Has Japan's Dolphin Slaughter Been Prevented?
Posted by Tara Lohan, AlterNet on September 1, 2009 at 1:07 PM.

A few weeks ago I wrote a review of the amazing film The Cove, which used a sting operation of experts to infiltrate a secret cove in the town of Taiji, Japan to show the world an incredible horror: In Taiji thousands of dolphins are captured and many of them sold to the lucrative world market that uses captive dolphins for tourism at either aquariums or swim-with-dolphins ventures. Making indentured servants of one of the most amazing wild creatures on our planet is sure crime enough, but it gets worse. The dolphins that are not sold into captivity are slaughtered for their meat, which is sometimes sold falsely as whale meat, since dolphins have often toxic levels of mercury in their bodies.

Former dolphin trainer Ric O'Barry, filmmaker Louis Psihoyos and the Oceanic Preservation Society helped bring this tragedy to the public's eye with the film The Cove and various groups including the The Save Japan Dolphins Coalition (which consists of Earth Island Institute, Elsa Nature Conservancy of Japan, OceanCare, In Defense of Animals, Campaign Whale, and the Animal Welfare Institute) and TakePart Social Action Network of Participant Media have been involved in outreach and media to bring this to the attention of the Japanese and the rest of the world.

Today, the dolphin slaughter was set to begin in Taiji, but the tides there may have changed. Here's a dispatch from O'Barry who has just returned to Japan for the start of the killing season:

When I got off the bus at the Cove this afternoon, I was accompanied by my son Lincoln O'Barry's film crew, a crew from Associated Press, Der Spiegel (the largest magazine in Germany), and the London Independent.

No dolphins and no dolphin killers. We would not have had a story at all, except for the police who were there, waiting all day for us to appear. Nine policemen came to talk to us...

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

GOPcrazy: Stop the Angry Mob
Posted by John Sellers, Agit-Pop on August 19, 2009 at 4:12 PM.

While GOP crazies lay siege to town halls across America, some in Washington are starting to wave the white flag on health care reform. We can’t let that happen. We need medicine, not mobs; doctors, not death threats. That’s why we produced our latest video.

If you see something, say something.

Use the twitter hashtag #GOPcrazy to aggregate images, stories and video of outlandish right-wing antics. We’ll be monitoring the feed, and in our next video using the content you flag to push back on the crazies.

The mob scare tactic isn’t new.

Generations of right-wingers and know-nothings have used it to foil reform. In 2000, an ‘angry mob of ordinary Floridians’ forced a stop to the Miami-Dade recount and helped win George Bush his 1st 4 years of disastrous presidency.

In 2004, the ‘Swiftboat Veterans for Truth’ led the right-wing vitriol towards John Kerry, winning Bush yet another 4 years of mayhem.

Now, the mob is back, and after bringing us 8 years of George W. Bush, they’re trying to hijack Barack Obama’s presidency too. But this time, the good guys know what’s up, and we’re doing something about it.

For too long the right has used the mob to distract, delay and deter progressives from tackling the most important issues we face as a nation.  What we’re seeing now on health care is no exception – in fact, it’s the rule.

If you see spectacular right-wing mob activity, twitter it with the hashtag #GOPcrazy.

This time, let’s help the crazies dig their own grave.

What's In It For Jim?
Posted by Sally Kohn, Health Care Reform for the Heartland on August 11, 2009 at 6:29 PM.

The insurance industry-planted extremists who have been trying to disrupt health care reform should talk to Jim from St. James, Missouri.  Jim's not a paid activist.  He's not a spin doctor.  He's just a hard-working guy from middle America.  And Jim is exactly the kind of person that health insurance reform will help. 

Jim works full-time as a truck driver for St. James Ready-Mix in St. James, Missouri.  He takes home about $400 a week after taxes, which is enough to get by on in rural, eastern Missouri, but not enough to pay for health care for his family.  And in Jim's family, like families across the United States, the lack of affordable, quality health insurance is devastating.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

This Week's Hate Speech Brought to You by...
Posted by Matt Gertz, Media Matters for America on August 11, 2009 at 1:36 PM.

ColorOfChange.org’s James Rucker reports that in response to the group’s campaign, GEICO has decided it no longer feels comfortable financing fearmongering paranoia and has pulled its ads from Glenn Beck’s Fox News program. This makes five advertisers who have distanced themselves from Beck since he declared that President Obama is “a racist” who harbors a “deep-seated hatred for white people.”

From ColorofChange.org’s press release:

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

450,000 Can’t Be Wrong About Health Care Reform
Posted by Robert Greenwald, Brave New Films on July 30, 2009 at 12:14 PM.

The U.S. has a catastrophically fragmented system that provides incentives for sick care instead of prevention. The system is in dire need of reform – reform to save lives, to save families and to save money for both patients and the American health care system.

“I spend 40 percent of my time away from my patients doing paperwork and getting prior authorizations. We need to start taking the barriers that are between me and my patients away.” Jim King, MD, Family Physician in Selmer, Tenn.

It’s time to put our health back where it belongs, out of greedy insurance companies’ grasp and back into your and your doctor’s hands. It’s time to stand with more than 450,000 doctors who support health care reform.

When our friends at The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and Herndon Alliance (a nonpartisan coalition of more than 200 health-care provider organizations including the AARP, Mayo Clinic and Families USA) asked for our help, we produced this video featuring the doctors your family relies on for care. They are urging Americans to ‘Heal Health Care Now’.

Now, it’s your time to stand with more than 450,000 doctors who support health care reform. Make your voice heard and call Congress to reform health care: (202) 224-3121.

With your help, we will change the health care system for the better. Brave New Films is gearing up with its own video, Sick For Profit, to expose abusive health insurance companies. If you or anyone you know has been neglected treatment or abandoned by a health insurance company, we need your story. Email csprinkle@bravenewfilms.org and let us know. And, join us on Facebook and Twitter for special alerts.

Don't Let Wells Fargo Be a Roadblock to Economic Recovery
Posted by ZP Heller, Open Left on July 14, 2009 at 12:52 PM.

Wells Fargo is a roadblock to economic recovery. That's what members of the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers (UE) are claiming, as they literally blocked a busy Rock Island, Illinois, intersection late last week to protest Wells Fargo's decision to cut off credit to the Quad City Die Casting factory. 100 Quad City factory employees risk losing their jobs if Wells Fargo doesn't extend tens of thousands of dollars in credit to continue day-to-day operating costs. So why won't Wells Fargo use some of its $25 billion in bailout funds to keep this factory afloat, particularly when the Illinois-Iowa Quad Cities region is losing $6.1 million in wages and tax revenue annually? According to UE organizer Leah Fried, "[Wells Fargo] want[s] to get out from under the TARP money because they want to get out from the scrutiny. They're hoarding." Wells Fargo has even gone so far as to prevent the company from paying the wages and benefits owed to its employees, which prompted UE to file charges with the National Labor Relations Board last week.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Bombs Will Kill Women in Afghanistan
Posted by Robert Greenwald, Brave New Foundation on July 8, 2009 at 9:11 AM.

Self immolation is a method of suicide by lighting oneself on fire. According to the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan, self immolation has never been such an epidemic in Afghanistan as it is today. This is one fact that leads people to the sobering reality that our efforts in Afghanistan have done nothing for the vast majority of women there.

Despite this, politicians, military leaders, and sadly even some misguided American feminist groups continue to use the plight of women in Afghanistan to justify more spending, more troops and more war. People who care for the people of Afghanistan have got to see this for what it is. Women never benefit from bombs and bullets.

When the U.S and its allies chose to put the Karzai regime in place, they conveniently overlooked the fact that it is overrun with the same patriarchal attitudes toward women as the Taliban. During my recent trip to Afghanistan, I saw the crushing poverty that Afghans must endure. A few brave women from RAWA and the Afghan Women's Mission pointed out in a recent article that, "The military establishment claims that it must win the military victory first and then the U.S. will take care of humanitarian needs. But they have it backward. Improve living conditions and security will improve. Focus on security at the expense of humanitarian goals, and coalition forces will accomplish neither. The first step toward improving people's lives is a negotiated settlement to end the war."
 
Share this video and help your friends and family to see what is really happening to women in Afghanistan. Refuse to accept the line that we must stay in Afghanistan to protect the women of Afghanistan. Help us get people to Rethink Afghanistan.

Finally, Someone Has Made Fighting Global Warming Cool
Posted by Tara Lohan, AlterNet on July 6, 2009 at 1:55 PM.

As a national bill to address climate change and energy limps its way to the the Senate, it's heartening to know that the future of our world doesn't solely depend on Waxman-Markey's American Clean Energy and Security Act.

Thanks to the Alliance for Climate Education (ACE), there is terrific outreach going on to engage high school students and give them the information and encouragement they need to help us effectively combat global warming. ACE educators are conducting free assemblies in high schools across the country.

And the best thing is that they are reaching youth in an engaging way. Check out the video to the right to see a trailer about the assemblies they put together for schools. By using the latest science from the IPCC and conveying it in language that is accessible to youth, they are helping to win over a generation that has incredible tools for taking action and enormous potential to help create change.

"During our presentations, we encourage students to thoughtfully consider the science behind climate change and continue to learn more," said Alisha, one of ACE's climate educators. "We provide interested students the opportunity to connect with organizations that can help them start projects to reduce the impacts of climate change."

If you're a youth, a parent, an activist or an educator -- visit their website and find out how to get their program into your community. There are 22 million high school students in the U.S. right now and we sure could use their help.

Katie Couric, Tavis Smiley, Bob Woodward, Nicholas Kristof, and I Hit YouTube with Pointers for Citizen Journalists
Posted by Arianna Huffington, Huffington Post on June 30, 2009 at 8:00 AM.

How would you like to get some pointers from Katie Couric and Tavis Smiley on how to conduct a good interview, from Bob Woodward on doing in-depth investigative journalism in the digital age, from Mike Isikoff on digging deeper to break news, and from Nicholas Kristof on how to cover a global humanitarian crisis and not get shot?

This expert input is now just a click away, thanks to a cool new project being launched today by YouTube. The YouTube Reporters' Center aims to be a one-stop-shop for people looking to learn how to report on what's going on around them, offering over two dozen videos -- ranging from how to capture breaking news on your cell phone to the ins and outs of journalistic ethics.

"We want to deepen the conversation about the importance of citizen reporting in today's media landscape," Steve Grove, the head of news and politics at YouTube, told me. "We want to help media organizations begin to leverage the tremendous power of citizen journalists to contribute to their coverage, and to give citizen reporters new opportunities to improve their work and get it seen by more people. The YouTube Reporters' Center is a great place to get started."

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

US Military Escalation Leads to Record Civilian Deaths in Afghanistan
Posted by ZP Heller, Brave New Foundation on June 29, 2009 at 3:41 PM.

According to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and a newly released UN report, there were 800 civilian casualties between January and May 2009. Armed clashes between insurgents, the US military, and the ISAF are up 24 percent this year, and have displaced tens of thousands more people. With over 1,000 recorded incidents of violence in May alone, Afghanistan is experiencing the worst security since the war began. And to make matters worse, the UN reported concluded, “The next period will likely experience an increase in the level of violence compared with the same period last year, including complex suicide attacks, intimidation and assassinations carried out by insurgents.” That period, unfortunately, coincides with the Afghan presidential and provincial council elections slated for August. The deadly consequences of militarizing the political crisis in Afghanistan may seem logical, but they're no less disturbing as we see staggering numbers of civilian casualties from this war. Complicating matters is the fact that insurgents have been targeting NGOs and aid workers. In the past six months, there were over 60 security incidents involving NGOs, with many aid workers reported killed or kidnapped. Such violence undercuts the chances of already underfunded humanitarian efforts, and yet the Pentagon has responded with more troops and airstrikes, creating more violence, more casualties, more anti-American sentiment, and the need for even more aid.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Be in a TV Ad... and Call Senate Democrats Out on Health Care Reform
Posted by Adam Green, Open Left on June 25, 2009 at 7:33 AM.

PCCC co-founder Stephanie Taylor, over at Daily Kos: 

Last Friday, over coffee, Adam Green and I started talking about health care reform. And once we started talking, we couldn't stop. We couldn't believe that so many Democratic senators have the audacity to oppose the public health insurance option.

Polls show that 76% of Americans support the public option. But many of the same health and insurance interests that oppose the public option have given $80 million to sitting Democratic senators. $80. Million. Dollars.

It's easy to feel powerless on big issues like this. But we decided to do something about it. We made a TV ad calling them out. And now we're inviting you (and your friends) to put your name in the ad before we air it in Washington DC!

Click WeWantThePublicOption.com to see the ad -- and add your name.

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee will air this ad on CNN, MSNBC, The Daily Show, and other places that these senators and their staffers will be sure to notice. We'll continually rotate new names in. Please help this idea grow by recommending this post and emailing it on to anyone you think would like to add their name.

Together, we'll make the Senate listen to the vast majority of Americans who say: "We want the public option!"

Join the fun...WeWantThePublicOption.com

AlterNet is a nonprofit organization and does not make political endorsements. The opinions expressed by its writers are their own.

Can Pelosi Save American Health Care Reform from the Republican Health Care Horror Show?
Posted by Howie Klein, Down With Tyranny! on June 20, 2009 at 11:22 AM.

We may not always agree with Nancy Pelosi's strategies and tactics. Taking Bush's and Cheney's impeachment off the table drove a lot of people to hate her, no matter how remote a chance there was that that could have succeeded-- or even proceeded without shutting down the basic functioning of Congress and even a chance of getting any progressive legislation passed. And passing progressive legislation is the reason we were all so excited when Pelosi was sworn in as Speaker. Her commitment to real health care reform is almost the only thing standing between the American people's rapidly diminishing chance of getting any genuine reform and the salivating Insurance Industry CEOs who may well have brought off enough Max Baucuses and Blanche Lincolns and Arlen Specters, Joe Liebermen, Paul Ryans, Chuck Grassleys and Ben Nelsons to turn reform into a massive bailout for the Insurance companies. Yes, it's Nancy Pelosi-- not Barack Obama, who could go a long way towards ending this mess by saying "I won't be signing any health care bill unless it includes either single payer or a robust public option"-- who is keeping us out of the clutches of the Insurance Industry predators.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

How to Help Afghans When Congress Approves $100 Billion More in War
Posted by ZP Heller, Brave New Foundation on June 17, 2009 at 7:11 AM.

$100 billion more in wartime spending.  That’s what Congress is hellbent on approving despite valiant efforts from a growing number of Progressives led by FireDogLake’s Jane Hamsher to derail this legislation’s passage in the House.  $100 billion, and for what?  To bring more troops to Afghanistan without an exit strategy?  To further US foreign policy that fails to address the humanitarian needs of the world’s third poorest country?  To escalate military operations that directly result in Afghan civilian casualties?

Recently, Anand Gopal, who has been covering the war in Afghanistan for The Christian Science Monitor, dispelled the myths about troop escalation at the America’s Future Now Conference in Washington, DC.  The reality, Gopal grimly assessed, is that more troops will mean more incidents of violence.  More troops will also mean the need for more airstikes, which, as you can see in the sobering trailer for part four of Rethink Afghanistan, will mean more civilian casualties.

Gopal’s logic follows that of the Carnegie Endowment’s Gilles Dorronsoro, who has said for months that the increased presence of US forces in Afghanistan is the single greatest reason for the Taliban insurgency.  And the more they surge, the more Congress will fund more war.  To see exactly how US foreign policy is perpetuating this cycle of violence, read Ralph Lopez’s recent blog post and watch the accompanying al Jazeera video.  Taliban extremists are using US airstrikes as a recruiting tool, preying upon the survivors, particularly children, who have lost everything in these bombings and suddenly have a chance to act upon their hatred toward the United States.

Fortunately, there are ways to take immediate action and address Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Take Action This Weekend: Urge Congress to Vote "No" on the War Supplemental
Posted by ZP Heller, Brave New Foundation on June 13, 2009 at 9:34 AM.

Want to know what 21,000 more US troops and $96.7 billion more in wartime spending will go toward?  Gen. Petraeus says insurgent attacks in Afghanistan are at their highest level since 2001; there were 400 attacks in the last week alone.  Both Generals Petraeus and McChrystal expressed the desire to keep civilian casualties to a minimum, but how can they possibly achieve that lofty goal with more troops on the ground?  It stands to reason that more troops will mean more incidents of violence, increasing calls for more US airstrikes, which in turn will mean more civilian casualties.

Fortunately, there's a chance to defeat the war supplemental and you can even take action this weekend.  Here's what FireDogLake's Jane Hamsher recommends:

There won’t be anyone to pick up the phone at congressional offices this weekend, but you can write letters to the editor in time for the Sunday edition, urging members of Congress to vote against the Supplemental Appropriations Act.

• The war supplemental shouldn’t be held hostage to a $100 billion European bank bailout
• Conservatives don’t like the bailout
• Progressives don’t like the bailout
• Four billion in “Cash for Clunkers” is being added to the bill to force progressives to vote for it
• Let’s separate these bills and talk about them honestly
• The administration has committed itself to transparency. This is not transparent.

Rahm Emanuel is threatening Democratic freshmen if they don’t vote for the bill.  We need 39 Democratic votes to defeat it.  Already 32 have committed to oppose it.  Please write your local paper and urge them to support your member of Congress in voting against the supplemental.  (If you don’t know who your member of Congress is, you can look them up here.)

Write letters to the Editor and say “no” to the supplemental

Despicable: Bill O'Reilly Continues to Attack the Late George Tiller, Referring to Him as 'Dr. Killer'
Posted by Matt Corley, Think Progress on June 3, 2009 at 9:21 AM.

As Salon’s Gabriel Winant has documented, Fox News host Bill O’Reilly regularly demonized Dr. George Tiller, who was murdered on Sunday, as “Tiller the Baby Killer.” But as ThinkProgress noted yesterday, O’Reilly is not “backpedaling” from his incendiary attacks on Tiller. In fact, while debating former National Organization for Women president Patricia Ireland last night, O’Reilly referred to Tiller as “Dr. Killer” without realizing it. “You call him Dr. Killer and he was murdered,” replied Ireland, adding “that that is just outrageous.” Watch it:

Transcript: More »