"I
know the capacity that is there to make tyranny total in America, and
we must see to it that this agency [the National Security Agency] and
all agencies that possess this technology operate within the law and
under proper supervision, so that we never cross over that abyss. That
is the abyss from which there is no return." - Senator Frank Church (1975)
"Disobedience,
in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is humanity's original
virtue. It is through disobedience that progress has been made, through
disobedience and through rebellion." - Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900, from the Irish writer-poet's 1891 essay, "The Soul of Man Under Socialism
I often get asked by Avaazers, “what happens after I sign a petition?” And the truth is, a HECK of a lot! Every Avaaz campaign springs from a massive global mandate, and then zeroes in on the best way for our voices to win. Here’s just two of our victories from the last few weeks:
Remember when 2 million of us came together to stop the flogging of a 15-year old rape victim in the Maldives? Her sentence has been quashed! Here's what our team did to win:
Ahmed Shaheed, former Foreign Minister of the Maldives said “The Avaaz contribution was the spearhead of the campaign to overturn the flogging sentence; a petition signed by millions, a country visit, a public opinion survey, and persistent follow-up all proved irresistible.” |
|
|
Gordon Brown said: "A million dollars has been raised via the brilliant Avaaz.org, in just a few days."
|
| Key Brazilian Senator joins Avaaz "open vote" naked protest sending a clear message: "we have nothing to hide" |
Of course, our community does a LOT more than petitions. Last week, we raised a $1 million challenge grant in a few days to donor governments to put Syrian refugee kids in school. At a UN meeting, I was able to put a cheque on the table and issue the challenge on behalf of over 40,000 Avaaz donors. UN Education Envoy Gordon Brown, who chaired the meeting, called our community's effort a "magnificent and impactful intervention" in getting other governments to give!
And often it's not the Avaaz team but our community that does the direct lobbying. For example in Brazil, we're inches away from winning a massive fight to end the shady practice of 'secret voting' in the Congress. Our huge push helped win the vote in the lower house and right now, Senators’ telephones are ringing off the hook as Avaaz members across Brazil use our online calling tool to directly tell them to stop this corruption -- experts say a win is likely in days!
It's this unique magic mix between a gigantic and spirited community of citizens able to speak out, donate, and lobby, and a small team of top notch advocates able to take smart, strategic actions at the highest level with democratic legitimacy, that makes our campaigns increasingly unstoppable.
If we keep believing in each other, and growing in size and in commitment, there's no limit to the good we can do in the world. Thank you so much for the honour and the joy to be part of and serve this community. It's something truly precious we have here -- let's keep building Avaaz.
With love and appreciation,
Ricken and the team
PS -- You might not know that Avaaz is different from just about every other global organisation in that we are 100% funded and guided by our community. Every campaign we run is first polled and tested to a random sample (you might think of it as a jury) of our community, that tells us exactly how the whole the community will react. I may be the CEO, but you're my boss. If you don't like something (and I don't mean 51% like it, but 81% like it) then our team go back to the drawing board and come up with a better option for you. We have never, ever, broken this rule. So at the end of the day, it is your wisdom, the collective wisdom of our community, matched with the smartest suggestions the team hears from you and come up with ourselves and from our partners and experts, that determines what we do every single day.
When you add to that the fact that 100% of our funding comes from small online donations (we strictly refuse any donations from corporations, governments, foundations, and even individual donations over 5000 Euros), I think Avaaz may be one of the purest organisational expressions of people-powered change in the world today. Make that an organisation served by a beautiful team of wonderfully talented and deeply committed people that I wish I could introduce you all to, and we've got a kind of magic that can build the world we dream of.
False Perceptions On Syria
The Army of Islam; Saudi Arabia's Greatest Export
By Phil Greaves
Recent
developments regarding "rebel" groups inside Syria have shed further
light on the ideologies and political aims of the militants waging war
upon the Syrian state.
The Italian Job
By David Vine
How the Pentagon Is Using Your Tax Dollars to Turn Italy into a Launching Pad for the Wars of Today and Tomorrow.
Glenn Greenwald on Snowden, NSA, GCHQ and Spying
Must Watch - Video
BBC Newsnight - Full Interview.
NSA Director Admits Misleading To Public on Terror Plots
By Natasha Lennard
In so
many words, NSA director Keith Alexander admitted Wednesday that the
Obama administration had issued misleading information about terror
plots and their foiling to bolster support for the government's vast
surveillance apparatus.
America the Pest
Give the World a Break!
By Mike Whitney
I get tired of leftist writers droning on and on about the Empire-this and the Superpower-that. It's all baloney.
The Real Crisis Is Not The Government Shutdown
By Paul Craig Roberts
It is difficult to imagine a more discouraging situation. At this time, collapse seems the most likely forecast.
Congressional "Mad Dogs" Render the Powerful Powerless
By Ralph Nader
These
"mad dogs" do not obey their owners, they embarrass them and make our
tepid economic recovery shudder. They shake foreign allies' confidence
in the super-power, whose lawless military Empire budgets are mostly
untouched by the shutdown.
A Freedom to Live or a Freedom to Die
By Eve Human
A
culture governed by the ideology of unrestrained selfishness is
unstable and will eventually become violent towards the outside and
self-destructive inside itself.
Climate Zombies
Why Climate Deniers Are Plain Wrong
Video
UN report outlines human linkage to climate change and the dire threats it poses on the future of the human race.
Hard News
Pakistan : 15 killed in attack on 'militant chief' :
At
least 15 people have been killed in a suicide bomb attack on a
militant commander's compound in a north-west Pakistani tribal region,
officials say.
Imran Khan: Dialogue with Taliban: The Best of Difficult Options: Op-Ed:
The
debacle of East Pakistan, which led to the breakup of our country,
left me with a strong conviction that military operations are never a
solution to any problem, least of all one involving one's own people.
Afghan mayor, deputy killed in Taliban ambush:
The
two were gunned down in a Taliban ambush on Thursday as they were
heading for the provincial capital of Lashkargah, Omar Zawak, a
spokesman for Helmand's governor said.
Five killed in Iraq football field bombing:
A bomb exploded near a football field in Iraq on Thursday, killing five people and wounding at least 11, officials said.
Syrian rebels accused of village massacre:
"We
found two mass graves with 140 bodies. They were not shot. They had
their throats slit. About 105 people of different ages were kidnapped,"
he said.
Syria army retakes northern town: : Activists say:
Syria's
army took back control of a strategic town in the northern province of
Aleppo on Thursday after a weeks-long battle pitting troops against
rebels, a monitoring group said.
Al-Qaeda-linked group advances on Syrian rebels near Turkey:
Al-Qaeda-linked
fighters fought rival Syrian rebels near the border with Turkey
Wednesday, activists said, in an outbreak of violence driven by the
divisions between factions battling President Bashar Assad.
Special arms for Syria rebels fall into Nusra hands:
Some
Saudi Arabian-supplied anti-tank missiles intended for mainstream
Syrian rebels have inadvertently landed in the hands of the Al-Qaeda
linked Nusra Front, throwing plans to arm moderates via neighbor Jordan
into question.
Syrian Islamists raid Aramaic-speaking Christian town of Sednaya: report:
Weeks
after al-Qaeda-linked rebels seized the Christian town of Maaloula in
northwest Syria, they now have captured Sednaya, an Aramaic-speaking
village to the north of Damascus.
'Progress' on Syria inspections:
A
team given the job of eliminating Syria's chemical weapons says it has
made "encouraging initial progress" after talks with government
officials.
Israel, Gulf states said discussing new alliance to stop Iran:
The
Arab and Gulf states involved in the new talks have no diplomatic ties
with Jerusalem, the report noted. A number of Sunni countries, such as
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, have been vocally
opposed to Iran's nuclear program, placing them and Israel on the same
side of the debate.
Hopes raised for US-Iran talks but hawks in Congress threaten any deal:
Negotiations
over Iran's nuclear program could be undermined by a reluctance on the
part of the US Congress to relax a complex network of economic
sanctions, according to experts and diplomats monitoring forthcoming
talks in Geneva.
Propaganda Alert:
Netanyahu says Iranian missiles could eventually reach U.S.: (Reuters) -
In
his latest warning about Iran's nuclear ambitions, Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Iran was working on
intercontinental ballistic missiles that could one day hit the United
States.
Iran's cyberwarfare czar is allegedly assassinated:
As
the Middle East country beefs up its cyberforces, Mojtaba Ahmadi, the
head of its Cyber War Headquarters, is said to be found with two bullet
wounds near his heart.
Iran Guard Says Dead Official Wasn't Assassinated:
Iran's
Revolutionary Guards rejected reports that the head of the country's
cyber warfare program had been assassinated, saying only that it was
probing the death of an employee it didn't identify.
Israel suspected of conducting terrorist attack inside Iran:
There
are strong grounds to suspect that the killing of an Iranian cyber
warfare commander outside Tehran in the last few days should be viewed
in the context of an ongoing secret war that Israel has been conducting
against Iran for several years.
Ethnic Cleansing : Israel's policy of destroying Palestinian homes:
While
Palestinian Arabs comprise approximately 20% of the population of
Israel, as non-Jews they are confined by law and zoning policies to
just 3.5% of the land.
Russia's Putin nominated for Nobel Peace Prize:
Russian
President Vladimir Putin was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by an
advocacy group that credits him with bringing about a peaceful
resolution to the Syrian-U.S. dispute over chemical weapons.
Belarus President Lashes Out At Obama, Compares US 'Exceptionalism' To Nazism:
In
the interview, which was shown in Belarus on Thursday, Lukashenko said
he was surprised that Obama would promote such rhetoric, given he
comes from a country "where black people were slaves not all that long
ago."
Student killed in Egypt clashes:
A
high school student was killed when opponents and supporters of
deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi clashed in the city of Suez on
Wednesday night, medical and security sources said.
Video shows Egypt generals plotting media gag:
New footage released by activists shows army top brass discussing ways to tighten control over country's media.
Report: Egypt's army planning to attack targets in Gaza:
The
Egyptian army has planned military attacks on specific targets in the
Gaza Strip in the event that the security situation in the northern
Sinai peninsula deteriorates, a senior Egyptian security official told
the Ma'an news agency.
Egyptians follow Mossad and CIA directions in Sinai:
Mossad
logoAn Israeli website alleged to be close to the Mossad spy agency
has claimed that the leader of the coup in Egypt, General Abdul-Fattah
Al-Sisi, receives intelligence on the movements of the Jihadists in
Sinai from Mossad and America's CIA
African Migrant Boat Sinks Killing At Least 133 people:
The passengers were all believed to be Eritreans coming from Libya, the UN said.
Russia evacuates diplomats from Libya after 'mob' of gunmen target embassy:
Libyan
security officials deem compound in Tripoli unsafe after yesterday's
attack in which one man was killed and four injured
Libyans aren't enjoying equal rights:
Two
years after the formal liberation of Libya on Oct. 23, 2011, a country
very different from that envisioned in the Draft Constitutional
Charter - a document that declared all Libyans to be equal before the
law to enjoy equal civil and political rights - is emerging.
Madagascar mob kills Europeans over 'organ trafficking':
Two
European men have been burnt to death in Madagascar by protesters who
suspected they were trafficking human organs after a child went
missing.
NSA chief's admission of misleading numbers adds to Obama administration blunders:
The
chief of the National Security Agency admitted that officials put out
numbers that vastly overstated the counterterrorism successes of the
government's warrantless bulk collection of all Americans' phone
records.
Edward Snowden should be put on kill list, joke US intelligence chiefs:
Former NSA and CIA chief and chair of House intelligence committee in jovial mood at 2013 Cybersecurity Summit
As F.B.I. Pursued Snowden, an E-Mail Service Stood Firm:
On
Aug. 8, Mr. Levison closed Lavabit rather than, in his view, betray
his promise of secure e-mail to his customers. The move, which he
explained in a letter on his Web site, drew fervent support from civil
libertarians but was seen by prosecutors as an act of defiance that
fell just short of a crime.
NSA chief: Agency tried to track Americans via cellphones:
NSA
chief Gen. Keith Alexander told Congress on Wednesday that his spy
agency ran tests in 2010 and 2011 to see if it was technically possible
to gather U.S. cell-site data, which can show where a cellphone user
traveled.
NSA planted bugs at Indian missions in D.C., U.N.:
The
Permanent Mission of India at the United Nations and the embassy in
Washington, DC - were targets of such sophisticated bugs implanted by
the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) that entire computer hard disks
might have been copied by the American agency.
Golden Dawn party leader jailed before trial:
The
Golden Dawn leader Nikolaos Mihaloliakos appeared before investigating
magistrates and a prosecutor to respond to charges of founding and
participating in a criminal organisation. Mihaloliakos has denied the
charges against him.
Mexico City violence at Tlatelolco anniversary:
Riot
police have clashed with protesters in Mexico City during a
demonstration commemorating the 45th anniversary of a student massacre.
Violent gangs recruit kids from age 6 in Guatemala: -
Guatemala's
gangs are using children as young as six to transport drugs and
weapons among other crimes, a senior official said in an interview
published Wednesday.
One Person Killed as US Capitol on lockdown:
According
to ABC News, an attempt to ram the White House gates ended with shots
fired, U.S. senators put under lockdown in the Capitol, and a female
suspect dead. U.S. Capitol police said they had received reports of
gunshots and one police officer has been injured.
Washington DC car chase: suspect shot dead after Capitol Hill lockdown:
Woman with a young child in her car attempted to breach a White House security checkpoint, prompting a car chase
Run Away, Run Away
The House of Representatives announces recess after shots fired at the Capitol
Video -
IMF: US Failure to Lift Debt Ceiling Could Damage World Economy:
Failure
to raise the U.S. debt ceiling could damage not only the United States
but the rest of the global economy, International Monetary Fund chief
Christine Lagarde said on Thursday.
Obama meets bank chiefs as economists warn of 'deep and dark recession':
President
Obama met bank executives including Goldman Sachs chief Lloyd
Blankfein on Wednesday as economists, business leaders and European
officials warned that the US government shutdown threatens to plunge
the economy into a "deep and dark recession".
US shutdown a smokescreen for assault on Social Security, Medicare:
In
an interview on day two of the partial shutdown of the US government,
President Barack Obama offered talks on cutting basic social programs
such as Medicare and Social Security in return for Republican support
for funding federal operations and raising the national debt ceiling.
Citigroup fined $30 million for tip-off to big clients:
Massachusetts
on Thursday fined Citigroup $30 million for improperly releasing
market-sensitive information on an Apple supplier to large clients
including hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors.
General education is the best preventive of the evils now most
dreaded. In the civilized countries of the world, the question is how to
distribute most generally and equally the property of the world. As a
rule, where education is most general the distribution of property is
most general.... As knowledge spreads, wealth spreads. To diffuse
knowledge is to diffuse wealth. To give all an equal chance to acquire
knowledge is the best and surest way to give all an equal chance to
acquire property.
--Rutherford B. Hayes
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Melissa Melton
Switzerland Decriminalizes Marijuana Possession
Phillip Smith
The devastating truth behind Obamacare
Jon Rappoport
Ohio Woman Says No to Criminals Twice in 4 Months – .357-Style
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The Shutdown That Really Matters: The End Of The Silk Road
Gary Gibson
In the Silk Road Case, Don't Blame the Technology
Parker Higgins
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Adam Kokesh uses case to raise jury nullification awareness
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Ex-NSA/CIA chief Hayden jokes of putting Snowden on kill list
Is An Engineered New Madrid Mega Quake In the Offing?
Diesel exhaust stops honeybees from finding the flowers they want to forage
12 Ways the FBI Has Radically Expanded and Abused Its Powers Since 9/11
Component of citrus fruits found to block the formation of kidney cysts
Not if, but when, marijuana becomes legal in Pennsylvania
The Violent Side Effects of Antidepressants that Many Ignore
Obamacare’s Privacy Nightmare
Get a Free Cell Phone When You Sign Up for Obamacare
NSA director admits to misleading public on foiled terror plots
Big Brother Announces Full Spectrum Frequency Assault
CIA Ramping Up Covert Training of Syrian Rebels
Policy News
Enough to make a Tea Party activist boil over
-
Minister Turnbull turns to former telco CEO as he nukes board and Quigley bails
-
GreatFire.org in bold, Beijing-baiting move to uncensor Sina Weibo
-
If you can deal with vomit-inducing iThings, what's a few website bugs?
Security News
Lavabit founder says snoops demanded total access
-
A-Doh!-eee: 2.9 MEEELLION accounts slurped, source code compromised
-
Two contract hits? That's just DREADful
-
Cyber War HQ loses boss in old-fashioned kinetic hit
-
Analysis Huh - Euro snoop systems are on constantly
-
Sorry 'bout that $12.50 prize, does $15k sound better?
Science News
And SUCK POWER from SAUNAS, yet
-
Analysis Have environmentalists played the Fear card too often?
-
Red Planet's atmosphere may have been affected by series of mega-eruptions
-
Busted disk? No problem
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