALL cryptocurrencies in the United States illegal to freely transact and exchange.

We live in a world where:

Big banks crashed the economy in 2008 with almost no punishment
Robinhood sides with the suits against the little guy without retribution
Big tech exploits and abuses us freely
And what does the SEC do? The SEC goes after blockchain and cryptocurrency, which is one of the best hopes the people have to take back control.

The decentralized LBRY network is used by tens of millions of people. The token has clear utility and is not a security. Under the standards established in the SEC vs. LBRY, Inc., nearly all cryptocurrencies would be deemed illegal to freely use.

We call on the SEC to drop this case and establish clear standards for the cryptocurrency industry in the United States.

Cuban families over the years have suffered the consequences of political conflicts between Cuba and the United States, due to this we have had to live the despair of the separation of families. We are living in times of a global pandemic that, together with the measures adopted by the previous government, have resulted in the migration processes of our families being greatly extended and risking the health of our children, husbands, parents, siblings by having to travel to another country. (Guyana) to have the privilege of being attended by a consular officer having an Embassy in Havana. We request that the request to reestablish consular services at the United States Embassy in Cuba be considered. We are tired of seeing our families suffer while waiting for long migratory processes, lacking in Cuba the basic necessities to live, this is also considered an emergency, emigrating looking for a better future is also a human emergency, a universal right. We hope our voices are heard and consider the possibility that our families have the privilege of being interviewed for by a consular officer in Havana, Cuba.

To: The United Nations and its Member States

Re: UNHRC's 46th Session & The New Resolution on Sri Lanka

We, the undersigned, who include representatives of the Tamil community as well as other interested organizations and citizens, speak on behalf of Eelam Tamils against whom the Sri Lankan state, state sponsored actors, and security forces have committed multiple acts of genocide from the time Sri Lanka gained independence to the present day. Sri Lanka committed the 21st century’s most heinous acts of genocide in the final phase of the war in 2008 and 2009.

We call upon the United Nations and its Member States to:

1. Firmly and unequivocally pass a time-bound resolution at the 46th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council mandating an international, impartial and independent investigation into the conduct of the Sri Lankan state and its occupying military during the final phase of the war, and into the ongoing acts of genocide and human rights violations

2. Pass a resolution at the UN Security Council and/or General Assembly that is similar to the above resolution but additionally refers Sri Lanka to the International Criminal Court (ICC)

3. Act swiftly to severely punish those found responsible for acts of genocide or other abuses, and to instate a protection mechanism that will prevent a recurrence of genocide.

We make this request noting that:

1. The Sri Lankan state and its security forces stand accused of committing genocide against Eelam Tamils, and also of committing crimes against humanity, war crimes and numerous human rights violations against Eelam Tamils (see here);

2. Some of Sri Lanka’s worst atrocities were committed in 2009, when tens of thousands of Eelam Tamil civilians were massacred in a premeditated genocide with Sri Lanka deliberately understating the Tamil civilian population in the war zone (claiming 70,000, not 429,000, lived there) before cutting off food and medicine, and then obliterating the small patch where these hundreds of thousands of civilians had sought refuge, although the Sri Lankan government admitted that only a few hundred LTTE fighters lived there (see here);

3. 146,679 Eelam Tamil civilians are as yet unaccounted for, after the last phase of the war, many having gone missing after being seized by Sri Lankan security forces (see here or here);

4. Nearly 12 years have passed since the above acts of genocide during which time no tangible progress has been made towards an independent investigation into the Sri Lankan security forces’ conduct, and the passage of time has assisted Sri Lanka to cover up its atrocities by destroying the evidence;

5. In the last 12 years, Sri Lankan security forces have enjoyed total impunity and the Sri Lankan state has evaded accountability, setting a dangerous precedent for future acts of genocide not only in Sri Lanka but also, elsewhere;

6. Acts of genocide continue to the present day with Eelam Tamils being targeted for abuses such as rape, destructive conditions of life (especially amongst the internally displaced), ethnocide and systematic ethnic cleansing of Tamils from their lands;

7. The Nazi-type motivation for genocide (ideology that Sinhala people are a ‘chosen people’ and therefore superior, and Sri Lanka is their ‘promised land’ and Eelam Tamils a threat), and a supportive state apparatus, could trigger further acts of genocide against Eelam Tamils at any time;

8. Any internal investigation of Sri Lanka’s conduct would be inherently compromised, as it would be tantamount to a crime’s perpetrator adjudicating on their own innocence;

9. There can be no lasting peace or stability in the region without accountability and redress for the aforementioned international crimes against Eelam Tamil civilians.

This petition has been put forth and spearheaded by the next generation of the Tamil diaspora. For more information, please visit justiceforeelam.org

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------German Translation

An die Vereinten Nationen und ihre Mitgliedsstaaten
Für die UNHRC's 46. Sitzung & die neue Resolution zu Sri Lanka

Wir, die Unterzeichner, zu denen Vertreter der tamilischen Gemeinschaft sowie andere interessierte Organisationen und Bürger gehören, sprechen im Namen der Eelam-Tamilen uns gegen den sri-lankische Staat, staatlich geförderte Anhänger, Unterstützer und Sicherheitskräfte aus, die seit der Unabhängigkeit Sri Lankas bis zum heutigen Tage zahlreiche Handlungen des Völkermords begangen haben. Sri Lanka hat in der Endphase des Krieges in den Jahren 2008 und 2009 die abscheulichsten Akte des Völkermordes des 21. Jahrhunderts begangen.

Wir rufen die Vereinten Nationen und ihre Mitgliedsstaaten dazu auf:

1. In der 46. Sitzung des Menschenrechtsrates der Vereinten Nationen eine zeitgebundene Resolution zu verabschieden, die eine internationale, unparteiische und unabhängige Untersuchung des Verhaltens des sri-lankischen Staates und seines Besatzungsmilitärs in der Endphase des Krieges sowie der andauernden Akte des Völkermordes und der Menschenrechtsverletzungen fordert.

2. Verabschiedung einer Resolution im UN-Sicherheitsrat und/oder in der Generalversammlung, die der obigen Resolution ähnlich ist, aber zusätzlich Sri Lanka an den Internationalen Strafgerichtshof (ICC) verweist.

3. Zügig zu handeln, dass diejenigen, die für den Völkermord und andere Menschenrechtsverletzungen verantwortlich sind, streng bestraft werden und ein Schutzmechanismus eingerichtet wird, der eine Wiederholung des Völkermords verhindert.

Wir stellen diese Forderung in Anbetracht dessen, dass:

1. Der sri-lankische Staat und seine Sicherheitskräfte beschuldigt werden, beschuldigt, einen Völkermord an den Eelam-Tamilen begangen zu haben, sowie Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit, Kriegsverbrechen und zahlreiche Menschenrechtsverletzungen an den Eelam-Tamilen begangen zu haben (see here).

2. Einige der schlimmsten Gräueltaten Sri Lankas im Jahr 2009 begangen wurden, als Zehntausende von tamilischen Eelam-Zivilisten in einem vorsätzlichen Völkermord massakriert wurden. Dabei unterschätzte Sri Lanka die tamilische Zivilbevölkerung im Kriegsgebiet absichtlich: Es wurde behauptet, dass nur 70.000 Zivilisten sich im Kriegsgebiet aufhielten, jedoch lebten dort 429.000, bevor die Regierung die Versorgung von Nahrung und Medizin verhinderte und dann den kleinen Flecken auslöschte, in dem hunderttausende Zivilisten Zuflucht gesucht hatten. Jedoch behauptete die sri-lankische Regierung fälschlicher Weise, dass dort nur ein paar hundert LTTE-Kämpfer lebten (see here).

3. 146.679 Eelam-Tamil-Zivilisten nach der letzten Phase des Krieges immer noch nicht aufgefunden worden sind, viele von ihnen immernoch vermisst werden, nachdem sie von sri-lankischen Sicherheitskräften ergriffen worden sind. (see here or here).

4. Seit den oben genannten Völkermordtaten fast 12 Jahre vergangen sind. Während dieser Zeit ist kein greifbarer Fortschritt in Richtung einer unabhängigen Untersuchung des Verhaltens der sri-lankischen Sicherheitskräfte erzielt worden und diese Phase hat Sri Lanka geholfen, seine Gräueltaten zu vertuschen, indem es die Beweise vernichtet hat.

5. In den letzten 12 Jahren die sri-lankischen Sicherheitskräfte völlige Straffreiheit genossen und sich der sri-lankische Staat der Rechenschaftspflicht entzog, was einen gefährlichen Präzedenzfall für zukünftige Völkermorde nicht nur in Sri Lanka, sondern auch anderswo darstellt.

6. Die Akte des Völkermordes bis heute andauert, wobei die Eelam-Tamilen Zielscheibe von Misshandlungen wie Vergewaltigungen, zerstörerischer Lebensbedingungen (besonders unter den Binnenlandvertriebenen), Ethnozid und systematischer ethnischer Säuberung der Tamilen von ihrem Land sind.

7. Die Nazi-ähnliche Motivation für den Völkermord (die Ideologie, dass die Singhalesen ein "auserwähltes Volk" und daher überlegen seien und Sri Lanka ihr "gelobtes Land" sei und die Eelam- Tamilen eine Bedrohung darstellten) und ein unterstützender Staatsapparat jederzeit weitere Völkermorde gegen die Eelam-Tamilen auslösen können.

8. Jede interne Untersuchung des Verhaltens von Sri Lanka inhärent kompromittiert wäre, da sie gleichbedeutend damit wäre, dass der Täter eines Verbrechens über seine eigene Unschuld urteilen würde.

9. Es keinen dauerhaften Frieden oder keine Stabilität in der Region geben kann, ohne dass die oben erwähnten internationalen Verbrechen gegen die tamilische Zivilbevölkerung von Eelam zur Rechenschaft gezogen und wiedergutgemacht werden.

Diese Petition wurde von der nächsten Generation der tamilischen Diaspora ins Leben gerufen und angeführt. Für weitere Informationen besuchen Sie bitte justiceforeelam.org

DISCLAIMER: We'd like to clarify to those signing that when you are donating to this petition the money is going towards change.org's network to keep amplifying these petitions. The money will not be donated to Abbas (sadly we just figured this out as this is our first time making a petition). Please be mindful of that before donating! Thank you.

Abbas Al-Ameri is a previous Iraqi interpreter with the US army that served from 2007-2009 in Iraq. He has been applying for asylum since 2008 and his case is still unknown. He is a father of 2 girls battling life threats in Iraq and Turkey on a daily basis. The least we can do is bring him to the US and protect him and his family for his service with the United States Army. Numerous veterans can vouch for his service and loyalty to the United States Army. He has been a brother to his colleagues in service while they battle PTSD and mental health.

Please help us get justice for Abbas and his family

We received countless requests to donate for Abbas. If you are is willing to help with funds for his attorney fees, here is the link of the Gofundme page. Given the state we left iraq and the constant danger our brothers in arms are in, as they served us; we want to serve them in legal funds for immigration. Anything helps, thank you even just for sharing.

Gofundme: https://www.gofundme.com/f/bring-abbas-to-the-us-for-his-service

UIL is now restricting mat time and qualifiers for the 2021 wrestling season. We are asking the UIL to not restrict placers to 2 in the district, regional and state competition. We would like the UIL to honor the tradition of 4 placers and an alternate in each weight class to advance to the next round of competition.

New UIL Wrestling Guidelines:

*Only Dual, Triangular & Quadrangular meets will be allowed prior to the District, Regional, and State Tournaments.

*Top 2 individuals from each weight class advance from District to Regionals & Regionals to State.

https://www.uiltexas.org/wrestling/page/2020-21-wrestling-covid-calendar-and-update

Hello, I am Opal Lee from Fort Worth, TX and I am 94 years old. I want Juneteenth to be recognized as a National Holiday. Yes, Juneteenth originated in TX, but 47 states now have it as a state day of observance to commemorate the ending of slavery and more are making it a paid day off including Virginia, New York, and Texas. I believe Juneteenth can be a unifier because it recognizes that slaves didn't free themselves and that they had help, from Quakers along the Underground Railroad, abolitionists both black and white like Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison, soldiers and many others who gave their lives for the freedom of the enslaved.

I started a walking campaign to Washington, DC 2016 and have continued it to bring awareness to the fact that there is support for it all across this nation. There is legislation in the Senate S.4019 and in the House H.R.7232 - Juneteenth National Independence Day Act - that just needs to be passed into law.

It is not lost on me that the summer of 2020 saw the largest support of Juneteenth to be a national holiday because of the death of George Floyd highlighted the systemic racism that still exists because of the residual effects of slavery. We can't let the swell of support just simply disappear until the summer rolls around again. We have make sure Congress follows through with their committment to honor the lives of those who came before us.

My goal with this petition and my walk is to show the Congress and the President that I am not alone in my desire to see national recognition of a day to celebrate “Freedom for All”. Will you please sign my petition to let them know as well? You can get more information at www.opalswalk2dc.com

I remember being on the floor begging God. ‘Please don’t take her. Not my baby.’ This time she was lifeless, she was blue, and she was no longer with us. I can’t begin to describe the feeling of losing a child or the pain we live with every day…


As a mom, I cannot tell you the cost to add safer closures to products with button batteries. ​I can, however, confidently speak to the cost of not having these safety measures in place. My daughter, Reese, swallowed a button battery in October 2020; she endured countless surgeries and scopes and was intubated under sedation for 40 days. Reese lost her fight on December 17, 2020, at just 18 months old. Every day we are reminded of just how much our family lost - through countless tears when we find something of Reese’s when least expected and sleepless nights seeing her face in our dreams. The greatest cost of all, though, is missing the brightest light in our lives and the immense pain that no family should have to endure.

There were 4000 button battery ingestions reported in the U.S. in 2020. It is estimated that only 11% of all cases are reported, meaning this is happening to 36,000 children annually. This can be prevented. Australia recently passed National standards related to button battery safety in consumer products. The US should have the same mandatory safe industry standards.

I am asking for your support of a bill to protect all of our children from injury and death related to button cell battery ingestion.

Legislation will call for national standards related to consumer products with button batteries, specifically:

● Button cell battery compartments of all consumer products to be secured, to the greatest extent practicable, in a manner that reduces access to button cell batteries by children that are 3 years of age or younger.

● Warning labels that clearly identify the hazard of ingestion, instructs consumers to keep new and used batteries out of the reach of children and to seek immediate medical attention if a battery is ingested on all consumer products with button batteries and on the batteries themselves.

What happened to Reese can be prevented from happening to others. Help us change the standards to keep all children safe from the dangers of button battery ingestion.