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Victory: The Afghan Women and Girls Security Promotion Act is now law
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Thanks to you, our ongoing campaign to secure the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan is marking a huge victory. You may recall that the campaign kicked off last May in Chicago when Amnesty International USA organized a Shadow Summit as a counterpoint to the NATO summit, which was failing to provide Afghan women a place at the table to discuss the future of their country. It was here that we first asked members and activists like you to sign a petition in support of the United States adopting an action plan to protect the rights of Afghan women and girls. We received an overwhelming response. This was followed by a Congressional briefing in Washington, D.C. on Afghan women's rights, in cooperation with the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission and featuring two dynamic women from the Afghan Women's Network, Hasina Safi and Mahbouba Seraj. Securing Afghan women's rights was also a pressing topic of discussion that same day at ourTown Hall on Women's Rights, the XX Factor. Thanks in large part to the hard work and courage of the Afghan women – supported by thousands of Amnesty International USA members like you, guests at the Congressional briefing, and participants in the XX Factor—Senators Casey and Hutchison introduced the Afghan Women and Girls Security Promotion Act in the Senate in November. The amended bill was included in the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act, which was recently signed by the President. It is now U.S. law! The Afghan Women and Girls Security Promotion Act requires the Department of Defense to report on their efforts to promote the security of Afghan women and girls during the transfer of security responsibility to Afghan forces. The support that this amendment received in Congress was tremendous. During the final days of the debate, Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-CA) filed a motion to specifically instruct House conferees to include the Afghan women's bill in the reconciled version of the NDAA. The motion passed by an overwhelming vote of 399-4. Nine Members of Congress spoke on the House floor in favor of the amendment including the Republican Chair of the House Armed Services Committee, Buck McKeon. Reps. Tsongas, Jackson-Lee, Lee, Kucinich, Schakowsky, Rob Andrews, Biggert, and Hanabusa also spoke in support of the motion. Your voice made this possible. Thank you. We are thrilled with this victory, but there is still work to be done. We must continue to push the U.S. government to take concrete steps to support the rights of the women of Afghanistan and to ensure that their rights are not traded away during or after the reconciliation talks with the Taleban and Afghan government. Please continue to stand in solidarity with the women and girls of Afghanistan and take action in the fight for their rights. Again, thank you for raising your voice. We hope you will continue to act to support and help advance women’s rights worldwide. Warmly, Cristina M. Finch Director, Women's Human Rights Program Amnesty International USA |  | |||
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© 2013 Amnesty International USA | 5 Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10001 | 212.807.8400
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BUCKNACKT'S SORDID TAWDRY BLOG We should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive & well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate, bier or wein in hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WHOO-HOO, WHAT A RIDE!!!!!!"
Showing posts with label DOD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DOD. Show all posts
19 January 2013
Victory: The Afghan Women and Girls Security Promotion Act is now law & Women's Rights are Non-Negotiable in Afghanistan 19JAN13
HERE is a victory for human rights and the women and girls of Afghanistan, and a call to action to keep up the pressure on the Afghan and American governments to guarantee the human rights, the safety and well being of Afghan women and girls in negotiations with the taliban. Thanks to all who have participated in the earlier actions by Amnesty International, click the link to participate in this latest action...
05 April 2012
America's Top 10 Most-Polluted Waterways from MOTHER JONES 2APR12
OUR waterways are in bad shape now, and the repiglican / tea-bagger party platform calls for gutting the EPA and so the Clean Water Act, which will make them even more polluted and expose more of us to poisoning and disease. Just another reason to make sure Pres Obama is re-elected this November! From Mother Jones.....
If
you are a fly-fisher, a rafter, or heck, just a person who drinks
water, here is some troubling news: Our waterways are in rough shape. An
eye-opening new report (PDF) from Environment America Research and Policy Center
finds that industry discharged 226 million pounds of toxic chemicals
into America's rivers and streams in 2010. The pollution included
dead-zone-producing nitrates from food processors, mercury and other
heavy metals from steel plants, and toxic chemicals from various kinds
of refineries. Within the overall waste, the researchers identified 1.5
million pounds of carcinogens, 626,000 pounds of chemicals linked to
developmental disorders and 354,000 pounds of those associated with
reproductive problems.
In the report are a few goodies (or baddies, really) that are worth ogling. First up, there's this map of the most heavily polluted waterways in the United States, broken down by state:
And if you're curious about which waterways suffer from the most pollution, here's the top 10:
Finally, a list of the top 20 polluters—composed mostly of steel manufacturers, chemical plants, and food processing operations:
It's important to note that the vast majority—if not all—of these releases are perfectly legal. I reached out to all of the companies on the list above and received a response from several. They all basically told me the same thing: "All discharges meet permit requirements," Cargill said. "This is a natural process that is fully licensed, and included as part of our wastewater discharge reporting," echoed McCain Foods.
We'll have to take their word for it, since the companies are not required to release the results of their chemical safety testing to the public, nor do they have to reveal how much of each chemical they are releasing. The Clean Water Act doesn't even apply to all bodies of water in the United States; exactly how big and important a waterway must be to qualify for protection has been the subject of much debate. Rivers get the big conservation bucks; they're the waterway equivalents of rhinos and snow leopards. But pollutants in oft-neglected ditches, canals, and creeks—the obscure bugs of the waterway world—also affect ecosystems and our drinking water quality. Sean Carroll, a federal field associate in Environment America's California office, estimates that 60 percent of US waterways aren't protected. "The big problem," he says, "is that we don't know how big the problem is."
The situation has gotten slightly better since the last time Environment America conducted a study; overall waterway pollution decreased by 2.6 percent from 2007 to 2010. There's still a lot of room for improvement, Carroll says. Environment America is calling on Obama to extend the protections offered by the Clean Water Act before the end of his first term. A list of the group's specific recommendations is here.
In the report are a few goodies (or baddies, really) that are worth ogling. First up, there's this map of the most heavily polluted waterways in the United States, broken down by state:
And if you're curious about which waterways suffer from the most pollution, here's the top 10:
Finally, a list of the top 20 polluters—composed mostly of steel manufacturers, chemical plants, and food processing operations:
It's important to note that the vast majority—if not all—of these releases are perfectly legal. I reached out to all of the companies on the list above and received a response from several. They all basically told me the same thing: "All discharges meet permit requirements," Cargill said. "This is a natural process that is fully licensed, and included as part of our wastewater discharge reporting," echoed McCain Foods.
We'll have to take their word for it, since the companies are not required to release the results of their chemical safety testing to the public, nor do they have to reveal how much of each chemical they are releasing. The Clean Water Act doesn't even apply to all bodies of water in the United States; exactly how big and important a waterway must be to qualify for protection has been the subject of much debate. Rivers get the big conservation bucks; they're the waterway equivalents of rhinos and snow leopards. But pollutants in oft-neglected ditches, canals, and creeks—the obscure bugs of the waterway world—also affect ecosystems and our drinking water quality. Sean Carroll, a federal field associate in Environment America's California office, estimates that 60 percent of US waterways aren't protected. "The big problem," he says, "is that we don't know how big the problem is."
The situation has gotten slightly better since the last time Environment America conducted a study; overall waterway pollution decreased by 2.6 percent from 2007 to 2010. There's still a lot of room for improvement, Carroll says. Environment America is calling on Obama to extend the protections offered by the Clean Water Act before the end of his first term. A list of the group's specific recommendations is here.
20 January 2012
Free Bradley. Tell General Linnington to drop the charge of 'aiding the enemy'. 19JAN12
AFTER a trial worthy of an authoritarian regime the US Army prosecutors have recommended Bradley Manning face a full court martial. There is no evidence Bradley Manning provided aid to the enemy. The information he is charged with leaking to Wikileaks proved to be embarrassing to the U.S. and other governments, and exposed war crimes committed by American troops in Iraq (Collateral Murder video, available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rXPrfnU3G0 or watch it below). He is being railroaded by the US Military "justice" system. Please participate in calling Gen Linnington and tell him the charge of 'aiding the enemy' be dropped, and share this action by the Bradley Manning Support Network with family and friends.
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The Bradley Manning Support Network has just been notified that the recommendations made last week by Lt. Col. Paul Almanza, who presided over last month’s Article 32 hearing, have been passed up the chain of command by Col. Carl R. Coffman Jr. This means that even though prosecutors presented no concrete evidence that the leaked documents caused any harm, Lt. Col. Almanza, and now Col. Coffman, have decided that all charges against Bradley Manning — including the most odious charge of “aiding the enemy” — should be referred to a full military court-martial. All of the defense witnesses that would have shown that the leaks were embarrassing, not harmful, were blocked from testifying during the pretrial hearing. At this moment, the recommendations to bring all charges against Manning to court martial now sit on the desk of Major General Michael S. Linnington, who represents an entity known as the General Court-Martial Convening Authority. He has the final power to rubber stamp these recommendations, which would formally refer these charges and initiate the court-martial process. 
WASHINGTON, DC — Military officers orchestrating proceedings against PFC Bradley Manning have referred all charges that were considered during last month’s Article 32 proceedings to a general court martial. Investigating officer Lt. Col. Paul Almanza rejected a request from lead defense counsel David Coombs to consolidate the 22 charges into three charges, expressing concerns that the military is over-charging PFC Manning.
13 November 2010
Afghanistan: Progress or Mess? 18OKT10 & Wake Up, America! War Off the Radar, Congress Fails 19OKT10
FOR a nation that is supposedly so pro military and all gung-ho for supporting troops so little is done to provide for the needs of the troops in combat zones and when they return. People think forwarding moving e mails about the troops, God and country shows support. I am tired of them, they do nothing. If people are really concerned, and really support our troops, they will take the time to contact the president and their congress people to make sure the troops are supplied adequately in combat zones and that they make sure they receive the support and care they need when they return. AND they will do this more than once, they will keep the pressure on our elected officials and the DOD to do right by our troops. This from MOJO about the real state of affairs in Afghanistan (we need to get out of there NOW), followed by a piece about the lack of care and concern for our returning troops by Paul Rieckoff , head of IAVA
The headline above could have been used for any sum-up of the Afghanistan war over the past years. This has become the United States' longest war, and there have yet to be any decisive turns. On Saturday, The Washington Post ran a story headlined, "U.S. military, civilian officials claim progress in Afghan war." The opening:
Meanwhile, there's hard evidence of what's not going well. The recent parliamentary elections were chock-full of fraud, and Afghan and Western officials estimate that nearly one-quarter of the votes will have to be trashed. Anti-corruption efforts are lagging. And US soldiers accused of murdering Afghans for sport have said they were merely following orders from a commander who fancied collecting body parts as trophies.
The real question at hand is how much improvement can there be between now and next July, when Obama's promised downsizing in Afghanistan is supposed to start. Crunch time is fast approaching.
The headline above could have been used for any sum-up of the Afghanistan war over the past years. This has become the United States' longest war, and there have yet to be any decisive turns. On Saturday, The Washington Post ran a story headlined, "U.S. military, civilian officials claim progress in Afghan war." The opening:
KABUL - With a year-end report card coming due, top U.S. military and civilian officials in Afghanistan have begun to assert that they see concrete progress in the war against the Taliban, a sharp departure from earlier assessments that the insurgency had the momentum.Sounds like a major progress, right? But halfway through the article, there's this:
Despite growing numbers of Taliban attacks and American casualties, U.S. officials are building their case for why they are on the right track, ahead of the December war review ordered by President Obama. They describe an aggressive campaign that has killed or captured hundreds of Taliban leaders and more than 3,000 fighters around the country in recent months, and has pressured insurgents into exploring talks with the Afghan government. At the same time, they say, the Afghan army is bigger and better trained than it has ever been.
Yet even as U.S. officials here echo [Defense Secretary Bob] Gates's [optimistic] assessment, they have offered relatively little evidence to back up their claims of progress, and many still hesitate to say that successes against the Taliban in certain pockets add up to the war's pendulum swinging their way. Indeed, one week last month broke the nine-year war's record for violence, as the Taliban sought to ambush parliamentary elections: NATO forces logged more than 1,600 attacks nationwide, 500 more than in the previous worst week.In other words, never mind. So we have talk of progress, but no concrete signs of progress. Perhaps this should have been the central point of the article, not the unproved claims of advances.
Meanwhile, there's hard evidence of what's not going well. The recent parliamentary elections were chock-full of fraud, and Afghan and Western officials estimate that nearly one-quarter of the votes will have to be trashed. Anti-corruption efforts are lagging. And US soldiers accused of murdering Afghans for sport have said they were merely following orders from a commander who fancied collecting body parts as trophies.
The real question at hand is how much improvement can there be between now and next July, when Obama's promised downsizing in Afghanistan is supposed to start. Crunch time is fast approaching.
Wake Up, America! War Off the Radar, Congress Fails by Paul Rieckhoff
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-rieckhoff/wake-up-america-war-off-t_b_769099.html?utm_source=DailyBrief&utm_campaign=102010&utm_medium=email&utm_content=FeatureMore&utm_term=Daily+BriefAfter nearly a decade in Iraq and Afghanistan, over 2 million Americans have served, a trillion dollars have been spent and yet only 3 percent of Americans have war on their radar this election.
And where's Congress? Spinning on the campaign trail, scrambling for last-minute endorsements and as Tom Brokaw rightly noted in The New York Times this week, still doing nothing to wake up the country about the surge of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
In 2009, Congress came out swinging for vets. They pushed several major legislative victories to the President's desk. They passed Advanced Appropriations, mandatory mental health screenings for every returning servicemember, and landmark legislation for caregivers and female veterans.
Then everything went downhill in 2010.
This year, veterans' calls for VA disability reform, new GI Bill upgrades, and veteran employment initiatives all fell on deaf ears. After months of making promises, Congress suddenly stopped paying attention, skipped out on votes and dropped out.
On November 2nd, Americans will head to the polls and every voter should ask themselves: did my members of Congress show they have the backs of new veterans?
With the launch of IAVA Action Fund's 2010 Congressional Report Card, it's easy for voters to find out in just a few clicks.
The nonpartisan Report Card grades every Senator and Representative on his or her voting record and leadership on key issues for new veterans. Across political parties, exceptional leaders on veterans' issues were few and far between. This year, only 20 legislators out of 535 earned an A+ on veterans' issues--an 87 percent decline from 2008 when 150 Members made the top grade. More alarmingly, nearly a third of our elected officials on Capitol Hill failed to take any real action for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, earning Ds or Fs.
If Americans really want to have the backs of our nation's veterans, they should do their homework on the Report Card and Tweet their Representatives about their voting records.
Unlike Congress, our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan don't have the luxury of quitting before their mission is complete. They can't cut out early when lives are on the line. For a country in the midst of two wars, Washington's recent commitment to ensuring these men and women have the tools to successfully transition home has been half-hearted.
Back in their districts, Members of Congress might spend the next week spinning tales of a "banner year" on veterans' legislation. But Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their families deserve real leadership and action on Capitol Hill, not empty promises and cheap rhetoric. Each day that passes without a break in the gridlock in Washington, veteran unemployment will continue to outpace the national average, the VA disability backlog will continue to climb and suicide rates will continue to skyrocket.
If Congress considers this an acceptable future for our nation's veterans, they definitely don't make the grade.
To download IAVA Action Fund's full report card, click here.
Solar Panels on the White House and in the Desert, 36 Billion Gallons of Biofuels, and Cleaner Trucks 29OKT10
UPDATES on renewable energy, conservation, and high speed rail. Click the links for more information.....
Building a clean energy economy in this country is one of President Obama’s top priorities. As National Energy Awareness Month - a national effort to underscore how central energy policy is to our national prosperity, security, and environment – draws to a close, I wanted to highlight some of the events and announcements from the Administration that are helping us build a clean energy economy.
We’re installing solar panels on the White House, building the largest solar energy power plant in the world on our public lands, and proposing the first-ever greenhouse gas and fuel efficiency standards for heavy-duty cars and trucks. All told, the Administration held and made over 140 energy-related events and announcements this month. Below are just a few of the highlights, but you can see the full calendar of events here.
Sincerely,
Carol Browner
Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change
Building a clean energy economy in this country is one of President Obama’s top priorities. As National Energy Awareness Month - a national effort to underscore how central energy policy is to our national prosperity, security, and environment – draws to a close, I wanted to highlight some of the events and announcements from the Administration that are helping us build a clean energy economy.
We’re installing solar panels on the White House, building the largest solar energy power plant in the world on our public lands, and proposing the first-ever greenhouse gas and fuel efficiency standards for heavy-duty cars and trucks. All told, the Administration held and made over 140 energy-related events and announcements this month. Below are just a few of the highlights, but you can see the full calendar of events here.
- Solar Power and the Clean Energy Economy. President Obama kicked off the month by highlighting a revolutionary new solar power plant in California that will employ 1,000 people and power nearly 140,000 homes. The plant is possible because of the President’s investments in the clean energy economy.
- Empowering Defense through Energy Security. The Department of Defense and the Navy hosted events to discuss how they can turn their energy use from a strategic and operationalliability to a key strength for the men and women of our armed forces.
- Solar Panels on the White House. At the Green Gov Symposium in Washington, DC, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality Nancy Sutley announced that solar panels and a solar water heater will be installed on the roof of the White House residence this spring.
- Cleaner Trucks, Buses and Vans. The Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency announced the first-ever proposed national standards for greenhouse gas emissions and fuel efficiency for heavy-duty trucks, vans and buses.
- Ramping Up Solar Power on Public Lands. In October, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced a series of six new solar power projects on public lands including the first-ever solar power plant on public lands and the largest solar power plant in the world.
- You Asked, Chu Answered. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu answers your questions on making your home more energy efficient.
- 36 Billion Gallons of Biofuels. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack outlined the steps USDA will take to reach a national goal of producing 36 billion gallons of biofuel a year in the United States by 2022, with 21 billion gallons coming from advanced biofuel production.
- Building More Sustainable Communities. The Department of Transportation, Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Housing and Urban Development joined forces to support communities who are providing Americans more housing choices, make transportation systems more efficient and reliable, and support vibrant neighborhoods that attract businesses. This is good for our communities, our environment and our economy.
- Preparing for and Responding to Climate Change. The Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force released a report with recommendations that will help strengthen the Nation’s capacity to prepare for and respond to the risks associated with climate change.
- Historic Investments in High Speed Rail. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that 54 high-speed rail projects in 23 states will receive a combined total of $2.4 billion to continue developing America’s first nationwide program of high-speed intercity passenger rail service. These investments will ease our reliance on foreign oil and reduce our nation’s carbon pollution.
Sincerely,
Carol Browner
Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change
03 September 2010
Pentagon Ignores Child Porn in its Ranks 3AUG10
THE DOD DIDN'T INVESTIGATE A MAJORITY OF THESE PEOPLE BECAUSE "DUE TO DCIS HEADQUARTERS' DIRECTION AND OTHER DCIS INVESTIGATIVE PRIORITIES, THIS INVESTIGATION IS CANCELED."?????? Contractors with top secret security clearances, active duty personnel including a Lt. Colonel in the Army and a staff member in Sec. of Defense Gate's office? Child porn in the Pentagon, the DOD isn't a priority? Pathetic!
“Due to DCIS headquarters’ direction and other DCIS investigative priorities, this investigation is cancelled.”
John Cook reports for Yahoo News that the Pentagon unearthed the names of more than 250 DoD personnel who had purchased child pornography online, but declined to investigate more than a handful. The purchases were uncovered in a larger civilian investigation conducted by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). An investigative arm of the DoD then cross-checked the names against military databases to generate the list of Defense Department employees.
But according to Cook, the agency “opened investigations into only 20 percent of the individuals identified, and succeeded in prosecuting just a handful.” A total of 264 DoD staff were identified, according to records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. Cook writes:
“Due to DCIS headquarters’ direction and other DCIS investigative priorities, this investigation is cancelled.”
John Cook reports for Yahoo News that the Pentagon unearthed the names of more than 250 DoD personnel who had purchased child pornography online, but declined to investigate more than a handful. The purchases were uncovered in a larger civilian investigation conducted by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). An investigative arm of the DoD then cross-checked the names against military databases to generate the list of Defense Department employees.
But according to Cook, the agency “opened investigations into only 20 percent of the individuals identified, and succeeded in prosecuting just a handful.” A total of 264 DoD staff were identified, according to records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. Cook writes:
Astonishingly, nine of those had “Top Secret Sensitive Compartmentalized Information” security clearances, meaning they had access to the nation’s most sensitive secrets. All told, 76 of the individuals had Secret or higher clearances. But DCIS investigated only 52 of the suspects, and just 10 were ever charged with viewing or purchasing child pornography…A source familiar with the investigation, who was granted anonymity to discuss the details, said that the Pentagon’s investigative unit was focused on contractor fraud and didn’t have the resources to pursue cases unrelated to its core mission. “We were stuck in a situation where we had some great information, but didn’t have the resources to run with it,” the source told Cook. Many of the investigative reports he obtained end with a similar citation: “Due to DCIS headquarters’ direction and other DCIS investigative priorities, this investigation is cancelled.”
The vast majority of those investigated, including an active-duty lieutenant colonel in the Army and an official in the office of the secretary of defense, were never charged. On top of that, 212 people on ICE’s list were never investigated at all.
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