Lakota Sioux Indian representatives declared sovereign nation
status on Wednesday, December 19th 2007 in Washington
D.C. following Monday’s withdrawal from all previously signed
treaties with the U.S. Government. The withdrawal, hand
delivered to Daniel Turner, Deputy Director of Public Liaison at
the State Department, immediately and irrevocably ends all
agreements between the Lakota Sioux Nation of Indians and
the United States Government outlined in the 1851 and 1868
Treaties at Fort Laramie, Wyoming.

“This is a historic day for our Lakota people,” declared Russell
Means, Itacan of Lakota. “United States colonial rule is at its
end!”

“Today is a historic day and our forefathers speak through us.
Our Forefathers made the treaties in good faith with the sacred
Canupa and with the knowledge of the Great Spirit,” shared
Garry Rowland from Wounded Knee. “They never honored the
treaties, that’s the reason we are here today.”



These are great news for those who (still) believe in poetic
justice and a slap in the face for the U.S. authorities who
usually ride roughshod over people's rights and liberties
without paying the bill for those misdeeds. It is to be hoped
that more indigenous peoples will follow suit.

Read more at the Independent Media Center.

For a brilliant historical account of the dispossession, expulsion
and deprivation of the Native American Indians in the late 19th
century see Dee Brown, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.

- I am in solidarity with all those who are fighting throughout
the world to eliminate extreme poverty.

- I want to contribute to promoting respect for the dignity of all
people, and their effective access to human rights.

- I want to join efforts to enable those living in extreme poverty
and exclusion to participate fully in their societies, including the
commemoration of October 17th, International Day for the
Eradication of Poverty.

- I ask all members of civil society, local and national
authorities, and the United Nations to:

* Consider those in extreme poverty as the first to take action
in the fight against poverty;
* Ensure that people living in poverty fully participate in the
development, implementation and evaluation of policies and
programmes that concern them and that are inspired by a
commitment to a world without poverty - a world where the
rights to family life, decent work, social, cultural and political
participation are respected;
* Support events organized each October 17th to ensure that
the participation of people with direct experience of poverty be
at the heart of the International Day for the Eradication of
Poverty.
* Participate in an ongoing, long-term dialogue with people
who, in refusing to accept extreme poverty, are building peace.

Sign the Call to Action and/or attend an event nearby today!
We can make a difference!
ReSist * bt

As the Transparency International Global Corruption Report 2007
concludes, persistent corruption in low-income countries requires
global action. However, action is also needed in many western
countries - among them Austria, which lost 4 places in the
Transparency International Corruption Perception Index.

Download:
Global Corruption Report 2007
CPI tables and sources
CPI worldmap
Website:
Transparency International

reSist * bt

Stop Global Warming Virtual March
13/09/2007
LOSS OF POLAR BEARS BY 2050
The U.S. Geological Survey reported in September 2007
that two-thirds of the world's polar bears could vanish by 2050
if melting sea ice predictions prove accurate.
Worse, sea ice in the Arctic might be disappearing faster than
the computer models predict due to global warming, making the
polar bear more imperiled.
It is clear global warming threatens polar bears with extinction
and they need to be protected under the Endangered Species
Act. Click Here to add your voice in support of protecting
polar bears and their critical habitat. Let's take action NOW!

Click Here for the NY Times story on the report.

1 million people, 192 countries, 1 voice!
online campaigning for peace can have an impact,
as the avaaz report shows.
there's hope! *www
.

From: Ben Wikler - Avaaz.org <avaaz@avaaz.org>
Date: May 15, 2007 5:53 PM
Subject: 72 hours to join Desmond Tutu against poverty

This Friday, the finance ministers from the world's eight richest
countries will meet to plan the G8 summit. That morning, we
will send them an urgent letter on global poverty, signed by key
global figures: Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson--and, we hope,
you.

Our message: keep your promise to provide 0.7% of national
income in effective aid to relieve extreme poverty. Millions of
lives are at stake. The more people sign the letter, the more
powerful our demand becomes. Click here to sign:


http://www.avaaz.org/en/g8_poverty_letter

The statistics of global poverty are shocking. Each day, 20,000
children die preventable deaths in poor countries. That's why
the broken promises of rich countries are so infuriating.

The world's rich countries have pledged 0.7% of their national
income to development aid. But these promises have not been
kept. In fact, outrageously, the G8 countries gave less in 2006
than in 2005.

At the same time, the last few years have seen an
unprecedented groundswell against global poverty--which has
led to new promises and, in some countries, real change. These
fights can be won. That's why we are working with our friends
at the Global Call to Action Against Poverty to assemble citizens
and celebrities behind a single call--for world leaders to keep
their word on global poverty.

Here's an excerpt from the letter:

Together you represent the world's economic powerhouses.
We write to ask that you also strive to represent the millions of
people whose lives are blighted by extreme poverty.

Aid is not a panacea. But Marshall Plan aid from the US
kick-started the rebuilding of a Europe shattered by war and
delivered real benefits to the US in terms of new markets for its
goods. Aid to East Asia helped catalyse the economic miracles
that have lifted millions of people out of poverty. Today many
African governments are using aid to underwrite growth and
provide essential schools, health services and water supplies
for their people. The poorest countries in the world need you to
honour these aid pledges if they are to meet the Millennium
Development Goals and end poverty. Please seize that chance
today.

The letter will be delivered Friday with big ads in the Financial
Times and German press, just in time for the G8 finance
ministers' meeting. Click here to join Desmond Tutu by signing
on:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/g8_poverty_letter

With hope,

Ben, Ricken, Galit, Iain, Graziela, Paul, and the Avaaz team
Bert and the weitweitweg productions team

PS Once you've signed, please pass this email along to ten
friends. It's hard to think of anything more urgently
important--and, at the same time, so achievable, than the fight
against global poverty. Let's show these finance ministers how
much we value human life.

reSist! *www

we shall never forget!
reSist*www

Ending Extreme Poverty, A Road to Peace
CALL TO ACTION
In May 2006, human rights defenders from four continents, and
from diverse social backgrounds, met in Montreal to explore
ways of strengthening the movement to eradicate extreme
poverty. They reviewed the results of a wide consultation with
NGOs, trade unions, United Nations Member States and
specialized agencies, which had been mandated by a UN
General Assembly Resolution.
At the end of the meeting, they launched this appeal to all those
striving for peace and justice to support efforts to widen the
impact of October 17th 2007, International Day for the
Eradication of Poverty.

I support the action and signed the petition
because, in my opinion, poverty is the main obstacle to human
development and a main source for ongoing violent conflict. It
also obstructs social justice both at national and global level
and it represents the means for the rich and powerful elite to
control, oppress and abuse the poor and powerless for their
selfish ends which are highly detrimental to the planet. Thus,
eradicating poverty must be the overriding goal for all who
want to make the earth a better and more lively place for all its
inhabitants.

So let's take action - sign the petition here!
more info: oct17org_call-to-action (pdf, 261 KB)

OF CIVILIZATIONS! - watch the video.
Talk is rising of a ‘clash of civilizations’. But the problem isn’t
culture, it’s (U.S.) politics – from 9/11 to Guantanamo, Iraq to
Iran. This clash is not inevitable, and we don't want it. Please sign
the petition and spread the message!
reSist! bt