Success! No wild orcas at Sochi! Sign the petition to the IIAPA and SeaWorld for them to be returned to the wild 5FEB14

VICTORY, sort of! This update from SumOfUS, and I hope you will sign this petition because it was public pressure that stopped these orcas from being displayed at the Sochi Winter Olympics, now our voices are needed to have them returned to the wild.....
My earlier post on this campaign is Demand that White Sphere drops its plan to display the orcas at Sochi 2014 21JAN & 4FEB14 http://bucknacktssordidtawdryblog.blogspot.com/2014/02/demand-that-white-sphere-drops-its-plan.html


SeaWorld has the chance to do something right.
News just in -- the two wild killer whales captured by White Sphere will not be displayed during the Sochi Olympics. 
But the orcas are still destined for other aquariums and shows. Tell SeaWorld and the IIAPA to pile on the pressure, and stop their association with White Sphere. 


Great news! The President of the Sochi Olympic Committee has just confirmed that the two wild orcas captured by White Sphere will not be displayed during the Sochi Olympics.
But this fight isn’t over. Whale and Dolphin Conservation believe that White Sphere is responsible for the capture of 8 wild orcas in the past year. The 2 that were bound for the Sochi Olympics are still in Moscow. They are still destined to be shipped off to another dolphinarium in Russia or China. They will still be forced to participate in live shows and be kept in ridiculously tiny metal tanks.
The physical and mental health of these orcas is in danger. We have to ramp up the pressure on White Sphere, and we think we know how. White Sphere is a member of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IIAPA), the world’s largest trade association for amusement parks and aquariums. So is SeaWorld. We want the IIAPA and SeaWorld to expect better from their members and partners.
Tell the IIAPA and SeaWorld to boot White Sphere out of the Association, unless it returns the captured orcas to the wild.
Being booted out of the IIAPA could be a serious wake-up call for White Sphere. The IIAPA provides White Sphere with links to suppliers and partners around the world, as well as advice on how to improve efficiency, marketing, safety, and profitability. Above all, the IIAPA gives White Sphere a veneer of credibility. Without IIAPA membership, White Sphere could be exposed as the cowboy outfit it really is.
And SeaWorld has good reason to speak out. SeaWorld has been facing increasing pressure after the documentary Blackfish came out last year, alleging troublesome practices involving its captive killer whales. Now is the perfect time for SeaWorld to stand up and prove its ethical stance, by refusing to be associated with White Sphere -- a company that has captured 8 orcas from the wild in one year alone.
Demand that the IIAPA and SeaWorld not work with White Sphere any longer, until it returns the wild orcas to the ocean.
Russia issues the permits for wild orca capture, but just because it’s legal, doesn’t mean it’s right. The US hasn’t issued a permit for the capture of a wild orca since 1989. That’s how dated this practice truly is.
Hundreds of thousands of us have protested the display of the wild orcas at the Sochi Olympics, and we won. Now let's aim higher, and stand up for all the wild orcas at risk by White Sphere's despicable behaviour.
Thanks for all that you do,
Hanna, and the rest of us at SumOfUs.

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More information:
‘Blackfish’ glitch: Did plan to fly orcas to Sochi for the Olympics get caught up in Moscow?, Raw Story, 16 January
Killer whales cruelly snared by hunters will be put on display at Russia's Sochi Winter Olympics, Mirror, 12 January
SumOfUs is a worldwide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.

Demand that White Sphere drops its plan to display the orcas at Sochi 2014 21JAN & 4FEB14

 
SO pathetic, but not surprising, considering the putin's Russia doesn't care about human rights, why would they care about animal rights and the environment? Join hundreds of thousands and sign the petition calling on white sphere to cancel their plans to display these Orcas and instead return them to their home. So far over 450,000 have signed. Keep this petition alive, and maybe the IOC will condemn the dolphinarium and the Russian government will have to prevent it from opening and free the Orcas.....
Amazing -- already over 450,000 people have signed our petition urging White Sphere not to display wild orcas at the Sochi Olympics! Click here to join them now.
-Hanna
Two wild orcas have been captured by Russian hunters, and are on their way to be displayed for human entertainment in a dolphinarium at the Sochi Winter Olympics.
White Sphere, the Russian company behind this, is just looking to make a fast buck from the tourists who will be descending on to Sochi during the Games. It couldn't care less that the orcas were stolen from their ocean home.
The mammals, which can grow up to 22ft long and swim 100 miles a day, are set to be kept in a “small concrete tank” after a 4,614-mile flight from the far east of Russia. Animal experts say that transporting orcas causes them stress, that keeping them in ­captivity shortens their life and can even turn them dangerously “psychotic”.
Tell White Sphere not to display the wild orcas for entertainment, and release them back into the ocean where they belong.
This isn’t the first time that the Sochi Winter Olympics has met controversy. Over 400,000 of us have already petitioned Coca Cola, as a sponsor of the Winter Olympics, to speak out on Russia’s brutal anti-gay laws.
The spotlight is now on Russian President Putin and the International Olympic Committee -- neither of whom can afford more embarrassment. Putin is putting his personal reputation on the line by hosting the Sochi Olympics, but he hasn’t done a great job of it so far. If we draw attention to White Sphere’s despicable behaviour now, just 2 weeks before the Games begin, there’s more chance that Putin and the IOC will take notice and that we win this.
Demand that White Sphere drops its plan to display the orcas, and return them to the wild.
Thanks for all that you do,
Hanna, and the rest of us at SumOfUs.org

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More information:
‘Blackfish’ glitch: Did plan to fly orcas to Sochi for the Olympics get caught up in Moscow?, Raw Story, 16 January
Killer whales cruelly snared by hunters will be put on display at Russia's Sochi Winter Olympics, Mirror, 12 January
SumOfUs is a worldwide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.

LONDON OLYMPICS: PARTNER WITH A SPONSOR THE WHOLE WORLD CAN CELEBRATE 29MAR12

IT is sad the main focus of the International Olympic Committee is profits and not global unity and sportsmanship. I thought the IOC reached a new low when they decided to hold the last Summer Olympics in the prc because the policies of that countries government do not promote global unity, but now the IOC is showing just how much corporate profits control their decisions. dow chemical / union carbide is guilty of environmental crimes against humanity in Bhopal, India and should not be permitted to profit from an event promoting global unity, fairness and sportsmanship while continuing to neglect their responsibilities to the people of Bhopal and continuing to poison people and the environment, especially in the Third World. Please sign the petition to the London 2012 Olympic Organizing Committee asking they to ban dow chemical as a sponsor of the 2012 Olympic Games.

London Olympics: Drop Dow as an official sponsor until it cleans up the Bhopal disaster site 

On December 2-3, 1984, as the people of the central Indian town of Bhopal slept, over 40 tons of a deadly toxic gas -- methyl isocyanate -- leaked from the pesticide plant owned by Dow Chemical subsidiary Union Carbide India Limited. Company executives could have warned the public, but instead chose not to sound the emergency alarm bell in town, sending confused parents and children fleeing directly into the poison cloud.
The Bhopal disaster -- the worst industrial disaster in history -- has so far claimed over 20,000 lives. And the death toll is still rising, 27 years later, because Dow Chemical -- the company responsible -- has never cleaned it up. To this day, chronic health problems, cancer, and birth defects plague over 150,000 people in this impoverished community.
Now, despite loud protests by the Indian Olympic delegation, Dow has signed a controversial sponsorship deal with the Olympics expected to make Dow $1 billion. With Dow counting on that revenue, we have the best chance in years for it to finally assume responsibility and clean up the disaster. We are finally hitting the company where it hurts: its bottom line.
Sign our urgent petition to the London Organizing Committee to drop Dow Chemical as an Olympic sponsor.
In many ways, Dow is the poster child for corporate wrong-doing. Its executives are putting their profits ahead of ethical and legal responsibilities to the suffering Bhopal community. If this disaster happened in the United States or another developed country, Dow couldn’t just have abandoned thousands to die and suffer crippling diseases -- but because the victims are poor and Indian, Dow has been able to ignore their plight.
This week, London 2012 organisers are gathering with the International Olympic Committee president, Jacques Rogge, and the chair of the IOC coordination commission, Denis Oswald. On Friday, along with our friends at Change.org, we will deliver over 34,000 petitions to the London Olympic organizers. This is a critical opportunity to speak out for the victims of Bhopal on the world's biggest stage.
Tell to London Organizing Committee to drop Dow Chemical as an Olympic sponsor before their critical public meeting on Friday.
With Dow aiming to make millions off the Olympics, we have a rare opportunity to put real pressure on the company to do the right thing -- clean up the mess in Bhopal that’s still killing people, and fully compensate the disaster’s victims -- and punish it if it won’t.
Dow’s behavior towards the people of Bhopal is one of the most monstrous examples of corporate irresponsibility. If we allow Dow to profit from the Olympics of all events, the worst corporations in the world will see that they can get away with anything. But if we act together, SumOfUs members can send a powerful message to those same corporations that consumers around the world will stand by their victims until they see justice.
Thanks,
--Emma, Kaytee and the rest of us at SumOfUs
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Background Information
What happened in Bhopal?
On December 2-3, 1984, as the people of the central Indian town of Bhopal slept, an explosion caused over 40 tons of a deadly toxic gas, methyl isocyanate (MIC), and other gases from the Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant. The company executives could have warned the public, but instead they chose not to sound the emergency alarm bell in town.
The event occurred in the early hours of the morning of Dec 3rd 1984, at approximately 12:30 a.m. By 2am, most of the MIC had been dispersed over an area of 25 miles, and the first deaths were reported to the police by 3am. By morning, there had been 1,000 reported deaths, some as far as 5 miles from the plant. 90,000 patients were seen in local hospitals and clinics within the first 24 hours, and in total, about 200,000 people suffered acute effects of the leak.

The preventable Bhopal disaster has claimed over 20,000 lives, and it is not over yet because members of the community continue to suffer from chronic health problems, cancer and birth defects.
How has Dow responded?
Dow claims that it is not responsible for the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy in any way. Despite that, they hired the same public relations firm that worked to tell people tobacco didn’t cause cancer, and helped polish the Argentine junta's image to the world as it was disappearing thousands.
Union Carbide paid $470 million in compensation to existing victims in 1989, amounting to less than $500 per victim (and sometimes as little as $150 per victim) whether they were blinded by the gas, developed terminal cancer from exposure, or suffered debilitating birth defects. To date, neither Union Carbide nor Dow has paid to clean up the site, and they have refused to even decommission the factory after the accident.
Why is Dow responsible for the situation?
No one disputes the fact that Dow bought Union Carbide after the disaster occurred. But when Dow purchased Union Carbide, it took on liability for the Bhopal tragedy.
It would be terribly convenient for Dow and other massive corporations if the slate was wiped clean when a company was purchased. But Dow didn’t just buy the profit sheet, the shares and the expertise from Union Carbide. They also bought their legacy, the environmental tragedy of Bhopal and the responsibility for it.
Dow must ensure that the site is cleaned up and the victims finally get true justice and proper compensation. If a company could escape liability for its malpractices by arranging a merger or takeover, then companies would be able to abuse human rights and damage the environment with impunity.

SumOfUs is a world-wide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy. You can follow us on Twitter, and like us on Facebook.