Conscious Talk Call to Action

WASHINGTON -- Yesterday, the New York Times exposed a secret Pentagon effort to spread favorable views of the war by recruiting and planting military analysts in the nation's news media. These pundits became fixtures of war coverage on most major network, cable, radio and print news outlets without disclosing their considerable conflicts of interest in their own work as consultants, lobbyists and contractors for military interests.

Free Press Executive Director Josh Silver issued the following statement:

"Government-sanctioned propaganda violates every conceivable standard of journalism. That it has been allowed to continue unquestioned and undisclosed for years is an indictment of both this White House and a docile American media. An administration secretly using the press to force a pro-war agenda on the public is not a partisan issue. Free Press is calling on Congress to investigate the military pundits and their ties to the Bush administration, defense contractors and our national news media. It's time the truth about the selling of this war came out."

>> Act Now Signing this letter DOES work. If we can get 50,000 people to join this call to Congress, they will likely take action to stop government propaganda!

America’s bears are facing a poaching plague. Increasing demand for traditional medicines using bear parts like gallbladders is fueling a lucrative black market -- and poachers are targeting bears in the U.S.

Representatives Raul Grijalva (AZ) and John Campbell (CA) have introduced legislation that will help bears by banning the trade in gallbladders at the federal level. The Bear Protection Act will end a patchwork of state laws that create an enforcement nightmare and allows the illegal killing of bears to continue.

Tell your Representative to become a cosponsor of the Bear Protection Act today.

>> Act Now and help us reach our goal of generating 40,000 messages to Congress!

Our top Iraq War general is testifying to Congress again today, but you already know the storyline, right?

General Petraeus: "We still need to keep soldiers in Iraq, no telling when they can leave."

Democrats: "It seems like we should think about leaving sometime?"

Republicans: "Withdrawal is surrender!"

Coming up next: Both sides agree to pour billions more dollars into a war Americans don't want.

Well there IS another way. A group of Congressional candidates have come up with a responsible plan to get our nation out of this nightmare, and scores of them have already agreed that if elected they will actually carry out the plan, not just keep holding hearings while continuing the war.1 Some sitting representatives are beginning to come along, too, and it's been endorsed by military leaders.

Sign on to the Responsible Plan today:

We know that most of our fellow citizens want this -- a clear, ethical path out of Iraq.2 But our anti-war champions in Congress are frankly still outnumbered, so the political games continue.

Sign on to the plan, and in the weeks ahead we will together recruit more candidates and elected officials to join us. Let the people lead the leaders.

The "Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq" includes clear steps to:

1. End U.S. Military Action in Iraq
2. Use U.S. diplomatic power
3. Address humanitarian concerns
4. Restore our Constitution
5. Restore our military
6. Restore independence to the media
7. Create a new, U.S.-centered energy policy

Join me by signing on as a citizen Co-Sponsor of the Responsible Plan:

Together, we'll get our leaders on the record - committed to bringing our troops home. So the next time we have a televised debate about Iraq it can be about real policy, not Gen. Petraeus' wordplay.

-Matt

Matt Holland
TrueMajority.org Online Director

>> Join US Now

There's little in life that's free. You're savvy enough to look for the hidden costs, or the catch.

Americans now know the catch in "free" trade agreements like NAFTA and CAFTA. The hidden costs of these pacts took a tremendous toll: 1 million jobs disappeared, countless communities collapsed, and workers' rights were exploited at home and abroad. 1

But now George W. Bush and Elaine Chao, the Secretary of Labor, want another "free" trade deal, this time with Colombia. To make matters worse, Bush wants to unilaterally "fast-track" this agreement in 90 days.

The first vote takes place tomorrow in the House of Representatives. Tell your Members of Congress and Secretary Elaine Chao that you oppose the Colombia free trade agreement. We can stop this.

Outside of the obvious negative consequences for the United States, the Colombian free trade agreement (FTA) fails to meaningfully address a severe Colombian crisis: union members there are regularly assassinated.

Violent incidents against union members are pervasive in Colombia, and the country's president has done little to stop the attacks. Since 1991, at least 2,245 union members have been killed for supporting a union, including 18 deaths already in 2008. 2

Believe it or not, Elaine Chao doesn't seem to think that's a problem. She even had the gall to suggest that because fewer union members are being killed than in previous years, we should implement the trade agreement - without putting in place real protections to stop violence against union members. 3

Voice your opposition to the Colombia free trade agreement - write to your representatives and Elaine Chao now:

http://action.americanrightsatwork.org/campaign/colombia_fta_chao/w8ubdk82v7nw3jnw?

You've heard from me before about the sorry state of labor law in the United States; most of America's workers never get a free and fair chance to join a union because of threats, intimidation, and misinformation from their employers.

But as bad as America's workers have it, Colombia's aspiring union members literally put their lives on the line to have a voice at work. This is an unacceptable situation, and the United States should not engage in agreements with leaders who overlook serious issues like the assassination of union members.

With Bush threatening to unilaterally pass this agreement in less than three months, your voice is needed to take away his power to do so. Please write to your representatives now.

Thanks for all you do for workers everywhere.

Sincerely,

Liz Cattaneo
American Rights at Work

www.americanrightsatwork.org

Sources:

1. Revisiting NAFTA, report by Economic Policy Institute, 9/06
2. Labor Rights and Freedom of Association in Colombia, report by the Colombian Trade Union Federations, 10/07
3. Department of Commerce press release, 2/27/08

On the heels of widespread protests all over the world, the Olympic torch stops in San Francisco today. Tell President Bush to put pressure on China to improve its human rights record before the Olympics.

Back in 2001, China promised that it would improve its human rights record for the honor of hosting the 2008 Olympics. Instead, China's human rights violations have increased in the months leading up to the games. Their actions have included a crackdown on peaceful dissent in Tibet, the rounding up and jailing of prominent human rights activists, and increased censorship of the media. Together, the abuses constitute a fundamental violation of the letter and spirit of the Olympic charter - and must be condemned in the strongest possible terms.

Act now: China must fulfill its human rights promises leading up to the Beijing Olympics.

The current wave of repression runs counter to the promises China made to improve its human rights record. Despite some high profile releases, many more have been detained over the last six months. Citing "security", China imprisoned individuals for doing nothing more than petitioning the authorities to address their grievances or drawing international attention to ongoing human rights violations.

With President Bush's announcement that he will attend the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics, it is critical that he pressures China to clean up its act.

Before the torch leaves U.S. soil tomorrow, take action and let China know that it must improve its human rights record before the Summer Olympics begin on August 8th.

Sincerely,

Larry Cox
Executive Director, Amnesty International USA

P.S. For details on several human rights defenders targeted by China, read Amnesty International's new report The Olympics Countdown: Crackdown on activists threatens Olympics Legacy (PDF).