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Sep 28th, 2008 - 11:13:03 |
Hasnat
In the year 2000 the governments of the world came together and agreed eight goals to help end poverty. The Millennium Development Goals cover crucial areas such as access to education and healthcare, reduction in maternal mortality and access to food. Governments promised to achieve most of these goals by 2015 and each goal has a number of specific targets so it is possible to measure their success. For example one of the targets for the first goal is to halve the proportion of people whose income is less than one dollar a day.
Today, there are more than 850 million people living in hunger, and more than 1 billion people living on less than one dollar per day. The Millennium Development Goals are the first major attempt by all of the world’s governments to tackle some of the underlying reasons that people live in extreme poverty.
All of these goals are connected, and all impact on levels of poverty. If you can’t drink clean water you get sick. Then you can’t earn enough to buy medicine, so you can’t get better. If you don’t have education it’s very hard to get a job, or to have any influence on changing things.
What can you do?
1. Sign the in my name petition and tell your leaders to act in your name to end poverty and inequality (http://www.whitebandaction.org/act-now)
2. Send an even stronger message by adding your own personal pledge, so world leaders see we are real people with real determination to hold them to their promises.
3. Check out http://www.youtube.com/inmyname
Hasnat
Sep 26th, 2008 - 16:48:29 |
Hasnat
Feminist Daily News Wire
September 26, 2008
International Community Makes $16 Billion Commitment for UN Millennium Development Goals
World leaders met this week and pledged $16 billion to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals by 2015. The goals seek to cut extreme poverty in half and were adopted unanimously by UN member states in 2000. One focus of the new monetary commitments is on protecting and improving health conditions for women globally.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced that the commitments include $2.2 billion to provide water and sanitation services for 30 million people. Pledges relating to child mortality and the promotion of maternal health will total almost $2 billion next year and will rise to $7 billion in 2015. Additionally, $12 billion will be provided to train 21 million birth attendants with the goal of preventing maternal death in childbirth.
In his remarks Ki-moon noted that "access to clean water and sanitation are critical for progress on health and education, especially for girls…I welcome the initiatives to empower women all over the world."
Media Resources: Ban Ki-moon Remarks 9/24/08; UNA-USA: Millenium Development Goals
Sep 26th, 2008 - 16:42:16 |
Hasnat
Below are 2 powerful quotes from Bono that are found in the foreword of Jeffrey Sachs’s “The End of Poverty” book. Enjoy!
‘’… we could be the first generation to outlaw the kind of extreme, stupid poverty that sees a child die of hunger in a world of plenty, or of a disease preventable by a twenty-cent inoculation. We are the first generation that can afford it. The first generation that can unknot the whole tangle of bad trade, bad debt, and bad luck. The first generation that can end a corrupt relationship between the powerful and weaker parts of the world which has been so wrong for so long.”
Bono pg. XVll
“What is happening in Africa mocks our pieties, doubts our concerns, and questions our commitments (to equality)… Because if we are honest, there’s no way we could conclude that such mass death day after day would ever be allowed to happen anywhere else. Certainly not in North America, or Europe, or Japan. An entire continent bursting into flames. Deep down, if we really accept that their lives – African lives – are equal to ours, we would all be doing more to put the fire out. It’s an uncomfortable truth.”
Bono pg XVl
The End of Poverty – Jeffrey D. Sachs ( Penguin; NY, 2005)
Sep 21st, 2008 - 11:50:41 |
Hasnat
Hi All,
FYI, Michael Moore is giving away his new film “Slacker Uprising” in an effort to mobilize the youth vote in US Presidential Election. It will be released for down load on Sept 23. Go to http://slackeruprising.com/ and sign up to get it. It could be useful in our election too or as an example of a mobilizing tool.
Hasnat
Friends,
As you may have heard, I've decided to make my new film, "Slacker Uprising," available for free to everyone in the United States and Canada. It is the first time ever that a major feature-length film is debuting as a free download on the internet -- legally. I am doing this for two reasons:
1. Next year it will be 20 years since my first film, "Roger & Me," so I'd like to give those of you who've supported my work over the years a thank you gift in the form of a brand new movie; and
2. I hope the release and wide distribution of this new movie will help to bring out millions of young and new voters on November 4th.
"Slacker Uprising" takes place in the wake of "Fahrenheit 9/11," during the run-up to the 2004 election, as I traveled for 42 days across America, visiting 62 cities in a failed attempt to remove George W. Bush from office. My goal was to help turn out a record number of young voters and others who had never voted before. (That part was a success. Young adults voted in greater numbers than in any election since 18-year-olds were given the right to vote. And the youth vote was the only age group that John Kerry won.)
What I encountered during the tour and the filming was both inspiring and frightening, so I thought, hey, this might make for a funny and enlightening movie! Each night, thousands would show up to volunteer in the Slacker Army against Bush. This drove local Republicans nuts. In one state they tried to have me arrested. At two colleges, rich donors offered to donate more money to the college if they would ban me from campus. Nearly a half-dozen universities kept the Slacker Uprising tour off their campuses. But there was no stopping this movement. By the time we got to Florida, 16,000 people a night were showing up.
It was clear that young people were the ones who were going to save the day -- just as they are in this year's election.
On Tuesday, September 23rd, you will be able to stream, download, or burn a DVD of "Slacker Uprising," free of charge. The distribution is being organized by Robert Greenwald's Brave New Films (they're the great people behind "OUTFOXED: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism" and "WAL-MART: The High Cost of Low Price").
To sign up for the download of "Slacker Uprising," click here. You have my blanket permission to share the movie with your friends, to set up screenings in your communities or theaters, to show it on your campuses -- all at no charge. I encourage you to rally voters with it, to raise funds for your favorite candidates, to air it on your local cable access channels or web broadcasts. You can also click here to request a free DVD of "Slacker Uprising" for your school or university library.
As I said, this is a movie for you, my fans -- a little 97-minute digital treat that I think you'll really enjoy. I hope you'll check out SlackerUprising.com and download it a week from today, next Tuesday, September 23rd.
Thanks again for coming to my movies all these years. It's meant a lot to me. I feel very privileged and blessed, and I am honored to be in this "virtual" community with you as we try to reclaim our beloved country.
Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com
P.S. The world premiere of "Slacker Uprising" will take place in one of the great slacker capitals of this country, Ann Arbor, Michigan, this Thursday at 5pm at the historic Michigan Theater. Admission is free on a first-come, first-served basis. If you're in the neighborhood, hope to see you there!
P.P.S. If you live outside the U.S. and Canada, I'm sorry that I don't own the rights to make this film available to you for free. But it will be coming to a theater, video store or television network near you soon.
P.P.P.S. If you are not part of the "downloadable" generation, I am making a low-cost DVD of "Slacker Uprising" available at Amazon, Netflix and your local stores in October.
Sep 18th, 2008 - 16:21:32 |
Hasnat
Hey,
Cuba has faced one of the most difficult months in its history. The island nation was hit by four major storms in just over 30 days.
The two most powerful hurricanes, Gustav and Ike, were met with an exemplary model of civil defense and preparation. However, the winds and rain had fatal and devastating consequences for the Cuban people. The entire country has been affected to some extent.
While Gustav’s wind velocity broke records, Ike crossed the entire country from east to west (over 1000 km’s) with winds reaching more that 200 km/h and rain that exceeded 600mm in only 48-72 hrs in some areas.
The impact on the country’s people and infrastructure has been tremendous. While damage is still being assessed, it’s estimated that 500,000 homes were destroyed or damaged and Cuba’s food and export crops were hard hit. Severe food shortages are likely to occur without immediate support to the agriculture sector.
Oxfam is supporting the distribution of non-food relief items to people left most vulnerable by the hurricanes. Our response includes the distribution of emergency kits containing household items such as mattresses, sheets and blankets, towels and plastic buckets to 5,000 families (approximately 25,000 people of whom 55% are women).
We are also supporting agricultural rehabilitation programs in areas of the country where food, infrastructure and tools were severely damaged.
Help is urgently needed. Thanks to your support, Oxfam’s emergency response is already underway but more funding is needed to support the rehabilitation work of our Cuban partners.
Visit www.oxfam.ca to find out more about the situation, Oxfam’s response and to find out how you can help!
Sincerely,
Beat Schmid
Oxfam Program Coordinator
Cuba
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