http://en.avaaz.org/People-powered media for a better world41125Mon, 20 May 2013 16:37:52 GMTPyRSS2Gen-1.1.0http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rsshttp://en.avaaz.org/1317/feynman-scientist-doubt-opens-new-world-of-beauty#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=social_media&utm_campaign=hot-videosScience doesn't have all the answers, but maybe that's the point: Richard Feynman won the Nobel prize for physics in 1965 and is widely considered to have had one of the best scientific minds since Albert Einstein. But it wasn't just his genius that made Feynman unique, it was his persistent doubt, exploration and appreciation of our magnificent world. More tributes to Richard Feynman by Reid Gowe...]]>post_id_1317Sun, 17 Feb 2013 16:13:16 GMThttp://en.avaaz.org/1334/how-india-can-end-the-attacks-on-women-and-children#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=social_media&utm_campaign=sexual-violenceIndia's government, under intense pressure to respond to December's deadly gang rape of a 23-year-old woman on a Delhi bus, has brought forward a new law with tougher sentences for sexual crimes and a broader range of offences, including stalking and sex trafficking. But the law doesn't go nearly far enough; it doesn't even begin to address the shocking sexism of India's male-dominated institution...]]>post_id_1334Sat, 16 Feb 2013 15:36:57 GMThttp://en.avaaz.org/1324/australia-refugee-children-detention#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=social_media&utm_campaign=human-rightsThis picture was drawn by a young child called Arrin, currently locked up in a remote facility on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea – courtesy of the Australian government. Arrin's words – "My mum is crying and I am sad" – are heartbreaking. Even more heartbreaking is the reason this child is there, along with 33 other children between the ages of seven and 17. Australia's refugee policy is barbaric:...]]>post_id_1324Fri, 15 Feb 2013 19:30:43 GMThttp://en.avaaz.org/1345/horsemeat-beef-consumer-safety#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=social_media&utm_campaign=foodThe recent scandal over the appearance of horsemeat in a slew of prepared beef products sold in Europe has appalled millions and spurred officials from Britain to Romania to demand action. Even if the idea of getting horse in your frozen lasagna doesn't put you off your lunch, it should at least get us wondering about what's really in our food. The short answer? It's ugly. Beef isn't the only meat...]]>post_id_1345Fri, 15 Feb 2013 17:10:41 GMThttp://en.avaaz.org/1343/corruption-crisis-in-spain#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=social_media&utm_campaign=corruptionImagine your prime minister and several of his top lieutenants got hefty payments from a secret slush fund run by their party, according to allegations made by a top newspaper. This cash, the paper says, was funnelled from construction companies and other businesses that get government contracts. Imagine these leaders also got totally legal payments from their party that dramatically boosted their...]]>post_id_1343Thu, 14 Feb 2013 12:30:10 GMThttp://en.avaaz.org/1338/end-violence-rape-women-one-billion-rising#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=social_media&utm_campaign=equalityOne in three women worldwide has been beaten, raped or otherwise violated. That's more than one billion women. Let that sink in. If it feels like you've been hearing a lot about violence against women lately, you probably have. It's been a problem forever, but the deadly gang rape of a young woman on a bus in Delhi in December brought hundreds of thousands into the streets and pushed awareness of ...]]>post_id_1338Tue, 12 Feb 2013 12:32:27 GMThttp://en.avaaz.org/1325/pakistan-web-censorship-china-firms#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=social_media&utm_campaign=web-freedomA powerful new firewall to censor websites and block mobile communications in Pakistan could be up and running next month, according to the campaigning site Access. It appears the Pakistani government is enlisting some of the same big tech firms accused of aiding censorship in Libya and Iran and keeping tabs on China's 538 million web users. Pakistan's government claims it will only use the techno...]]>post_id_1325Tue, 12 Feb 2013 11:50:33 GMThttp://en.avaaz.org/1331/europe-fish-reform-victory#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=social_media&utm_campaign=environmentThirty years of disastrously shortsighted policy has devastated European fish populations. Today, 75% of all European stocks are overfished, and yields have been dropping like a lead balloon. This is bad for ocean ecosystems, bad for fishing communities and bad for consumers, who pay higher prices for ever scarcer fish. But now, the European parliament has approved reforms that, if fully implement...]]>post_id_1331Fri, 08 Feb 2013 13:01:20 GMThttp://en.avaaz.org/1312/un-drones-pakistan-emmerson#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=social_media&utm_campaign=human-rightsWhen is a drone strike a tool of war, and when is it just plain murder, or perhaps even a war crime? President Barack Obama's answer to that question – that he's legally allowed to order a strike on pretty much anyone he thinks poses a threat to the US anywhere in the world – is not one that's likely to be acceptable to the international community. Now, a UN investigator hopes to answer that quest...]]>post_id_1312Thu, 07 Feb 2013 15:52:54 GMThttp://en.avaaz.org/1330/gay-marriage-equality-uk-france-world-map#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=social_media&utm_campaign=equalityWith historic votes in favour of marriage equality in the French and British parliaments in the last week, more countries are moving to give gay and lesbian citizens the same rights that heterosexual couples enjoy. And it's about time. Eleven countries already allow same sex marriage, as well as a number of state and city governments. On top of the victories in Britain and France, the prospects ar...]]>post_id_1330Thu, 07 Feb 2013 10:57:00 GMThttp://en.avaaz.org/1326/eu-ban-bee-killing-pesticides-bayer#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=social_media&utm_campaign=europeAfter intense public pressure, the European commission has agreed to a proposal that will ban three bee-killing poisons for two years – a big win for our fuzzy friends, who have been dying off at an alarming rate over the past decade. It's about time. Despite mounting evidence that toxic insecticides called neonicotinoids are playing a big role in this global die-off, big chemical corporations hav...]]>post_id_1326Wed, 06 Feb 2013 17:18:19 GMThttp://en.avaaz.org/1323/5-questions-for-cia-head-john-brennan#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=social_media&utm_campaign=war-on-terrorWho will be America's next top spook? If President Barack Obama has his way, it'll be John O Brennan. The Senate holds hearings on his nomination to head the CIA this week. In his capacity as Obama's White House counter-terrorism chief, Brennan has been the main architect of the deadly drone programme that has vastly expanded under the Obama administration; he has also taken a lead role in prepari...]]>post_id_1323Wed, 06 Feb 2013 16:30:57 GMThttp://en.avaaz.org/1319/stephen-king-gun-control-ban-assault-weapons#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=social_media&utm_campaign=gun-controlIn 1977, horror novelist Stephen King published his first novel, Rage, under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, about a high school student named Charlie Decker who shoots and kills his algebra teacher. On 2 February 1996, 14-year-old student Barry Dale Loukaitis shot and killed his algebra teacher and two other students at Frontier middle school in Moses Lake, Washington. After Loukaitis committed th...]]>post_id_1319Tue, 05 Feb 2013 18:06:25 GMThttp://en.avaaz.org/1318/gay-marriage-uk-5-facts#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=social_media&utm_campaign=equalityIn days, British MPs will decide whether to give every man and woman in England and Wales the simple right to marry the person they love. It sounds like a no brainer. Polls consistently show a strong and rising majority of British people support gay marriage, the prime minister himself backs it and civil partnerships for gay couples are now the norm in Britain – how could MPs not do the right thin...]]>post_id_1318Sat, 02 Feb 2013 17:41:50 GMThttp://en.avaaz.org/1314/how-free-is-the-press-in-your-country#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=social_media&utm_campaign=media2012 was the deadliest year yet for journalists. The Arab spring countries are failing to live up to the promise of freedom of expression. A number of democracies that should know better are tightening press restrictions. These are just some of the findings in the annual press freedom index published by the Paris-based NGO Reporters Without Borders. This matters even if you're not a journalist. An...]]>post_id_1314Fri, 01 Feb 2013 17:56:50 GMThttp://en.avaaz.org/1313/gay-men-marry-your-girlfriends#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=social_media&utm_campaign=equalityCalling all British men (and everyone else too): Are you one of a large majority who thinks it's OK for gay people to marry, but it's not your number one issue? As in, you won't be out there signing petitions and showing your support when British MPs vote this week on legalising same sex marriage? It's not like it affects you or anything, right? Wrong! Watch this video from the US and you'll find ...]]>post_id_1313Fri, 01 Feb 2013 12:06:48 GMThttp://en.avaaz.org/1316/nigeria-shell-oil-farmer-dutch-court-damages#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=social_media&utm_campaign=environmentIf oil spills destroyed the land you depend on to feed your children, you'd want justice. Now, after years of legal wrangling, a Nigerian farmer whose livelihood was ruined by the negligence of Royal Dutch Shell has finally won against the oil giant. And even though a court in the Netherlands dismissed several similar complaints by farmers in other oil-ravaged areas, this small victory could be a ...]]>post_id_1316Thu, 31 Jan 2013 15:52:53 GMThttp://en.avaaz.org/1289/will-crazy-bad-air-pollution-force-china-to-open-up#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=social_media&utm_campaign=chinaAir quality so bad that it's literally off the charts has settled in once again over Beijing and much of eastern China. The return of the foul smog brings with it the familiar rituals of pedestrians sporting face masks, airlines cancelling flights and authorities advising people to stay indoors to protect their health. But is it sparking something else, too, something that could be much more revol...]]>post_id_1289Tue, 29 Jan 2013 12:24:16 GMThttp://en.avaaz.org/1308/amazon-oil-ecuador-kichwa-fight-to-the-death#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=social_media&utm_campaign=amazon(Creative Commons/Sara y Tzunky) Four hundred members of Ecuador’s Kichwa people have vowed to "fight to the death" before letting a state-backed oil giant invade 70,000 hectares of pristine rainforest. For years, Ecuador’s marginalised indigenous people have faced government and corporate oppression. Now, just weeks ahead of a presidential election, this tiny community has had enough and is refus...]]>post_id_1308Fri, 25 Jan 2013 19:05:08 GMThttp://en.avaaz.org/1310/davos-women-quotas-sexist-inequality#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=social_media&utm_campaign=womens-rightsRight now, the world's movers and shakers are gathered in the beautiful ski resort of Davos, Switzerland, for the annual World Economic Forum. A few of the money men Davos is famous for should probably be facing juries of their peers, not bartenders at the Hotel Belvedere, but we'll deal with that injustice elsewhere. Just one of the most outrageous features of the world's most exclusive gathering...]]>post_id_1310Fri, 25 Jan 2013 11:28:49 GMThttp://en.avaaz.org/1306/10-reasons-europe-is-worth-the-effort#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=social_media&utm_campaign=europeFinally, UK prime minister David Cameron has dropped the other shoe and declared his intention to hold a referendum on whether Britain should remain in the European Union. Abandoning the goal of an "ever-closer union" written into the EU's founding Treaty of Rome in 1957, Cameron is trying to carve out a place where Britain can keep the benefits of the single market but go its own way on other mat...]]>post_id_1306Thu, 24 Jan 2013 16:15:00 GMThttp://en.avaaz.org/784/this-is-what-every-car-park-should-look-like#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=social_media&utm_campaign=environmentCan you think of a better way to use the space for parked cars? This looks like a winner to us. Nice one, Germany! Solar power could revolutionise our energy grid, and Germany is leading the way with projects like this one in Schwabach. Over the past few years the country has become a global leader, with a boom in solar panel installation and record solar energy use – and they're still going stron...]]>post_id_784Thu, 24 Jan 2013 13:37:37 GMThttp://en.avaaz.org/1294/rape-india-schoolbus-delhi-sexist-authorities#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=social_media&utm_campaign=indiaNirbhaya (which means fearless in Hindi) was studying physiotherapy and worked long overnight hours at a call centre just to afford school. She was from a poor family, but always hoped to make something better of her life. She was described as one of the brightest students in her classes. She had just seen the film The Life of Pi with her friend – she loved it. And then the worst thing imaginable ...]]>post_id_1294Wed, 23 Jan 2013 16:15:23 GMThttp://en.avaaz.org/1304/shocking-facts-about-americas-prison-system-infographic#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=social_media&utm_campaign=united-statesThe US prison system is fundamentally broken – with too many inmates (the highest incarceration rate in the world), chronic discrimination, spiralling costs and corporate takeovers. In 2011 alone, over 1.5 million Americans were arrested on drug-related charges, with over 650,000 arrested just for marijuana possession. A disproportionate number of those arrested and incarcerated are people of colo...]]>post_id_1304Tue, 22 Jan 2013 16:06:14 GMThttp://en.avaaz.org/1303/obama-6-billion-dollars-abramoff-big-money-elections-reform-corruption#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=social_media&utm_campaign=corruptionMany people will have cheered to see President Obama take office for a second term today – especially given the alternative. But once the champagne has gone flat and the confetti is swept away, we're left with the appalling fact that this last election cost an astounding $6bn. Why is that a big deal? Well, for one thing, because that fortune could certainly have been better spent on much more impo...]]>post_id_1303Mon, 21 Jan 2013 17:52:28 GMT