Sunday, September 30, 2012

Thank You For Taking a Stand for Israel

PLEASE HELP US RAISE MORE SUPPORT

The State of Israel has been fighting to remain a free Jewish state. Surrounded by hostile Arab and Muslim nations, and faced with a critically important battle for public opinion, Israel needs all the friends she can get. You’ve signed the Statement of Support – now spread the word!
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Rochester, NY
Victory!
Won with 194,528 supporters

Verizon: Don't make domestic violence victims pay to stay safe

by Cynthia Butterworth
Supporters are signing:
  1. IHS: Stop Blocking Native Women's Access to Emergency Contraception!
  2. Protect Pregnant Women: Free Bei Bei!
  3. Tell LEGO to stop selling out girls! #LiberateLEGO
  4. More
Victory!
September 27
After nearly 200,000 people joined her campaign, Verizon reached out directly to Cindy. They told her that after hearing her story, the realized they needed to improve their policies to ensure that what happened to Carol doesn't happen again. Not only are they improving training for customer service representatives dealing with domestic violence survivors who need to cancel contracts, but they will be rolling out an entire package of new policies and trainings to give representatives the ability to connect survivors with resources and programs they need to stay safe and start healing. Says Cindy, "“This is absolutely incredible news for me, for my family, and for all victims attempting to regain control of their lives. This is proof that one voice can make a difference, all it takes is speaking up and asking others for support.” Cindy and her family will continue working directly with Verizon as they implement the new policies and training for employees. "We can feel good knowing that no one else will ever have to go through what my sister did."
This summer, I got a phone call that nobody wants to receive; on the other end of the line between sobs I heard, "He beat me up." My sister had been attacked and beaten by her boyfriend and was in the emergency room.
Without even putting shoes on her feet, she quietly escaped their house in the middle of the night with nothing but her car key. Because he had taken her phone she went to a small pub around the corner to call her daughter, who lives 3 hours away and then drove there for help. Her glasses were broken, her nose was broken, her ribs were cracked, her heart was broken - she knew this was the beginning of a long and difficult journey to reclaim her life.  
After the initial shock and urgent care treatment, my sister began to take the necessary steps to keep herself safe and get away from her abusive partner.
As a couple, they were also business partners owning a mobile car mechanic service; it was her only source of income. She booked the appointments and ran the billings. They used her credit to secure a small loan, credit cards and bank accounts. Everything was joint or in the business' name, which meant her abuser had access to all of the accounts.  One of the first things she tried to do was cancel their shared contracts with Verizon Wireless - ending the contract was a complicated but extremely necessary step. If Verizon would not end the contracts, it meant that her abusive boyfriend would have continued access to all of her phone records and would know who she was calling and most horrifically, where she was calling from. My sister's life and safety, like many other survivors’, depended on being able to stay away from her abuser. She was shocked when Verizon informed her it would be $500 to end these contracts and stay safe.
She had no money – he had taken everything from her.  Not only was she emotionally shaken, but because of Verizon’s policies she would have to pay extra money to keep herself safe.
After a long battle, Verizon finally waived my sister's fees, but thousands of other victims of abuse are in her shoes right now, facing the choice between safety at a huge cost and continued danger.
One in four women and one in nine men are victims of domestic violence. An estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner every year.  It takes so much courage to step out of an abusive relationship, seek help and start over. And Verizon Wireless knows it. They even have programs to help victims of domestic violence, like HopeLine.
But Verizon Wireless is punishing these customers by charging an early termination fee, even when the contract must be broken because the abusive partner is in jail or a court has ordered a restraining order. They can and should do better.
Please sign my petition asking Verizon Wireless to create a policy that does not punish victims of domestic violence for taking the brave steps necessary to keep themselves safe. Verizon should not charge fees for early termination of contracts if they are because the person has been a victim of domestic violence.

Petition Letter

Greetings,

I just signed the following petition addressed to: Verizon Wireless.

----------------
This summer, I got a phone call that nobody wants to receive; on the other end of the line between sobs I heard, "He beat me up." My sister had been attacked and beaten by her boyfriend and was in the emergency room.

Without even putting shoes on her feet, she quietly escaped their house in the middle of the night with nothing but her car key. Because he had taken her phone she went to a small pub around the corner to call her daughter, who lives 3 hours away and then drove there for help. Her glasses were broken, her nose was broken, her ribs were cracked, her heart was broken - she knew this was the beginning of a long and difficult journey to reclaim her life.

After the initial shock and urgent care treatment, my sister began to take the necessary steps to keep herself safe and get away from her abusive partner.

As a couple, they were also business partners owning a mobile car mechanic service; it was her only source of income. She booked the appointments and ran the billings. They used her credit to secure a small loan, credit cards and bank accounts. Everything was joint or in the business' name, which meant her abuser had access to all of the accounts. One of the first things she tried to do was cancel their shared contracts with Verizon Wireless - ending the contract was a complicated but extremely necessary step. If Verizon would not end the contracts, it meant that her abusive boyfriend would have continued access to all of her phone records and would know who she was calling and most horrifically, where she was calling from. My sister's life and safety, like many other survivors’, depended on being able to stay away from her abuser. She was shocked when Verizon informed her it would be over $400 to end these contracts and stay safe.

She had no money – he had taken everything from her. Not only was she emotionally shaken, but because of Verizon’s policies she would have to pay extra money to keep herself safe.

After a long battle, Verizon finally waived my sister's fees, but thousands of other victims of abuse are in her shoes right now, facing the choice between safety at a huge cost and continued danger.

One in four women and one in nine men are victims of domestic violence. An estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner every year. It takes so much courage to step out of an abusive relationship, seek help and start over. And Verizon Wireless knows it. They even have programs to help victims of domestic violence, like HopeLine.

But Verizon Wireless is punishing these customers by charging an early termination fee, even when the contract must be broken because the abusive partner is in jail or a court has ordered a restraining order. They can and should do better.

Verizon Wireless should create a policy that does not punish victims of domestic violence for taking the brave steps necessary to keep themselves safe. Verizon should not charge fees for early termination of contracts if they are because the person has been a victim of domestic violence.
----------------

Sincerely,

[Your name]

Supporters

Reasons for Signing

Most Popular • Latest
  • pam smith
    clifton, CO
    23 days ago
    Let us HEAR you doing this or you WILL HEAR me cancelling my accounts!
  • melissa posey
    Locust Grove, VA
    about 1 month ago
    Domestic violence is hard enough to get away from without worrying about hundreds of dollars in.fees and unneeded expenses. We should be tripping over ourselves to help victims take the hardest step to safety and freedom.
  • Shannon Debin
    San Francisco, CA
    about 1 month ago
    Domestic abuse victims have suffered enough... Verizon, don't give them any more obstacles to overcome.
  • karen pepin
    rochester, NH
    about 1 month ago
    Victims should not have to pay to drop all ties from abusers
  • Carol Baysinger
    Cornelius, NC
    about 1 month ago
    I am a victim of Domestic Violance and my family had to pay over $400 to get my abusive partner off my contract. If they hadn't paid I would have had to keep paying for him to have use of his cell phone for another year.
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Saturday, September 29, 2012

Male Whales are Momma's Boys (Video)


Dave Lonsdale/CC BY 2.0
Female killer whales have the longest menopause of any non-human species. Now scientists think they know why.
If his mommy dies, a male whale is 14 times more likely to die within the year.
The research team, from the Universities of Exeter and York (UK), the Center for Whale Research (USA) and Pacific Biological Station (Canada) studied killer whales in the North Pacific ocean over a period of 36 years.
Menopause seems difficult to explain in evolutionary terms: how does surviving well past the age in which reproduction is possible contribute to the survival of a species? Attempts to answer the question have lead to the so-called "Grandmother hypothesis" which surmises that Grandma's contributions to the core family unit help the survival chances of the third generation.
In the case of whales, the mothers themselves remain dedicated to their offspring a lifetime long -- until well after their sons are mature whales in their own rights. According to Dr Dan Franks, a Biologist at the University of York:
Our analysis shows that male killer whales are pretty much mommy's boys and struggle to survive without their mother's help. The need for mothers to care for their sons into adulthood explains why killer whales have evolved the longest post-reproductive lifespan of any non-human animal.
The press release explains the unique social groups of killer whales: "Sons and daughters (stay) with their mothers in a single group throughout their lives. With this close association, older mothers have the opportunity to increase the transmission of their genes by helping their adult offspring survive and reproduce. When sons mate, their offspring are cared for by females in another group, whereas when daughters reproduce the offspring stay in the group, which increases local competition for resources within the group."
Southern resident killer whales. Credit: Center for Whale Research

Most Popular

Nature Blows My Mind!

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vOTING rESULTS FOR NEW ALBUMS FROM REVOLVER MAGAZINE ONLINE

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Excerpt: Rob Zombie Talks ‘The Lords of Salem’ Movie

| Sep 27, 2012 | 0 Comments and 0 Reactions | Tags:

 33 156 108 304

In the new Rock! Shock! and Horror! issue of Revolver, our old pal Rob Zombie opens up about his lifelong love of horror movies. In this excerpt, Rob discusses his highly anticipated new film The Lords of Salem. For the full interview — as well as features on Marilyn Manson, Kirk Hammett, Corey Taylor and more — pick up the issue on newsstands on October 3, or in our online store right now.
REVOLVER You’ve described The Lords of Salem as a “slow mindfuck,” not a “scary movie.” What do you mean by that?
ROB ZOMBIE I don’t even like the term “scary.” A lot of these words get perverted by studios because “scary” means there’s this loud noise and the audience jumps. A lot of times, I’ll watch a movie and go, C’mon, enough with the fuckin’ loud cues every second! I’m not scared, I’m annoyed. You might as well lean over and yell in someone’s ear. Yeah, they’re gonna jump, but they’re not actually scared. They’re startled.
How is The Lords of Salem different?
There’s a weird tone to Lords of Salem that has a cumulative effect on the viewer as the film progresses. I’ve approached people after they’ve seen it and they’ve given me this blank expression. They don’t even know what to say. I assumed they hated it. Then they called me the next day and went, “Sorry I didn’t say anything, man. I was in a state of shock after watching it. I had to digest it. I was up all night thinking about it. I had nightmares about it.” That’s the exact response I want.
Can you compare it to any other movies by any other directors?
It’s kind of like if Ken Russell [the director of the Who’s Tommy and Altered States] directed Rosemary’s Baby.
Does the movie have anything in common with some of the classic witch films like Mark of the Devil, Witchfinder General, or the original The Wicker Man?
I like those films, but none of them inspired Lords of Salem. I literally bought a book on the Salem Witch Trials one day at a hotel I was staying at. I started reading it and it refreshed my mind on the subject. But the idea lay around for years and years. At one point, I thought I’d just make it into a comic book. But then the opportunity came up and I thought, Why not?
For the full story, pick up the Rock! Shock! and Horror! issue of Revolver here.
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Friday, September 28, 2012

i WILL NOT LEAVE MY PET BEHIND IN A DISASTER

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