Hey, it’s not all bad news around the spinning globe. Don’t lose your balance… we just have to keep our feet on the ground. See the message below from Senators Tom Daschle and Bill Frist.

Dear TuneInTurnOnHelpOut.org,

I just returned from a trip to Rwanda with my friend Senator Bill Frist, MD and leaders from both political parties. Senator Frist and I went to Rwanda not as politicians, but as students, to learn about people who are rebuilding their country after the unspeakable horror of genocide.

My news from Rwanda is very encouraging. The hard work of the Rwandan people and the generosity of Americans are coming together in partnership to create a model for how we can end poverty in the most desperate countries on earth.

I came home more convinced then ever that we’re all in this together. Rwandans’ daily struggle to start anew, even as they deal with poverty and disease, is also our own struggle to build a more prosperous and safer world.

To further the progress in Rwanda and spread that hope, we need to take full advantage of this election year. That’s why Senator Frist and I will be meeting with our respective parties’ leaders in the next few weeks, as they’re writing the platforms that will be unveiled at the presidential nominating conventions in Denver and Minneapolis. These platforms contain the policies on which Barack Obama and John McCain will campaign for the presidency.

We’re going to ask these committees to make sure that their platforms take on the generational challenge of tackling global poverty, and we need your help to do it.

(more…)

An informative article submitted by former UN worker ASneakyPie - an issue that is close to her heart and to many others in the rest of the world.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/05/19/taylor.trial.ap/index.html

Dear friends,
Zimbabwe is in crisis.

A worldwide effort is needed to urge South Africa’s Thabo Mbeki to pressure his friend Robert Mugabe. A global petition is growing–

CLICK TO SIGN!

On Monday, March 31, thousands in 84 cities worldwide demonstrated for Tibet–and delivered the 1.6 million-strong petition to Chinese embassies and consulates. (Photos here.) However, despite escalating protests and pressure from world leaders, the crisis continues. Watch for more Avaaz alerts on Tibet soon!

Results still have not been released from the 29 March elections–and each day, more signals emerge that Mugabe will resort to violence and fraud to hold on to power.

Mugabe is unlikely to listen to the world’s outcry–but he might listen to his old friend and powerful neighbour Thabo Mbeki, president of South Africa. Click below to add your name to a petition calling for the results to be released, verified, and peacefully honored, and we will do all we can to deliver it to Mbeki–through diplomatic channels, over the radio, and in a public event when Mbeki travels to New York for a United Nations meeting next week.

The more of us sign the petition, the powerful the message that South Africa’s reputation as a world leader is on the line. Click here to add your name, and then forward this email to friends and family:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/democracy_for_zimbabwe/7.php?cl=76476193

South African president Thabo Mbeki said on Monday that “it’s time to wait” on Zimbabwe. But the more time passes, the greater the danger grows that the will of Zimbabwe’s people will be ignored. Avaaz launched this petition earlier in the week to its African members, and thousands signed on; now, we need people around the world to add their voices in solidarity and take the pressure to the next level.

In a crisis like this, a petition is just a small step–but it’s something all of us can do, to raise our voices and call for what’s right. And as history shows, international solidarity can be a powerful thing.

With hope,

Ben, Graziela, Ricken, Galit, Paul, Iain, Pascal, Milena, and Esra’a–the Avaaz.org team

PS: Here’s what to expect this week:

• On Saturday, leaders of the Southern Africa Development Community will gather in Lusaka, Zambia to discuss the crisis. We’re working to buy radio time to reach these regional leaders with Avaaz members’ global message.
• On Monday, the Zimbabwe high court has promised to decide whether to release of the voting results. But a lawyer for the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said Wednesday that it would be “dangerous” if the court did order the release, raising fears of violence.
• South Africa is chairing the United Nations Security Council this month, and Mbeki will be joined by other world leaders for a special meeting in New York on Wednesday. Expect Zimbabwe to be high on the agenda

Dear Friends,

The perennial diplomat that I am and that many friends fault me for, I must admit that I am guilty, but i believe that gaining full perspective is important — even in the case of war-criminal-shaping up to be the worst president (if one dares still call him that at this point) in United States history George W. Bush. Every now and then the old dog can surprise us. The article below about his aid to African nation Liberia is impressive. It is what makes America have the potential to be such a positive and powerful influence in the world. Does that make GW a good guy all of a sudden? Nah. Too much water under the bridge. It will take us decades to reverse the damage these liberty-snatching, constitution-bashing war-mongrels have caused in our once-great-State. But it does go to show that when the puppeteers who are pulling the strings let him (whoever they are), the man is capable of some downright good deeds.

A good friend of mine who works for the UN in Liberia sent me this article and I thought you all might find it interesting. In fact even a bit inspiring. Now, if we could just convince him to get his grubby hands out of Iraq and Iran and tend to his business here at home –i.e. the job he was hired to do — then he may not lose this game scoring a big fat -0- points. For now, he hasn’t even scored one point yet in a game that’s lasted seven long years. That’s a long time not to get even one point on the scoreboard. But hey, from what it looks like, not many people are even tuned in to the game. But you are. And thank god for YOU!

Yours, Ed Hale

Read ABC News article here:

Bush parting gift to liberia
Liberians Give Bush Two Medals in Gratitude for Bush’s ‘Legacy’ Gifts

By JON GARCIA
FREETOWN, LIBERIA, Feb 22, 2008

40 years ago today, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and this nation lost one of the greatest leaders for peace and justice that we have ever known. Read his words. Listen to his speech in the video below. He could easily be speaking to the American people today regarding our “new war”… it is eerie.

* * *

“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.”

* * *

“I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality… I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.”

* * *

“The time is always right to do what is right.”

* * *

Here’s a clip from one of Dr. King’s most powerful speeches:

P.S. If you had trouble clicking on the video above, try this link:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=b80Bsw0UG-U

Brought to us by our friends at http://pol.moveon.org/ – Aisling, Adam G, Adam R, Anna, Carrie, Daniel, Eli, Ilyse, Joan, Justin, Karin, Laura, Lenore, Marika, Matt, Nita, Noah, Patrick, Peter, Stephanie, Tanya, and Wes
MoveOn.org Political Action
Friday, April 4th, 2008

From our friends at International Rescue Committee

Girls will be girls. Even girls who have survived a brutal war and witnessed terror that none their age should ever face. Girls everywhere are full of beauty, boundless energy and resilience that can carry them through the worst of things. That’s what women’s advocate Ann Jones discovers working with IRC and the girls we help in Sierra Leone. If you’ve been following Ann’s blog on the Global Crescendo project in West Africa you already know the powerful change women can create when their voices are unleashed. Now, find out what the girls have to say. Photo: Ann Jones

Here Come the Girls
Read Ann’s recent blog post and see more photos

Send a Postcard
Spread the word about how the IRC is giving girls a better chance at life