NEWS

After a month and more than 50,000 petition signatures, an open letter, numerous radio shows, TV segments, blog posts, articles, and even YouTube videos about the company, LEGO has decided to listen to girls! On Sunday, February 5, Michael McNally, Brand Relations Director, sent an email to SPARK Movement. SPARK, a girl-fueled movement to end the sexualization of girls, is a coalition of more than 70 organizations and reaches tens of thousands of girls and those who support their healthy development. LEGO has accepted SPARK’s request for a meeting to discuss how they can go back to offering all LEGO toys to both boys and girls and to respect girls’ hunger and desire to play with toys that challenge them creatively and intellectually.

In response to their new Friends line, which includes Barbie-like, skinny, mini-skirted girls in settings such as a beauty salon, a bakery, and a splash pool, SPARK demands that LEGO, the third largest toy company in the world, encourage girls to build, construct, imagine, dream and create a world that can include both hair stylists and rocket scientists, cupcake bakers and fire chiefs. In SPARK’s Change.org petition, they demanded that LEGO stop selling out girls. More than 52,000 people have signed on already, and the conversation about LEGO Friends has become global.

LEGO has defended the Friends line, saying that it’s the result of 4 years of research into how girls play and what they want, and that they have plenty of other offerings for girls. However, LEGO’s website features 86% male characters, and the majority of the female characters come from the new Friends line. LEGO’s marketing strategy consistently ignores girls who have interests beyond make-up and cupcakes. Putting the focus of LEGO on “beauty” as opposed to creativity places unnecessary limits on girls’ interests. While there is nothing wrong with an interest in pastel-colored LEGOs, making “looking pretty” as opposed to “building things” the focus of a multi-million dollar advertising campaign serves only to limit all kids in the long run.

Aeroflot, Russia's national airline, celebrates its 89th birthday this week. But don't expect many Russian activists to mark the occasion with cake and candles. Instead, Russian activists are taking the opportunity to draw attention to what they say is Aeroflot's extremely anti-gay record -- including the company's refusal to recognize an LGBT group for employees, as well as reports that Aeroflot forced a 25-year-old gay flight attendant, Maxim Kupreev, to marry a woman if he wanted to keep his job.

And now these Russian activists are asking for your help. They want to hold Aeroflot accountable for its record on LGBT issues, so they're holding an all-day online action on Thursday, February 9, to pressure Sky Team -- a global alliance of airline carriers, of which Aeroflot is a member. They want Sky Team to remove Aeroflot from the alliance unless it commits to improving its LGBT record.

During the same week where Russian lawmakers passed an extremely anti-gay law that could criminalize "the promotion of homosexuality," these activists are looking to draw international attention to the marginalization of LGBT people in Russia.

So how can you help?

In September, a horrifying video came to light at Abia State University in Nigeria, depicting five men gang-raping a young woman as she begged them to just kill her. Concerned citizens in Nigeria and around the world, activists, and bloggers called for the "ABSU5" to be brought to justice, denouncing the culture of impunity that led these criminals to believe they could get away with taping and distributing their assault. Yet University and Abia State officials refused to take action, denying the violent act occurred in their jurisdiction without investigating. The Assistant Commissioner of Police, J.G. Micloth, even claimed that the brutal attack looked consensual -- or was punishment for the girl somehow shaming her boyfriend -- to excuse their failure to act.

More than 90,000 Change.org members worldwide signed a petition by Adetomi Aladekomo, a Nigerian rape survivor now living in Canada, calling for these men to be arrested and prosecuted. Finally, last month Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Mohammad Adoke intervened in the case, demanding that the Inspector-General of Police investigate the assault. Carol Aije, a Nigerian lawyer who deals with sexual violence cases across the country and has collaborated with the Change.org campaign, directly petitioned the Attorney General's office urging this action, adding to the protests occurring online and on the ground.

This is significant progress. But the campaign isn't over. Though Attorney General Adoke ordered a full investigation, it hasn't happened yet. And Nigeria's law enforcement has been all stirred up, with former Inspector-General Hafiz Ringim removed from his position for incompetence dealing with terrorism. For the campaign to succeed, international attention must continue to make sure that the new Inspector-General, Mohammad Abubakar, follows through with the investigation, and the Attorney General keeps an eye on the proceedings.

Adetomi also hopes to see a law strengthening violence against women legislation, which would also help victims such as Franca Ogbu, a student deeply disfigured by an acid attack whose assailant remains at large. To add your voice to Adetomi's campaign and help bring the gang-rapists to justice, you can sign the petition here.

Late last week, Donald Kagan, who received a kidney transplant that saved his life, started a petition on Change.org. It was for another man fighting a battle to live and see his daughter grow up—Jesus Navarro. Navarro is an Oakland father who has waited six years for a transplant, has insurance to cover the cost of the surgery, and has a wife who hopes to donate her kidney. But UCSF Medical Center won’t perform the life-saving transplant for one reason: Jesus is undocumented.

UCSF argues that, as an undocumented immigrant, Navarro will not be able to afford future treatments, but his supporters argue otherwise and have lined up willing donors to aid him in his long-term care. Since Donald started his petition, tens of thousands have signed. His campaign for Jesus has been covered by ABC 7- San Francisco, CBS 5- SF, NBC Latino, and the Huffington Post. Everyone from doctors and nurses to the children of parents who faced kidney failure have expressed outrage that UCSF would let a man die on their watch simply because of his immigration status. Below is a sample of comments from Donald's viral petition:

I am a graduate of UCSF School of Medicine, Class of 1973. I am also a believer in the worth and dignity of every individual, without regard to race, religion, gender, national origin -- or status of documentation! Let's just move the case mentally for a moment to the Jim Crow south and see how the morality of it all plays out. Sometimes institutions need to step forward and do the right thing. UCSF may have just met that moment.

-Charles Torrey, Vashon, WA

If you're reading this, you've probably noticed that your mayor is not on the current list of Mayors for the Freedom to Marry -- a broad-based and nonpartisan group of mayors who believe that all people should be able to share in the love and commitment of marriage.

More than 150 mayors from across the U.S. have signed the Mayors for the Freedom to Marry Statement, because they understand that the strength and health of our cities are enhanced when all families are protected and supported. And they know that many people in loving and committed same-sex relationships are active participants in improving our communities, and they've seen how important marriage has been for them and their families.

Here's how you can launch a powerful petition on Change.org, urging your mayor to join Mayors for the Freedom to Marry:

Every Super Bowl has those one or two ads that everyone is talking about around the watercooler the next day. Remember last year’s Chrysler commercial starring Detroit and Eminem? And that adorable (and notably genderless) kid in the Darth Vader costumewho magically started the family car?It’s no wonder companies spend big ad bucks on the big game. $3.5 million for a 30 second spot buys access to over 110 million viewers, many of whom tune in as much for the ads as for the game. In fact, 66 percent of female viewers say they watch as much or more for the ads, compared to 46 percent of male viewers.

Yet the same polls suggest that men are regularly more satisfied with the ads than women. Why? Because many Super Bowl advertisers turn to sexist, racist, and otherwise offensive stereotypes to market their wares. GoDaddy is a regular offender, showcasing racecar driver Danica Patrick as a sex object rather than a driving champion. And last year Pepsi Max went for a double whammy of racism and sexism with an ad that may or may not have been poking fun at First Lady Michelle Obama. And who could forget Groupon’s ad from last year, making light of the plight of the people of Tibet to promote their services?

Some folks choose to skip watching the bowl altogether rather than rage at the ads. But this year there’s a way to voice your displeasure and make a real change in the way Super Bowl ads are framed. Miss Representation, the movie turned movement to challenge the portrayal of women and girls in the media, is calling for Super Bowl viewers to tweet their displeasure with sexist Super Bowl ads by using the tag #NotBuyingIt. Viewers on this tag will be asking others tweeting about the #SuperBowl who the ad was directed at and what message was sent about gender.

Imagine living in a prison with clogged toilets that overflow. Or taking a shower with your feet in stagnant water that won't drain. Then imagine that you started a petition on Change.org to change those conditions and over 10,000 people signed on in support. But when you asked prison officials to meet and discuss these issues with you, they refused.

It's hard to believe but officials at the California Division of Juvenile Justice are refusing to allow just two young people currently housed at their Ventura, CA facility to attend a meeting with DJJ officials and representatives from the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. Lino Silva is one of the youths who is not being allowed to attend this meeting.

Lino started a petition that now has more than 10,000 signatures and asks the Division of Juvenile Justice to address the Ventura facility’s broken toilets, stagnant water, sewage, and exposure to chemical agents. So what was the DJJ's response?

Hey everyone! It's William from Change.org. I wanted to pass on this message from Stef Gray about the amazing progress her campaign against Sallie Mae's "unemployment penalty" is making. Read on:

Whoa! Sallie Mae just blinked!

Today, only a couple of hours after I delivered 77,000 petition signatures from Change.org users to Sallie Mae’s front door, the company issued a statement saying that it would start applying its $50 per loan forbearance fee to customers’ loan balances instead of simply pocketing the cash. They’re obviously hearing your voices loud and clear!

I want to recognize how big Sallie Mae’s shift is. Previously, the company had called this fee a “good faith deposit”, even though it wasn’t a deposit at all! After so many people doubted Sallie Mae could be moved even a little bit, this policy change certainly comes as welcome news.

But it still isn’t enough, and my campaign isn’t over. Their move today does nothing to help borrowers like me, who graduated into the worst job market for new grads since World War II. The unemployed, the underemployed, and others facing economic hardship have no extra money to pay this onerous penalty.

The fact is, there’s still no reason Sallie Mae should be charging its private loan customers this fee when it’s not charged to their federal loan customers. The United States federal government doesn’t think people need to leave a “good-faith deposit” when requesting a forbearance for financial hardship -- why does Sallie Mae think this is necessary?

In fact, there are lots of questions Sallie Mae needs to publicly answer:

• Instead of this half-measure, why doesn’t Sallie Mae go all the way to remove this onerous burden from its worst-off borrowers?
• Does Sallie Mae still earn interest off the fees until they're released to borrowers?
• More importantly, do they get to continue counting the fees as cash on their financial books until the fee is applied to the loans?
• The Associated Press reports that their new policy will be retroactive to January 1 of this year. Why not make it retroactive to when they began charging this fee? This doesn’t give me back the $300 I’ve already paid!
• Why doesn’t Sallie Mae offer any forms of consolidation or income-based repayment to its student debtors?

It’s obvious to me that Sallie Mae isn’t at all serious about providing relief to distressed borrowers. Thankfully, there’s more you can do to push Sallie Mae to do the right thing:

• You can call Sallie Mae spokeswoman Patricia Christel at (302) 283-4076 and tell her you want them to drop their unemployment penalty. Here’s a sample script you can use:My name is _____, and I’m calling because Sallie Mae needs to go all the way to help distressed borrowers. Drop the unemployment penalty now!
• You can post a message to their Facebook Wall- here’s a sample message you can use:I won’t be fooled by Sallie Mae’s financial tricks and half-measures. If you’re serious about helping distressed borrowers like Stef Gray, you need to offer a real solution. Drop your unemployment penalty NOW! http://t.co/fiFCxMdG
• You can also call them out on Twitter! Just post this message:No more tricks! If @SallieMae is serious about helping distressed borrowers, they’ll drop the unemployment penalty NOW! http://chn.ge/SallieMae

I understand that my student debt is my responsibility. It’s a debt I want to pay back. But when my mom told me that education was the key to my future, neither of us knew the game was so rigged against borrowers like me. No student considering college, or who’s in college now, should be duped into using Sallie Mae’s private financial products.

-- Stef Gray

On February 8th, 2012, please join parents, clergy, and medical professionals at 7am in front of the Duval County Courthouse in Jacksonville, Florida (330 East Bay Street), in a peaceful protest against the handling of Cristian Fernandez in the adult justice system. Cristian was barely 12 years old when he was charged as an adult in the death of his brother. If he is convicted on February 27th he faces life without parole.

The case of Cristian Fernandez has attracted local, state, national and even international attention through a Change.org petition created by Melissa Higgins, a mother concerned about the treatment of children in America's criminal justice system. Almost 180,000 people and organizations have signed Melissa's petition asking Florida State Attorney Angela Corey to reverse the decision to try Cristian as an adult.

If you have questions about the rally or would like to confirm you participation, you can send and email to savecristian@yahoo.com and you can find additional information at savecristian.org.

The rally was set to coincide with a 9am hearing at the courthouse where the judge would rule on motions filed by the defense, but that hearing has since been canceled. Cristian's supporters will still convene and display support for him.

EVENT DETAILS:
When: Wednesday, February 8, starting at 7am
Where: Duval County Courthouse, 330 East Bay Street (Google Map)
What: A peaceful rally/protest against the handling of Cristian in adult court
How: Participants will be given signs to hold and/or other visuals
Who: The rally is being organized by Melissa Higgins, Alicia Torres

Here is a flyer you may print and distribute advertising this event:
http://justice4juveniles.com/cristianfernandezfiles/pdfs/feb8flyer3.pdf

Seven months ago, Rose Escobar’s worst nightmare came true. Her husband, loving father to then 1-year-old baby Walter and the main financial provider for the family, was picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and placed in detention. A faulty lawyer had advised him not to attend a hearing to renew the Temporary Protected Status that was granted to him as an immigrant fleeing violence and natural disasters in El Salvador, and this had triggered a deportation order.

What followed were the most difficult months of Rose’s life as she struggled to make ends meet and provide for her son who stood in front of the window everyday calling for his dad. But an amazing thing happened—after Rose started a campaign on Change.org to free her husband, thousands began to sign. FIEL Houston, a local student-led organization, saw her petition and offered to help, staging a vigil in front of the detention center attended by more than 50 local supporters. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee got involved and contacted ICE on Rose’s behalf. And after more than 4,000 signed Rose’s petition and the story was covered by the Houston Chronicle and multiple local TV stations, Jose was finally freed and is now home with his family.