Random Pre-Vacation Updates

Success! In November I posted about Burger King’s refusal to increase its tomato pickers’ pay by a measly 1¢/bucket (Is Burger King Penny Foolish?). After months of activism, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers finally won a 1.5¢/bucket increase. (Can you believe that amounts to a 71% increase in their pay?) Thank you to everyone who sent a letter! The wage agreement was signed at the U.S. Capitol, with pictures here.

Random update #2: At the risk of sounding Twittery: I bought a new backpack! And it's almost 100% recycled — which I didn’t even realize at first. My old backpack (which I love) is disintegrating to the point where I’m nervous about carrying the laptop in it. I went to REI (I ♥ REI) and narrowed the choices down to two: one by North Face and an intriguing blue pack by Osprey, a company I’d never heard of. As I was trying to make up my mind and reading the little card, I saw that the Osprey React is made mostly of recycled PET — essentially plastic water/ soda bottles. I was impressed because the recycled bottle-made stuff I’ve seen in the past had a yicky feel. This might be just a tad shinier than other packs, but mostly it just looks like the usual waterproof fabric. I wouldn’t have guessed this was recycled if the card attached to he pack hadn’t mentioned it. The ReSource recycled series has several daypacks and courier bags here.

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Bloggers Unite for Human Rights: Darfur

Today is Blog Catalog’s “Bloggers Unite for Human Rights” day, which is certainly timely. After weighing several different topic ideas, I’m going to use my post to urge the United Nations to take action in Darfur. From Human Rights Watch:

“The conflict in Darfur is in its fifth year. Sudanese soldiers and government-backed militias have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur by waging a campaign of “ethnic cleansing” and forced displacement by bombing and burning villages, killing civilians, and raping women. An estimated 2.5 million people have been forced from their homes and at least 200,000 are dead as a result of the violence. These attacks continue to take place today.

“A hybrid United Nations/African Union Peacekeeping force for Darfur was authorized in July 2007. However, because of obstruction by the Sudanese government, barely one-third of the force has been deployed . . . Sudan has repeatedly stated its refusal to cooperate with the Court or hand over the suspects. No senior government official has been made subject to targeted UN sanctions in relation to the events in Darfur.”

The situation in Darfur can often feel overwhelming. Yet anyone can join in pressuring the United Natons to take specific action to deploy the remaining 2/3 of the authorized peacekeeping force.

• Human Rights Watch has an editable message, for sending via email or ptinting in letter form, as well as auto-links to the ambassadors of all Security Council members.
  
  
• Not a letter writer? Save Darfur offers information on divesting from mutual funds that own stock in companies that help fund genocide in Darfur. (First Lady-hopeful Cindy McCain just divested $2 million of her own holdings in mutual funds with ties to Sudan.)

Today’s mitzvah: Take action for Darfur.

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World Press Freedom Day

UNESCO has designated May 3rd as World Press Freedom Day, noting the anniversary of the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights. It’s so easy to take freedom of expression for granted in the U.S., but many writers — and bloggers — are not so lucky.

This year’s focus is press censorship in China, especially with the Olympics coming up. The World Association of Newspapers (WAN) provides animated commentary:




What can you do to show your support for World Press Freedom Day? Support Amnesty International USA’s “Call for an Olympic Year of Freedom of Expression in China.” This web site link allows you to send an email message to Chinese representatives urging release of journalists imprisoned for speech issues, including Shi Tao:

Using his Yahoo! account, he emailed a US-based website, sharing the details of an internal government directive barring media reports that could fuel unrest during the 15th anniversary of Tiananmen Square crackdown. Shi was sentenced to 10 years in prison for “illegally providing state secrets to foreign entities.” Disturbingly, Yahoo! provided information to the government for his prosecution. Call on the Chinese Government to release Shi Tao from detention immediately and unconditionally, to ensure that foreign and domestic journalists are provided full media freedom and that the right to freedom of expression and information is protected online.

Today’s mitzvah: How might you support World Press Freedom Day?

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Keeping home sweet home

It’s hard to avoid news of problems in the U.S. economy, whether watching presidential primary debates, wondering when we’ll receive economy stimulating “rebate” checks, or reading about families losing their homes to foreclosure. Working America, the AFL-CIO’s community based affiliate, is lobbying leading mortgage lenders to institute a one-year moratorium on home foreclosures related to “sub-prime loans,” as well as urging the conversion of “predatory” loans to more conventional fixed 30-year mortgages.

Today’s mitzvah: Your voice matters. Support Working America’s email campaign for a freeze on home foreclosures. While you’re there you might also consider joining the group (their slogan: Building A Better Future for Working Families); membership is an affordable 5 bucks/year.

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Pen Pals

Home recovering from a hospital stay, the daily mail becomes a big high point in the day (one can only watch so much TV!). When today’s mail brought just another pile of bills and credit card offers, I started thinking of the old-fashioned hobby of pen pal letters. These were so popular when I was a kid — I wondered if this hobby had survived heightened concerns about privacy and wariness about strangers that are part of present day life.

I found a neat site, Friendship by Mail: Snail Mail Friends, that seems to be comprised of women who like to write to each other and really enjoy making envelopes, thinking of imaginative tiny “tuck-ins” for the letters, and just generally chatting with others. The group also publishes a snail mail newsletter called Inky Trail News, to match pen pals with similar interests or birthdays; and a Pen Pal blog with ideas for making one’s own stationery, tips on how to write a good pen pal letter, etc. As with anything online, certainly be cautious, but this sounds like a fun group for those who would like to write and receive more letters.

Today’s mitzvah: Drop a postcard or a real letter to a friend or relative. For those who are more ambitious, consider joining a targeted group like Chemo Angels, or find a “birthday twin” or other writing pal at Friendship by Mail.

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Angel Mail with “Chemo Angels”

I was blog surfing yesterday enjoying entries for the Bloggers Unite “Acts of Kindness” day. Among the wonderful and inspiring posts, I stumbled on Skeet’s blog and a mention of a lovely group called Chemo Angels. The organization matches cancer patients with volunteer “angels” who send a card or a small gift ($5–$10 range) each month during chemotherapy treatment, just to keep the person’s spirits up. Is this cool or what? Everything is done through the mail, so location is unimportant. The organization has also started a Senior Angels program, with a longer time commitment but the same premise: a monthly card or small gift to let the recipient know they are remembered and appreciated.

Today’s mitzvah: Check out Chemo Angels/Senior Angels to see if this is the right volunteer opportunity for you, or if you know someone who might need an “angel.”

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Is Burger King “Penny Foolish”?

Yesterday’s New York Times ran a thoughtful Op-Ed piece, “Penny Foolish.” (Thank you to our friend the World Traveler for the heads-up!) Turns out the King isn’t so generous when it comes to paying farm workers, literally, an extra penny. Here’s an excerpt from the article, and a response from the faith community that allows you to help:

“In 2005, Florida tomato pickers gained their first significant pay raise since the late 1970s when Taco Bell ended a consumer boycott by agreeing to pay an extra penny per pound for its tomatoes, with the extra cent going directly to the farm workers. Last April, McDonald’s agreed to a similar arrangement, increasing the wages of its tomato pickers to about 77 cents per bucket. But Burger King, whose headquarters are in Florida, has adamantly refused to pay the extra penny — and its refusal has encouraged tomato growers to cancel the deals already struck with Taco Bell and McDonald’s... ”

A penny? C’mon. Our friends at the Christian activism magazine Sojourners have posted a link that allows you to send an email message directly to Burger King executives urging them to rethink this decision and treat farm workers fairly.

Today’s mitzvah: Visit Sojourners and urge Burger King executives not to be “penny foolish.”

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