pElAgUS' 

Hi, it's Tim from Pandora,

I'm writing today to ask for your help.  The survival of Pandora and all of Internet radio is in jeopardy because of a recent decision by the Copyright Royalty Board in Washington, DC to almost triple the licensing fees for Internet radio sites like Pandora.  The new royalty rates are irrationally high, more than four times what satellite radio pays, and broadcast radio doesn't pay these at all.  Left unchanged, these new royalties will kill every Internet radio site, including Pandora.

In response to these new and unfair fees, we have formed the SaveNetRadio Coalition, a group that includes listeners, artists, labels and webcasters.  I hope that you will consider joining us. 

Please sign our petition urging your Congressional representative to act to save Internet radio: http://capwiz.com/saveinternetradio/issues/alert/?alertid=9631541 

Please feel free to forward this link/email to your friends - the more petitioners we can get, the better.  

Understand that we are fully supportive of paying royalties to the artists whose music we play, and have done so since our inception.  As a former touring musician myself, I'm no stranger to the challenges facing working musicians.  The issue we have with the recent ruling is that it puts the cost of streaming far out of the range of ANY webcaster's business potential. 

I hope you'll take just a few minutes to sign our petition - it WILL make a difference. As a young industry, we do not have the lobbying power of the RIAA. You, our listeners, are by far our biggest and most influential allies.

As always, and now more than ever, thank you for your support.

 
-Tim Westergren
(Pandora founder)

A recent San Francisco Chronicle series validated claims that the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights has been making for 10 years: the San Francisco Police Department is plagued by "a culture that tolerates or rewards the use of force."

For 10 years, we've been chipping away at this culture of violence through our Bay Area PoliceWatch program. Today, we need you to help us keep it up.

Last month, the Chronicle published Use of Force: When SFPD Officers Resort to Violence. The Chronicle set up a database to track incidents of police violence — something the department has never done. What they found was shocking.

Between 2001 and 2004, San Francisco police officers were the subject of more force allegations than officers in San Jose, Oakland, San Diego and Seattle — combined. Indeed, the Chronicle reported that "force often is the first option for these officers."

Why is there so much violence in SFPD? Because the department "lags far behind many other major cities in developing an effective system for identifying problem officers. And it has failed, over and over, to take steps to get these officers off the streets." The result: problem officers stay on the force, even rising to supervisory positions, and perpetuate "a culture that tolerates or rewards the use of force."

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REPORT

We reached the very same conclusions about the SFPD — more than 10 years ago. That was when widespread community concerns prompted us to start Bay Area PoliceWatch — to document, expose and challenge police abuse.

In the intervening years, we have been a major force for change. We helped secure justice when officer Marc Andaya killed unarmed Aaron Williams. And demanded accountabilty when officer Gregory Breslin shot and killed unarmed, 17 year-old Sheila Detoy, who was not even a suspect in a crime. And supported the family when SFPD officers shot innocent bystander Vilda Curry in the street, in front of her young daughter. The list goes on.

<>Now is the time to press for a total overhaul of the City's police oversight mechanisms — and the just removal of those officers identified as repeat offenders. As the Chronicle report shows, the police department repeatedly turns a blind eye to officer violence. It's up to us to make the department address this crisis honestly. And the only way to do that is with help from you, now.

http://www.ellabakercenter.org

Imported from external blog

Help Us Tell CYA's Chief Warner: Close Chad Now!!

Join Books Not Bars, Escuelas Si, Pintas No, and Youth in Focus on February 22 for a press conference and picket at the office of CYA Chief Bernard Warner in Sacramento. We will call on Chief Warner to close Chad immediately -- our youth need action now!

Please come and show your support!

What: Press Conference and Picket to close Chad

When: Wednesday, February 22, 2006, 4:30 p.m.

Where: Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
1515 S. Street
Sacramento, CA

RSVP: Contact David at: 510.428.3939 x243 or david@ellabakercenter.org

NEW MEXICO'S LEGISLATIVE SESSION ENDS ON FEBRUARY 16 - ACT NOW!
http://www.organicconsumers.org/aspartame1.cfm

Thanks for your calls!
Due to public pressure, a related bill - Senate bill 217 which would establish a Nutrition Council in NM - has received an executive message.
Keep calling about the Aspartame Bill.

The survival of this legislation depends entirely on Governor Bill Richardson.

Contact Governor Richardson

ALERT TEXT: Aspartame, also known as NutraSweet, is currently in 6000 food products and in over 500 pharmaceutical preparations, despite clear proof of its toxicity. In fact, in November, a study published in "Environmental Health Perspectives," a peer-reviewed journal affiliated with the National Institutes of Health, clearly demonstrated that rats consuming Aspartame had a higher incidence of tumors, Leukemia, Lymphoma, and other cancers.

In light of this evidence, health activists have introduced legislation that would ban Aspartame in the state of New Mexico. Introduced in the state Senate by Albuquerque Democratic Senator Gerald Ortiz y Pino as Senate Bill 250, and in the state House by Gallup Navajo Democratic Representative Irvin Harrison as House Bill 202, the measure draws upon statutes that allow the state to regulate poisonous and deleterious food additives in the interest of public health. A successful bill of this type could set a powerful precedent for the whole country.

The political climate in New Mexico is ripe for this kind of legislation, especially in light of Governor Bill Richardson's newly unveiled Healthy Kids initiatives - including a pledge to kick junk food out of middle and high schools - and his expressed interest in asserting the rights of states to protect public health.

However, the processed food industry is trying to kill this legislation. Governor Bill Richardson and the New Mexico Legislature must know that there is strong public support for this legislation.

Take Action: Ask Governor Richardson to Give an Executive Message on the Aspartame Ban Bill.
Individual Faxes are less easily ignored.
Use the Sample Letter Text. Please be Polite!

• Fax Governor Richardson c/o his chief of staff David Contarino at: 505-476-2226
• Fax Lt. Governor Diane Denish c/o her chief of staff Chris Cerbini at: 505-476-2250
  
• Use our online form to Email Governor Richardson.
• Send a letter to:
  Governor Bill Richardson
  Office of the Governor
  490 Old Santa Fe Trail
  Room 400
  Santa Fe, NM 87501

If you live outside New Mexico, please also ask your Governor and Legislators to support an Aspartame Ban in your state.

Sample Letter Text

Dear Governor William B. Richardson:

I want to applaud your ambitious Healthy Kids initiatives. In the spirit of these long overdue public health measures, I ask you to please give an Executive Message to Senate Bill 250 so that it may be fully considered by the Legislature. There is not one good reason to delay this medically and legally well-founded effort to free New Mexico of a proven neurotoxic carcinogen, especially in light of the new study published in "Environmental Health Perspectives" that clearly demonstrated that rats consuming Aspartame had a higher incidence of tumors, Leukemia, Lymphoma, and other cancers.
(See the Study: http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2005/8711/abstract.html)

The Chair and Vice Chair of the Judiciary Committee have signed onto this bill, indicating that this bill is legally sound, despite the usual industry cries from Ajinomoto and other purveyors of toxic chemicals that such matters are preempted by the Commerce Clause and the Supremacy Clause.

We have the 10th Amendment, very clear New Mexico statutes prohibiting poisonous food additives and harmful adulterants, the Delaney Amendment (1958) to the law that created the FDA, numerous Federal statutes preventing adulterants added to food, numerous Supreme Court decisions, and hundreds of physicians' clinical reports to back up the Aspartame Bill.

The health of millions, not just in New Mexico, but throughout the nation, depends on your leadership. Together, we can make 2006 a precedent setting year for public health.

For the rest of the story, go to http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/38198.html

Thank you for your consideration,

Contact the author of the Aspartame Ban Bills:

Stephen Fox
217 W. Water NM 87501 505 983-2002