Category — action

Stephen Soldz makes the case for an independent investigation of psychologists’ aid to abusive interrogations. Join the effort to make it happen.

APA Ethics Policy-Maker Endorses Torture « Psychologists for Social Responsibility Blog.

AlterNet has launched its Top Ten Hottest Take Action campaigns for social change — a tool for you to check out what’s bubbling among the most important progressive campaigns in the country, and what you can do to get involved. This week, they’re highlighting Amnesty International’s campaign to save death row inmate Troy Davis’s life, efforts to hold Shell Oil accountable for its environmental and human rights crimes, and CODEPINK’s Mothers for Peace action for Mother’s Day.

Check out AlterNet’s 10 Hottest Activist Campaigns

FROM PsySR: The previously classified memos that the U.S. Justice Department released last week provide further details on the disturbing role that psychologists and other health professionals played in the systematic torture and abuse of prisoners detained by the U.S. You can read the four memos HERE

We quote below from a letter that President Barack Obama sent to the CIA, about the release of the memos:

“In releasing these memos, the men and women of the CIA have assurances from both myself, and from Attorney General Holder, that we will protect all who acted reasonably and relied upon legal advice from the Department of Justice that their actions were lawful. The Attorney General has assured me that these individuals will not be prosecuted and that the Government will stand by them.”

We urge our U.S. members to contact your representatives in Congress (Capitol Switchboard is 202-225-3121), the White House (202-456-1111), and the American Psychological Association Ethics Office (202-336-5930 or 800-374-2721), to share your concerns about the need for full investigation and disclosure, including the role played by psychologists and other health professionals, and for appropriate accountability.

The Washington Post- Psychologists Helped Guide Interrogations

This post ’s designed to ask NIH to devote more stimulus money to prevention work in communities, in line the President’s vision. Visit the sight and sign on to their petition.

As members of the prevention science community, we are concerned about the research priorities of the National Institutes of Health as indicated by its plans for spending the $10 billion in stimulus funds allocated under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

President Obama has clearly articulated an agenda for bringing about change in our communities through evidence-based programs and comprehensive efforts to address the risk factors that put people at risk for multiple problems. Yet the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and NIH funding of research that would advance these priorities is extremely limited.

Biological and behavioral research has brought us to the point where it is possible to substantially improve human wellbeing in most American communities.1 Nevertheless, actual wellbeing—especially in impoverished communities—lags far behind what the evidence shows could occur. Prevention science can help us reach that goal.

via The Economic Stimulus and Prevention « Nurturing Environments.

 On Friday, Good Morning America ran an inaccurate and unbalanced story, painting public pre-kindergarten as a “scam” and a “waste of money.” 

The three-minute segment did not have a single word about the four decades of research proving that quality pre-k benefits all children or that it returns $2 or more for every dollar we invest.

Add your name to the petition to GMA producers and help make sure our children don’t pay the price for news stories that omit the facts about pre-k!

Take Action: Stand up to media attacks on pre-k

 ACORN member Donna Hanks re-took her home.Foreclosed on last Fall, the house has stood empty since then, a stark reminder of the failure of the system. But Donna joined with 30 ACORN Home Defenders to liberate her home from the bank. Her act of civil disobedience was covered by 2 radio stations, 2 TV stations, the Baltimore Sun, and the Huffington Post. 

Donna used bolt cutters to break the lock to the door and re-enter the home. Unfortunately, in the six short months since the home was seized, it has been extensively damaged, essentially partially gutted. The toilets are missing, and the upstairs ceiling is badly damaged. The greatest tragedy here is that Donna worked for months with ACORN sister organization ACORN Housing Corporation to try to get the bank to modify the loan so it could be affordable, but they refused, taking the home and now allowing it to be a haven for squatters and a target of looters.  

My Mother and I Dont Leave | Video | AlterNet

Lawmakers in Georgia and Florida are beginning to use ‘budget cuts’ as an excuse for targeting programs and courses on sexuality, queer and women’s studies. Georgia State University is being forced to testify TODAY in front of the state senate about ‘questionable’ faculty research and course offerings on sexuality. At Florida Atlantic University, the administration is trying to suspend the Women’s Studies program.

Please help by signing the petition below, and forwarding this to anyone else who may be interested in signing on. We have the support of several hundred academics so far, we need more.

McCarthyism is alive and well in these states. Your state could be next.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/savesexualitystudiesnow

President Obama has ordered an abrupt halt in the Gitmo Show Trials. From Peter Finn at the Washington Post:

In one of its first actions, the Obama administration instructed military prosecutors late Tuesday to seek a 120-day suspension of legal proceedings involving detainees at the naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba — a clear break with the approach of the outgoing Bush administration.

Obama Fulfills Promise: Starts Moving Quickly on Gitmo | PEEK | AlterNet

Local gay, lesbian, straight citizens to protest passage of anti-gay constitutional amendments in Arizona, Florida, California 

A group of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and straight citizens will take to the streets of dozens of cities to protest the passage of Proposition 8, California’s anti-gay marriage amendment, as well as other anti-gay ballot initiatives in Arkansas, Arizona and Florida. 

Every day since Election Day, thousands have protested up and down streets in cities across California, including in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and Sacramento. A national, grassroots coalition of LGBT activists have followed in their footsteps. 

On Nov. 15, 1:30 p.m. EST/10:30 a.m. PST, in large cities and state capitals across the country, Pro-Equality supporters will raise public awareness of the need for LGBT equality in marriage and in other civil right

JOIN THE IMPACT: UNITE FOR LGBTQ EQUALITY – Join the Impact

Apple – Hot News – All
No on Prop 8
October 24, 2008
Apple is publicly opposing Proposition 8 and making a donation of $100,000 to the No on 8 campaign. Apple was among the first California companies to offer equal rights and benefits to our employees’ same-sex partners, and we strongly believe that a person’s fundamental rights — including the right to marry — should not be affected by their sexual orientation. Apple views this as a civil rights issue, rather than just a political issue, and is therefore speaking out publicly against Proposition 8.