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2K views 39 replies 28 participants last post by  dharmamama 
#1 ·
#2 ·
has anyone signed?????

Quote:
"WE BELIEVE that in the best American tradition of helping others help themselves, now is the time to join with other countries in a historic pact for compassion and justice to help the poorest people of the world overcome AIDS and extreme poverty. WE RECOGNIZE that a pact including such measures as fair trade, debt relief, fighting corruption and directing additional resources for basic needs - education, health, clean water, food, and care for orphans - would transform the futures and hopes of an entire generation in the poorest countries, at a cost equal to just one percent more of the US budget. WE COMMIT ourselves - one person, one voice, one vote at a time - to make a better, safer world for all."

Just do it!!

and pass it along!!
 
#8 ·
also drawn in by Brad...

great idea, and I signed, though I had to laugh at their efforts to stop government corruption, which is exactly the reason we need a movement like this in the first place, because the powers that be would never give 1% of the budget to charity without being overwhelmed by voters! lol
 
#12 ·
Yes, indeed, how ridiculous of us to try & raise awareness!

Quote:
No matter what else can be said against cyber petitions (and so far we've said a great deal), they do serve one actual valuable purpose: They can sometimes be useful tools with which to acquaint folks with situations they might otherwise have little, if any, knowledge of. For instance, in those days prior to the September 11 attacks and the subsequent war on the Taliban, a cyber petition decrying the condition of women in Afghanistan worked to enlighten many as to what was going on half a world away.
 
#13 ·
hmmmmmmm,

well......................

uh, point taken. (was there a point meant?)

Cyber petitions, in and of themselves, prolly do little. OTHER THAN, raise awareness....................inspire some to action................call out ppl to DO something.

Also, let me argue that this snopes document was :

Quote:
Last updated: 18 March 2002
and since that time the effect of the internet has GREATLY changed.

Witness, the Dean campaign and others, as well as Move-on.org.

Lastly, let me say that my purpose in posting this thread was to get ppl to open that front page. To read the content. To move around the site. If you had done this perhaps you would have seen this:

Quote:
ONE billion people live on less than ONE dollar a day.

ONE by ONE, we can help them help themselves.

Sign up to add your voice to support The ONE Campaign Declaration. You will join the growing number of Americans who are getting involved online and in communities across the country to fight global AIDS and poverty through The ONE Campaign.
emphasis mine

or maybe you would have seen this:

Quote:
 
#20 ·
Quote:
which is exactly the reason we need a movement like this in the first place, because the powers that be would never give 1% of the budget to charity without being overwhelmed by voters!
I don't want the government to give money to charity. I want them to stop taking money out of our paychecks so I have more money to give to causes that I actually support.
 
#23 ·
Bump. Watched the Brad Pitt interview with Diane Sawyer last night and I feel guilty by association; apparently it costs $16 to send an African child to school for a year (according to Primetime live). Even if they are wrong and it costs double that I am blown away.

And although I understand the point about taking less money from the paycheck and letting us decide where to give it, I think that statistically very, very few people actually would give more if they had more; I think, generally, people would just buy more toys. I am a teacher with a huge load of debt (that doesn't include my student loans or my DP's tax bill), but I still have more than most Africans. According to the interview last night, the money is not all given as "charity" (a handout) either; one way to help the people of Africa is to provide small loans. A group of people (like a village) nominates a person for the loan, then the whole group takes responsibility for paying it back. Other ways include providing more drugs for AIDS patients and other illness (like TB).

Please continue to bump this periodically; the ONE campaign is only asking for signatures, not money, and it takes 30 seconds to sign. People who feel moved to give money, can, but if not it's just a signature.
 
#24 ·
I was in tears the entire show last night, and I actually sobbed out loud when they showed the 13-year-old girl who is struggling so hard to do well in school ... and then they said she probably had HIV (based on her symptoms). She is roughly the same age as our daughter, who is also is HIV+, who currently lives in the same country, and who has the same name as the girl they showed.

I signed.

I am going to buy 10 wristbands. If you want one, PM me your street address and I will send one to you.

Namaste!
 
#25 ·
Ps. Diane Sawyer did an interview in 1986 with a 12-year-old boy in a Malian refugee camp. A woman sitting in her kitchen in Indianapolis, IN, saw the interview and decided to adopt that boy. I was 12 years old then. 18 years later, my husband and I adopted a little boy from Ethiopia through the adoption agency founded by that woman from Indianapolis, IN, and I shook the hand of that young man from Mali who now has a Summa Cum Laude degree from Georgetown University.

Namaste!
 
#26 ·
Live8

Anybody here old enough to have seen Live Aid??
I had my best friend over for a sleep-over and we stayed up late to see all the cool bands.

I heard Bob Geldof on NPR this afternoon. He was on fire. He made a wonderful point. He said that George Bush, Tony Blair, Jaques Chiraque, Silvio Berlusconi, Canada's Paul Martin aaaaand... the head of Germany, whoes name escapes me at this moment, anyway Geldof says they're all on their way out and as such have nothing to loose and everything to gain for their legacies (and the world) if they were to support "doubling aid, fully cancelling debt, and delivering trade justice for Africa".

I suspect delvering trade justice for Africa will be the trickiest part.

This is a real political movement! Live8 isn't a concert to raise money, it's a lobby group, a PAC if you will.

And there's a huge difference between dopey internet petitions to raise money for non-existant children who need cancer surgery and petitions from legitimate organizations simply trying to raise our awareness and move us off our butts.
 
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