Make sure some of the 9000 mothers and infanst that die every day will get to celebrate Mother’s Day next year

Nothing hurts a mother more than seeing her child suffer and not being able to provide relief. This Mother’s Day, close to 1,000 pregnant and new moms and more than 8,000 infants younger than a month old lost their lives, just like they do every single day. The sad fact is more than 7 million children die each year from almost entirely preventable causes. Sometimes it’s from lack of access to proper health care in the first hours, days or weeks of life. Sometimes it’s lack of access to vaccines, or proper sanitation. Sometimes it’s a simple lack of nutrition. But when a mother loses the battle for her child’s life, the reasons give way to grief.

It doesn’t need to be this way. Simple, cost-effective solutions exist to eradicate preventable child death in our lifetime. Solutions like insecticide-treated mosquito nets that prevent malaria and save half a million children’s lives per year. Or low cost vaccines that would prevent 4 million deaths in the next five years. CARE works hard to bring these and other solutions to the mothers that need them.

Please take the pledge to share this video so that we can spread CARE'S message all over the world. With your help, we can save the innocent lives and ensure that we will have more to celebrate on Mother’s Day next year.

CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. We place special focus on working alongside poor women because, equipped with the proper
resources, women have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty. Women are at the heart of CARE's community-based efforts
to increase access to quality health care, improve basic education, increase access to clean water and sanitation, expand economic opportunity and protect
natural resources. CARE also delivers emergency aid to survivors of war and natural disasters, and helps people rebuild their lives.

I apologize for my absence

I know I've been absent from here lately. Unfortunately that's in no way a sign of that there's less injustice in the world, or that less issues make me upset these days. Even the latter would be preferable to the real reason...

My now almost 8 month old baby was diagnose with a rare form of cancer a little over a month ago, so I'm sure you understand that taking care of him and, trying to deal with our devastation is about all I have time for.

I hope I'll be back to update this blog one day. In the meantime, please consider the following to make a difference for children suffering from cancer:

• Get on a list for bone marrow donors in your country. Numerous children die each year because no match can be found and, you can make a difference and save innocent lives.





• Educate yourself and others about childhood cancers in general and, retinoblastoma inparticular, so that you know the signs if it happens to a child close to you< starting treatment early is crucial for all this children!





• Make a donation to either one of the various organizations and funds promoting research. That is literally the only ope of finding a cure, so that no more parents will have to watch their children die a slow and agonizing death.





• Share this information with as many as humanly possible to help raise awareness.

Christian Fernandez update

Remember 12-year-old Christian fernandez? He still needs your help to let the state of Florida know that 12 year olds are children, as the fact that he so obviously is not an adult, doesn't seem to be enough.

Cristian's hearing has been moved from November 21st to December 5th. Cristian and his attorneys recently rejected a plea deal offered by the state because they do not want the boy to be forced to put in a plea of guilty to a murder charge. This would require him to carry the charge throughout his adult life and would hinder his ability to get a job and possibly go to college at a later date.

Please take a moment and write to Angela Corey or call her to urge her to allow Cristian's case to go to juvenile court. It is important to explain that any alternative in adult court is unacceptable because Cristian is 12 years old and a child.

Email Angela Corey at acorey@coj.net or call her office at 904-630-2400. It is important to emphasize that we are not willing to accept any alternative to trying Cristian as an adult. Please ask others to contact Angela Corey as well. This is a critical time for Cristian and so every effort will make a difference.

Thank you for all of your help and support. It is very much appreciated,

Help make Europe a death penalty free zone!

Today, The 10th of october, is the international abolish the death penalty day.
Capital punishment violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but thousands of people around the world are waiting for governments to kill them. In Europe however, only one country remains to abolish the death penalty before Europe as a whole can become a death penalty free zone.

Belarus is the last country in Europe and the former Soviet Union to carry out executions. Torture is often used to obtain a confession and, Prisoners on death row in Belarus are told that they will be executed only moments before the sentence is carried out.

They are executed by a shot to the back of the head. Sometimes more than one bullet is needed.

The families of the death row inmates are not informed and mothers of executed prisoners often come to visit their sons not knowing they are already dead. They are then denied the right to bury the body.

The death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights. It is the premeditated and cold-blooded killing of a human being by the state. This cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment is done in the name of justice.

Amnesty international is now collecting as many signatures as possible around the World Day Against the Death Penalty on 10 October, so that Viasna can deliver a powerful message to the Belarusian authorities. It's time to make europe a death penalty free zone, so sign the petition and start spreading the word!

Protest against executing innocent people

The readers digest currently has a contest on facebook and one of the contributions is about an innocent man being executed. The story with the most votes will get published in the readers digest. It is my belief that getting the story into the readers digest could serve as a protest against the death penalty and open up the readers eyes to the cruelty of this form of punishment, as well as to some extent make them aware of both the risks of, and reasons for, killing innocent people in the name of justice.
please vote for it here
You can vote once a day and share both this post and, or the actual link to the story. I will sincerely apriciate any help you can give me in this matter.

R.I.P Troy Davis

After a 4 hour delay, during which the supreme courte reviewed and then declined a final petition to stay the execution of Troy Davis, lethal injection was used to murder a potentially innocent man.

Troy Davis maintained his innocence until the end and, the state of Georgia has forever tarnished the concept of "justice" by carrying out this heinous act in it's name. It's unforgivable!!!

Appeals for Clemency and Reprieve from Execution for Troy Anthony Davis

You may have recently heard the news:

Today, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles co-signed on the decision to execute Troy Davis.
Despite overwhelming evidence pointing to his innocence -- evidence that prompted former FBI Director William Sessions and more than a million others to write in support of clemency -- Troy's execution is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, September 21.

In moments of immense sadness, moments that shake the foundation of our faith in the justice system and mankind, adequate words are scarce. But there are still a few hours left, and I need your help to save Troy Davis' life.

Chatham County District Attorney Larry Chisolm is the man who originally issued the death warrant against Troy Davis, and he is in a unique position to
petition the judge to withdraw that death warrant against Troy.

Since Troy Davis' conviction, the facts of the case have changed dramatically. The evidence in the Troy Davis case has always been circumstantial due to
a lack of relevant physical evidence and no murder weapon. The conviction was based almost wholly on witness testimony, and seven of the nine witnesses
have recanted their testimony or changed their stories.

In light of this knowledge, the evidence used to convict Troy Davis appears even weaker.

Here's what you can do to help:
Sign the following petitions:

Sign the petition to District Attorney Larry Chisolm. Ask him to petition the judge to withdraw the death warrant, and support clemency for Troy Davis:

An innocent life hangs in the balance. Tell DA Chisolm that he has your support in preventing Troy Davis' execution.
Amnesty international has a last minute petition as well
please go here to sign it

And then there's one at change.org

Change.org|Start
an Online Petition »

You can also help by sending the following letters, which I obtained from Change.org:

Letter 1

September [DATE], 2011

By Fax: (404) 651-8502

Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles

Atlanta, GA

Dear Board Members:

For the past several weeks, as pressure has mounted on both your agency and District Attorney Larry Chisolm to find a way to both serve justice for the community of Savannah and, especially, the family of officer Mark MacPhail, as well as correct what can only be described as the massive failures of the state of Georgia's judiciary to find, indict and try Officer MacPhail's actual, self-confessed murderer, I have worked and prayed that said self-confessed murderer would see reason and step forward to accept responsibility for the crime he committed - for which you have now ordered Troy Davis to die. This seemed to me to be the only way for the DA's office to save face, in light of the fact that the former DA, Spencer Lawton, and his office has been openly ridiculed by the US Attorney General for his handling of the case he concocted against Troy Davis. No one, I believe, envies the position you all have been in.

I write to you today not as a critic, nor an anti-death penalty advocate, nor even as merely a supporter of Troy Davis' but as a person who believes in the existence of immutable human ideals such as truth, freedom, and justice and our innate capacity to manifest as near as we may the closest representation of those ideals. I am neither an anachronism nor a renegade. Citizens all over the world have expressed in their support of Troy their belief in the core principle of "beyond a reasonable doubt" which sits at the heart of the American justice system and at the heart of their pleas to you for justice for Troy Davis. You all may feel as though you, alone, have been unfairly saddled with the burden of correcting the many injustices that have accumulated in the case against Troy Davis, but in reality (and notwithstanding the fact that each and every one of you signed up to be in just such a position, the last option to correct injustices such as that done to Mr. Davis), your work is but one part of that which is done by human rights activists the world over - the work of courageously (and sometimes at peril to ourselves) defending the ideal of justice.

We can do know finer work than this today, and today, it is the duty of you, in particular, to actively manifest justice for all those with a vested interest in this case because ideals never materialize except through our actions. I'm not asking you to set Troy Davis free - at least, not yet. But I am asking that you vacate the warrant for his execution and commute his sentence to life with the possibility of parole.

I am not going to stop pressuring those people who have the power to do so to try to get Sylvester Coles to turn himself in, and I am asking you to think about what you will do in the event that happens. If Troy Davis is martyred for the misguided notion that his death will be any type of justice for Officer MacPhail's murder, when so much doubt exists about his guilt, what are you going to say to the MacPhail and Davis families after Coles' turns himself in? 'Sorry' won't be enough, and instead of standing as what may well be the lone beacon of justice in Georgia, the Board of Pardons and Paroles will be seen as just another common bureau of incompetence and bias.

Please rethink your decision not to grant clemency to Troy Davis. Please act courageously to restore justice - and honor - to the state of Georgia's government and to all the parties involved in this tragic case.

Thank you for your thoughtful consideration.

Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]


Letter 2:

September [DATE], 2011

By Fax: (404) 651-8502

Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles

Atlanta, GA

Dear Board Members:

By Fax: (404) 331-0283, (404) 420-5169

info@cartercenter.org



Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy Carter

The Carter Center

One Copenhill

453 Freedom Parkway

Atlanta, GA 30307

Re: URGENT - EXECUTION OF TROY ANTHONY DAVIS

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Carter:

As you may know, a final Warrant for Execution for Georgia native, Troy Anthony Davis, was signed last week. He is scheduled to be executed September 21st. Until the people of prominence who've gotten involved with Davis intercede with the DA on behalf of the actual murderer of Officer Mark MacPhail, Redd Coles, to set up a plea deal for him for life in prison instead of the death penalty, he has no incentive to turn himself in, which is the last, best hope for Troy’s release and the only way the DA's office can save face. To my knowledge, this has not been tried by the ministers involved in this case, who are several (one of whom, a UCC minister, Rev. Marvin Morgan, even offered to die in Troy’s place, as you may know). I thought it was one of the main jobs of a Christian minister to help those who've done wrong learn the power of forgiveness by accepting responsibility for their actions. Why can't those ministers who've been involved with Troy act as a delegation and go talk to Coles and DA Larry Chisolm?

Please - will you contact Jesse Jackson, or Al Sharpton, or the afore-mentioned UCC minister and ask them to do these things? Coles' cousin (whose husband testified against him at Troy's ludicrous evidentiary hearing last June) has been trying to get Coles to turn himself in for a long time; I'm sure she would appreciate some help, and I know Troy would.

Thank you (for all you do).

Yours most sincerely,

[YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS]