Two days before Thanksgiving, the international aid agency Save the Children released a statement with a devastating projection: approximately 85,000 children under the age of five, have likely died of extreme hunger or disease since the 2015 start of the war in Yemen.
The total, extrapolated by the agency through data compiled by the UN, was a “conservative estimate” of the mortality rate for Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), as experienced by Yemeni children between April 2015 to October 2018. The statement further confirmed an estimated 400,000 children were expected to suffer from SAM in 2018, 15,000 higher than 2017.
In terms of sheer numbers, the total number of children in Yemen expected to experience SAM in 2018 alone, is roughly greater than the entire population of Anaheim, California. And if we were to switch to considering the approximately 14 million Yemeni children and adults who are at risk of famine this year, it would be slightly less than the overall populations of Los Angeles and New York City, combined. …
As the impact of Hurricane Dorian continues to be felt on the East Coast, damage and recovery efforts are already ongoing.
Here are a few ways to help.
For the Bahamas:
- World Central Kitchen (https://wck.org)
Chef José Andrés’s non-profit is doing the work in multiple Dorian-impacted regions. They’ve fed over thousand people already in Cape Fear, and is already in the Bahamas providing meals.
You can support their work by donating here.
2. Global Giving (www.globalgiving.org)
Global Giving is a crowdfunding platform, and they have a Dorian-specific relief fund to help local organizations. …
Let’s revisit her 2014 actions, and why stalking a book reviewer will never, ever be “fascinasting”.
So the news broke today, Kathleen Hale has a new book coming out.
First, let me say: Good God. Why?
Second: if you’re new to the scene, here’s a recap.
In 2014, Hale made the seriously questionable decision to stalk a book blogger, and wrote an essay about it for The Guardian.
I was a newbie book reviewer at the time, and still remember the palpable fear bloggers felt when they realized the lengths Hale went to, over a bad review. Would other authors do the same? Did we all need to quit? …
It’s finally here — Election Day.
After 655 days of the Trump Presidency, voters are taking to the polls once more, ready to have a say in the social, economic and ideological future of our nation.
If you’re anything like me, you’re probably debating on whether to spend the day by:
A) Keeping your eyes glued to the TV from the minute the polls open in New Hampshire, to when they close in Hawaii,
B) Saying an affirmation for your candidates of choice (and then stress eating or drinking… or both?)
C) Assuring everyone at work you’re fine, but running off to the bathroom every ten minutes to check Twitter…
With the midterms less than 50 days out, now is the time to pay attention to the balance of power in the Senate.
At present, the Senate breakdown is 51/49, with the Senate Democrats in the minority. With confirmation votes and specific forms of legislation usually only requiring a simple majority or 51 votes, the Senate Democrats have largely been unable to block President Trump and the GOP’s agenda, in the first two years of the administration.
The current split is why controversial legislation like the tax bill have passed despite the best efforts of Democrats and activists alike, and the current nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court (SCOTUS), hinges on the votes of swing GOP senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Susan Collins (R-Maine). …
Even though Hurricane Florence has now been downgraded to a tropical storm, the damage and recovery efforts are far from over.
Here are a few places to donate to, if you’re looking to help.
1. The Diaper Bank of North Carolina
Diapers are typically not covered in disaster relief supplies. So this is when the work of organizations like the Diaper Bank of North Carolina fills in the gap.
You can donate to them directly here: https://ncdiaperbank.networkforgood.com/projects/58385-donate-today-change-today-change-a-life …
Or send items from their Amazon wishlist here: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/365WPYQYFFTZ4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_ws_jLWMBbAQPDJHG …
2. The Cajun Navy
They’ve been out rescuing people in the Carolinas since Florence made landfall.
Donate to them here: https://www.paypal.me/cajunnavyrelief
3. The official North Carolina state disaster relief fund
If you’ve been watching the news, you’ve likely seen coverage of the Carr Fire impacting Northern California. It’s just one of the manyfires impacting California right now. There have been six fatalities, as of today.
Here’s how you can help:
Donate
1. GoFundMe has aggregated campaigns related to the fire.
Link: https://www.gofundme.com/cause/carr-fire
GoFundMe has also partnered with TriCountiesBank for a Carr Fire-specific fund.
Link: https://www.gofundme.com/tcb-2018-carr-fire-fund/donate?pc=ot_dn_topics_w_108
2. The Shasta Regional Community Foundation’s Community Disaster Relief Fund
is accepting donations as well. Their funds will be used for short and long-term relief.
Link: http://www.shastarcf.org/funds/cdrf
3. The Haven Humane Society in Anderson, CA is taking in animals and asking for physical and monetary donations
Link: https://www.facebook.com/HavenHumaneSociety/posts/10156488306664643
4. The Red Cross is opening shelters and accepting donations.
You can donate via text, by texting REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
Share information:
CARR FIRE EVACUATION CENTERS: (Source)
- Foothill High School — 9793 Deschutes Palo Cedro (***new***)
- Simpson University — 2211 College View Dr…
I’m going to cut straight to the chase:
What we witnessed in Helsinki was a treasonous act.
The fact Trump stood next to a known adversary, and said he believes someone who:
- Is a former KGB officer
- Has had reporters killed
- Has poisoned former intelligence officers
- Annexed an entire region
over the men and women of our intelligence agencies, is an absolute perversion of our democracy.
(And yes, I’m aware he retracted everything today, Tuesday July 17th. It still happened. Still an act of treason.)
I know I generally like to keep things firm but light, but Helsinki, combined with the show circus that was Strzok’s hearing, the indictments, the push to impeach Rosenstein and the fact DNI Coats made it very clear that the “red lights are blinking again”, is making me very concerned. …
On Monday, Trump announced his nominee for SCOTUS is going to be Brett Kavanaugh. First, take a deep breath. I know all of this is overwhelming, but we can get through together.
Ready? Ok. Here’s what we need to do next.
1. Take the time to learn about Kavanaugh’s background.
There’s a lot of partial truths floating around social media, and it’s important we’re razor short in our accuracy.
You can start with:
Politico
New York Times
Washington Post
ABC News
The Economist
Here’s also a handy graph from Axios, which explains where Kavanaugh would be on the ideological spectrum.
We’ve heard the stories and seen the pictures. This is how you can help the children and the families who are now being impacted by the Trump Administration’s new zero tolerance policy.
Let’s start with the legislative/government approach:
First things first: understand our fight shouldn’t just be about the facilities themselves.
Our protests should be framed around the Trump Administration’s decision to enact the zero tolerance policy in May, which is why children are being separated from their families, and taken to these facilities.
Reasons why we need to remember the bigger picture:
- Trump keeps lying about this policy being a Democratic law,
- Trump and the GOP are also claiming this “law” is a result of unaccompanied minors entering the United States, which is a separate issue (but falls under the same umbrella of things we should care about). …
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