Help ONE save the International Affairs Budget and move the MDGs forward

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Recently Maryamu Aminu, the Director for Government Relations for ONE sent me some bad news . The Senate Budget Committee leaders ignored our voices and singled-out the International Affairs Budget for $4 billion in devastating cuts that could threaten programs critical to the health and survival of many poor people around the world. This despite more than 40,000 ONE members taking action and a record 31 senators responding by signing a letter to Senate Budget Committee leaders, urging full funding for the fight against global poverty. This is the second time ONE has requested we send an Urgent Message To [Insert Your Senator's Name Here] on U.S. International Affairs Budget.

Both of my Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer added their names to a new effort to restore funding and American leadership to the fight against global poverty and disease which is essential if the Millennium Development Goals are to be met. I featured Senator Boxer's support in the post Senator Barbara Boxer Speaks Up for the Millennium Development Goals.

I sent the message to my to Senators asking them to please fix this budget by signing the bipartisan appropriations letter, sponsored by Senators Kerry and Lugar, that supports full funding for the State-Foreign Operations bill.

For about 1.5% of the overall U.S. Budget we can have a tremendous impact on the world on ONE (and MDG) priorities such as debt relief for countries including Haiti; life-saving treatment and prevention measures for AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria; and programs empowering women, promoting agricultural development, and enrolling millions of children in school.

You can sent a message to your Senators by clicking here. ONE is seeking 25,000 responses and has 14,572 with me. So far 3,217 fellow Californians have signed the petition. My two cents to my Senators is below.

This message is going to both of my California Senators who have worked in the past on Humanitarian issues. Senator Boxer has been especially supportive in the past having been kind enough to send me an email bakck on August 14, 2009 stating, "I am pleased to report that the Senate has voted to fully fund President Obama's request for the Fiscal Year 2010 International Affairs Budget. S.Con.Res.13 includes $51.7 billion in funding, a significant and necessary increase over FY2009 funding levels. Please know that I will work to maintain this level of funding as the appropriations process continues." I am asking both her and her fellow California Senator to keep that promise. More and more we see that the way to world stability both economically and political cannot be at the end of a gun. The United States must take a lead role in working with other countries to solve the planet's problems.

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• Fix This Budget (one.org)
• Agriculture fund (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• ONE Panel Discussion with Congressman Connolly (one.org)

Enjoying Victories - Whether by Democrat or Republican - Whether by Activist or Slacktivist

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This blog endeavors to support the United Nations' Eight Goal Millennium Campaign by supporting the actions of a number of advocacy organizations including ONE. These actions often involve supporting the many different laws focused on the Millennium Development Goal to End Hunger.

Just before Thanksgiving, I sent in my comments urging my Congressional representative (Republican) to sign on to the Berman-Kirk letter requesting a robust International Affairs Budget. I was told that he would take it under advisement.

Well, whether he supported it or not (not), the overall Berman-Kirk FY2011 Budget Campaign was a Resounding Success and a bipartisan one.

A victory in the fight to "Upgrade Aid" occured when the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 15-3 to pass the Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act (S.1524) through their committee.

The bill we passed today…is the product of well over a year of research and analysis by Senators and their staffs. It has attracted the support of most development groups, led by the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network. It is co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of 19 Senators, twelve of whom are members of this Committee. This level of backing for a bill related to foreign assistance structure is extremely rare. It provides an opportunity to build something approaching a consensus on this issue.

Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN)
Committee Ranking Member

This legislation demonstrates Congress’s commitment to strengthening the capacity, accountability and effectiveness of our foreign aid programs. With the U.S. facing critical foreign policy and development priorities worldwide, it is vital that we update our foreign aid programs to reflect the new challenges of the 21st century.

Senator John Kerry (D-MA)
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman

I’ve been able to see our foreign assistance dollars in action and am proud of the role we are playing in producing positive change in the lives of millions around the world, but at the same time, I share the frustration of many Americans that our foreign assistance efforts have often lacked transparency, coordination, monitoring and evaluation. This bill begins to reinvigorate USAID to improve the coordination, execution and efficiency of U.S. assistance so we can make each dollar go farther.

Senator Bob Corker (R-TN)
Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on International Development
and Foreign Assistance

This is one of the most significant pieces of foreign assistance legislation that has passed out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in decades. I am proud that this is truly a bi-partisan bill, developed in a collaborative manner and that it includes input from a wide range of voices. These programs are critical to millions of people around the world, they contribute to our mutual economic health, and are in the direct national security interests of the United States.

Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
Chairman of the Subcommittee on International Development and Foreign Assistance

Over 47,000 ONE members signed the petition
19 senators signed on—
9 of these since the campaign was first launched.

Sheila Nix, the U.S. Executive Director, ONE.org tells us that the next step for aid reform will be the White House Presidential Study Directive on U.S. global development, which General Jim Jones and Dr. Larry Summers are working on right now. Stay tuned to the ONE Blog and your email for updates and opportunities to take further action.

The need for this effort is made clear by the testimony of Dr. Helene Gayle, president and CEO of CARE.

In the video she testifies in defense of Global Hunger and Food Security legislation, specifically the Global Food Security Act (HR3077) and the Roadmap to End Global Hunger Act (HR2817).

However, it seems that these bills are still languishing so the work still needs to continue.

Getting Down to Basics and Helping Where We Can

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My exploration of paradigm shifts moving from an individual level to a global level has always been predicated on a belief in the human right and ability to transcend circumstances. Before establishing the Millennium Development Goals we need to start with the basic premise of Human Rights. Everyone should have the right not to be hungry, not to be uneducated, not to suffer from disease and to have the economic tools necessary to achieve this.

To achieve this though there needs to be a more basic definition which is provided by Youth for Human Rights International which has the highest click rate by eight times on my FeedBurner account. This is something people care about.

- What Human Rights Are. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

• Do you know what Human Rights are?
  

  Every person is entitled to certain rights – simply by the fact that they are a human being. They are "rights" because they are things you are allowed to be, to do or to have. These rights are there for your protection against people who might want to harm or hurt you. They are also there to help us get along with each other and live in peace.

Trouble is that I am still a slacktivist and because of pressures (budget cuts/layoffs) from my real life/day job I did not participate in the Amnesty International letter writing campaign [This changed the next day/post]. I feel a sense of guilt and frustration about this. I did get a chance to communicate with my two Senators a few weeks ago on an important issue that I am told helps Amnesty International's on-the-ground efforts, even slacktivists try to help in their own way.

Senator Barbara Boxer Senator Dianne Feinstein

I urge you to take an important step for human rights and a crucial step for women's rights by supporting Senate consideration of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The Women's Convention is the best instrument for advocating effectively on behalf of women's human rights in Afghanistan and around the world. CEDAW is the only treaty to provide an international standard for promoting the basic human rights of women. The Convention provides important measures to ensure the full development and continued improvement of women's human rights at home and abroad by addressing such issues as violence against women, access to education and health care and equal protection under the law.

The past several months have underscored the fundamental importance of the protection of human rights, and particularly the protection of women's rights. The overwhelming adoption of this Convention by more than 185 countries serves to counter claims that in any culture discrimination, domestic violence, and other forms of oppression are acceptable.

I ask you to support Senate consideration of CEDAW during this Congress. Please tell me how you intend to address this issue.

Sincerely
Brian Dowling

I received an answer from Senator Boxer a week ago.

Dear Mr. Dowling:

Thank you for writing to me in support of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). I appreciate the opportunity to hear your views.

Since first joining the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1999, I have been a strong advocate for U.S. ratification of CEDAW. In 2002, the committee voted to approve CEDAW. Unfortunately, this treaty has not yet been brought before the full Senate for a vote.

I believe that the American effort to promote human rights and equality for women around the world will be much more effective and credible if we join with other nations and ratify CEDAW without further delay. That is why I am very pleased that we now have a President who has publicly pledged his support for CEDAW and has encouraged the Senate to take action.

Because I feel so strongly about CEDAW, I will continue to fight for its ratification in the U.S. Senate.

Thank you for contacting me about this important treaty. Please do not hesitate to contact me again about this or any other issue of importance to you.

Barbara Boxer
United States Senator

Maybe Senator Boxer should go to Copenhagen

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I have said before that Senator Boxer is a leader in the Senate when it comes to environmental legislation. Some of her most significant work as been on the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (S.1733). Below is a some history on the bill from its latest passage out of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to her original remarks introducing the bill.

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passed a climate and energy bill sponsored by Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and John Kerry (D-MA).

Th Environmental Defense Fund reminds us that Chairman Boxer and her colleagues deserve great credit for their commitment to move forward on solving our climate and energy challenges.

• the urgent need
  
• end our addiction to imported oil,
  
• create jobs
  
• cap the pollution that causes global warming

encouraged by the announcement yesterday that Senators Kerry, Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) will work together to craft a bipartisan bill to bring America greater energy independence and cap pollution.

Dear Friend:

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which I chair, has opened an intensive three-day schedule of legislative hearings on the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, S.1733, a bill aimed at creating new, clean energy jobs, reducing our dependence on foreign oil, and curbing the production of greenhouse gases. I am pleased to share with you my opening statement, available at this link. If you would like to see all of the testimony from the hearings, and see video or a live feed, please use this link.

Sincerely,

Barbara Boxer
United States Senator

Dear Mr. Dowling:

Thank you for writing to me in support of clean energy legislation to fight climate change. I appreciate hearing from you.

I want to share with you the statement I made when Senator John Kerry and I introduced the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (S.1733).

Sincerely,

Barbara Boxer

United States Senator

Senator Boxer's statement on the introduction of "The Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act" on September 30, 2009:

I am very pleased to stand with my colleagues, national security leaders, veterans, business leaders, workers, environmental organizations, religious leaders, wildlife protectors, energy companies, state and local officials and so many others as we introduce the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act.

This bill addresses major challenges of our generation:

.protecting our children and the earth from dangerous pollution;

.putting America back in control of our energy future;

.creating the policies that will lead to millions of new jobs; and

.through our example, inspiring similar actions around the world to avoid an unstable and dangerous future.

As Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, I want to thank so many of my colleagues and their staffs, on and off the committee.

Senator Kerry's staff and my office have been a team, working together for weeks and weeks, and often late into the night. Colleagues and staff on the EPW Committee have been very important in this effort and their work is reflected.

We built on the successful House effort. Our bill has stronger targets in the short term and we have expanded our coalition in the business community.

In our bill, the basic promise to consumers has been kept. The promise to regions that rely heavily on fossil fuels has been kept as well.

The first major part of the bill includes authorizations, all of which would be eligible for appropriations and some which are eligible for both appropriations and allowances.

Some of these are enhanced from the Waxman bill; some are new. Here are some examples of these authorizations:

Investments in clean natural gas, new transmission infrastructure, nuclear R&D and worker training, and green economic development;

Agricultural and forestry offset opportunities;

Provisions to speed the transition to cleaner transportation, including investments in our transit systems, and incentives for efficient hybrid and electric cars;

Adaptation authorizations that include wildfire prevention, flood control, water infrastructure, and investments in coastal communities and wildlife protection.

Our bill gives a much stronger role to mayors and local governments.

The second major part of our bill sets up the Pollution Reduction and Investment incentives.

In this section we have strong principles laid out for market transparency and oversight and we set up an Office of Offsets Integrity.

Allowances in this section will be detailed in the chairman's mark.

We have put into this section a soft collar to address cost containment and limit speculation while maintaining the environmental integrity of the pollution cap.

And our bill does not add one penny to the deficit.

In closing, let me say that my state of California is going through hard times right now and it weighs on me every day.

But there is one bright spot. And that is clean energy jobs and businesses.

The Pew Charitable Trusts reports that 10,000 new clean energy businesses were launched in California from 1998 to 2007. During that period, clean energy investments created more than 125,000 jobs and generated jobs 15 percent faster than the California economy as a whole.

The latest economic study predicts up to 1.9 million new jobs in America if we pass our bill.

We know clean energy is the ticket to strong, stable economic growth ...it's right here in front of us...in the ingenuity of our workers and the vision of our entrepreneurs. And in studies and models.

The global clean energy market is estimated to reach two and a half times the size of the global personal computer market by the year 2020.

We know from venture capitalists that billions of dollars from the private sector will flow into this market.

Others will move ahead if we don't seize this opportunity.

If we do, we will be a leader in the world as we protect the earth and all who dwell here from a future that the world's most respected scientists agree is threatened if we do not act.

No one knows what challenges will face them in their time.

No one chooses their time. But you know what? This is our time.

Global warming is our challenge.

Economic recovery is our challenge.

American leadership is our challenge.

Let's step up right now.

Let's not quit until we have fulfilled our responsibility to our children and our grandchildren.

Thank you.

Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act of 2009 (S. 1524)

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I got two thank you emails over the last couple of weeks, which I am now getting around to sharing. One of was from Tom Hart of ONE.org.

You and more than 28,000 ONE members have already signed on to tell your senators to Upgrade Aid, but with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee now set to discuss the bill on October 20, we have a little more time to build momentum around this important cause. Please forward the message below to your friends and ask them to join you in supporting an aid upgrade that will help make U.S. foreign aid better, smarter and stronger.

Thank you,

Tom Hart, ONE.org

I got it for supporting S. 1524 along with, at last count, 45,392 others. They've reached 90% of their NEW goal of 50,000 signers! S. 1524 will give USAID the tools and people it needs to better fight hunger and poverty around the world, but this bill critically needs more support to push it through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, now scheduled for November 10, 2009. Tell your senators to upgrade aid now.

Please strengthen U.S. foreign aid by cosponsoring the bipartisan Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act of 2009 (S. 1524).

Ultimately, it means better USAID programs to help the most difficult-to-reach farmers grow crops and feed more of Africa's 265 million hungry people. It means better support for treating 6.6 billion liters of water in Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Rwanda, and Zambia. And it also means better immunization, polio eradication, nutrition, diarrhea and pneumonia care, and maternal and neonatal healthcare through USAID programs across the African continent.

The other was from Senator Dianne Feinstein, United States Senator

Mr. Dowling

Thank you for writing to express your support for the "Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act of 2009" (S. 1524). I appreciate hearing from you regarding this legislation and welcome the opportunity to respond.

Like you, I want to help alleviate the suffering of people living in poverty worldwide, and believe that organizations such as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) must be adequately funded and staffed, with robust congressional oversight to ensure transparency and accountability.

Indeed, it is important to examine ways in which the Federal agencies tasked with fighting global poverty, such as USAID, can be reformed and strengthened to better achieve their mission. As you may know, S. 1524 is designed to achieve this through such measures as directing the Administrator of USAID to develop a comprehensive workforce, human resources strategy, and a related task force to support the objective of promoting development and reducing global poverty. As you may know, this legislation is currently awaiting consideration by the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, on which I do not serve. Be assured that I will keep your thoughts in mind should the full Senate have the opportunity to debate this bill.

Further, you may be interested to learn that the Senate Appropriations Committee, on which I serve, recently approved its version of the fiscal year 2010 State -Foreign Operations Appropriations Act (S. 1434), which includes $1.4 billion in funding for USAID to support programs such as the Development Leadership Initiative (DLI), which will provide an additional 350 USAID Foreign Service Officers. Please know that I read your comments with interest and will be sure to keep them in mind as I continue to examine U.S. foreign aid funding.

Again, thank you for writing. I hope that you will keep in touch on issues of importance to you. If you have further questions or comments, please do not hesitate to call my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 224-3841. Best regards.

Sincerely yours,
Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator

Upgrading Foreign Aid ONE important step in reaching the Millennium Development Goals

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The folks at ONE are reminding us that the law governing U.S. foreign aid policy was written in 1961, when Kennedy was president, roughly half of Africa was still under colonial rule, and the Beatles were just a bar band in Liverpool. I am basically just passing on what they said plus, as usual, adding a few links to provide more information.

So they want us all to take opportunity to bring our foreign assistance into the 21st century, so its is, as they say, better reflecting American ingenuity, generosity and values and more effectively fighting global poverty.

The idea is to call your senator(s) and tell them to "upgrade aid" now by cosponsoring the bipartisan Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act of 2009 (S. 1524):

Mine in California are:

• Senator Dianne Feinstein
  Phone: (888) 441-3347
• Senator Barbara Boxer
  Phone: (888) 441-3346
  

You can find instructions and talking points and report your call here:

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is set to discuss this bill next Tuesday, September 22. To get S. 1524 moved on to the full Senate, we need to show support now for making U.S. aid programs better and smarter. Call your senator(s) today:

Introduced by Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Richard Lugar (R-IN), S. 1524 strengthens our ability to identify which aid programs work and which don't. It empowers USAID—the U.S. agency responsible for international development—to improve staff expertise and strategic planning; increase transparency and accountability; coordinate U.S. development programs; and align those programs with what's important to beneficiaries on the ground.

The connection with the Millennium Development Goals should be obvious. If the United States is not taking a leadership position on this issue both financially and morally, it is not likely that we will make any real progress. As ONE states:

U.S. foreign assistance has saved millions of lives, and thanks to your support for results-focused initiatives such as PEPFAR, the Global Fund and the Millennium Challenge Account, many of our investments are making a difference. But the way much of our aid is organized and delivered leaves room for an upgrade.

Telling the CA senate: pass the climate bill Don't Let Big Polluters Outsource Air Quality

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Both the NPCA National Parks Conservation Association and UCS Union of Concerned Scientists have taken a stand supporting AB 1404. The focus of this bill is California, but global warming knows no boundaries. This is basically a re-blog of information that I received from both organizations. Unfortunately, while I did participate in both, I may be too late in doing any good with this blog. Still, it is good to know where the lines are being drawn and this struggle is far from over.

AB 1404 (De Leon - D) Limits the ability of building owners and developers to engage in market-based programs to reduce greenhouse gasses. Requires the ARB to limit the use of certain compliance offsets to a certain percentage of the greenhouse gas emission reductions.

The NPCA is urging California's lawmakers to do their part by passing AB 1404. This is a bill that will limit the use of carbon offsets that large polluters could use to comply with California's climate change policies to just 10%. As the policy is now, big polluters could pay for unverifiable overseas projects for up to 49% of their compliance obligations, rather than reducing pollution at home here in California. Passage of AB 1404 means that the air quality benefits associated with reducing greenhouse gas emissions stay in California and improve the air quality in our national parks.

Let's Clear the Air in California's National Parks on behalf of NPCA and Take Action: Industry lobbyists have AB 1404 at the top of their "kill" list. They want to defeat this bill because it limits the use of "offsets" as credits that allow big polluters to avoid reducing their own emissions by paying for emission reductions elsewhere. Write your State Senator today and ask them to support this critical legislation.. You can keep up with what the NPCA are doing at http://www.npca.org/pacific/climate .

The UCS tells us that Industry lobbyists have AB 1404 at the top of their "kill" list because it limits the use of "offsets"—credits that allow big polluters to avoid reducing their own emissions by paying for emission reductions elsewhere.

Your state senator will be voting on this bill in the next few days. Please write today and urge your senator to support AB 1404.

Contact your state senator today

Dear Senator,

I am writing to urge you to support AB 1404, which will help create jobs and boost California's thriving clean technology industries by limiting the use of "offsets" for compliance with California's global warming regulations.

AB 1404 is a balanced approach to the issue of global warming offsets that. The bill allows some offsets to be used, but sets parameters on the amount and type to limit polluters outsourcing their investment in climate solutions. An over-reliance on offsets would not only cost the state desperately needed local jobs and air quality benefits, but would also make reaching our state's long-term global warming goals more expensive. That's why more than 90 public health, labor, business, environmental, religious, and social justice groups have endorsed AB 1404.

Please vote for AB 1404 to ensure that California receives the most clean air benefits and new, local jobs possible under our global warming policies.

Write today to urge your state senator to close the loophole in California's Global Warming Solutions Plan

Please pass this alert along to your friends and family

Getting back to a positive path to the Millennium Development Goals

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My last few posts, both here and at My Pathways to New Paradigms, have leaned toward the negative. That is not what brought me to this point. My journey using the tools of Web 2.0 has shown me that change is possible not only through learning of new means of connecting and collaborating, but also new technologies and new methods of managing programs to bring about change.

One of the main sources of inspiration has been TED. One of the most interesting speakers has been Hans Rosling whose GapMinder is featured under the Understanding through Numbers section of this blog. Here is his latest TED Talk (and the 500th TEDTalk at that) Hans Rosling: Let my dataset change your mindset.

Talking at the US State Department this summer, Hans Rosling uses his fascinating data-bubble software to burst myths about the developing world. Look for new analysis on China and the post-bailout world, mixed with classic data shows.

TED also features GlobalTED, which this year was held at Oxford, England. Below are some additional talks that fit with the themes that I have contemplated during the time of my blogging.

• How can the Internet be used to enhance communication and collaboration?
  
• What new ways of thinking can be applied to the problems in the world?
• What new technologies can be developed to help those living on $1 a day create new opportunities for themselves rather than hand-outs from outsiders?
  

I also chose them because they refer directly or indirectly to the Millennium Development Goals.

Surprise speaker Gordon Brown waxing eloquent on the transformation of global politics, in the age of Twitter. (Despite Brown's job title as Great Britain's Prime Minister, this is no stump speech).

I believe there is a moral sense and a global ethic that commands attention from people of every religion and every faith, and people of no faith. But I think what's new is that we now have the capacity to communicate instantaneously across frontiers right across the world. We now have the capacity to find common ground with people we will never meet but who we will meet through the Internet and through all the modern means of communication, that we now have the capacity to organize and take collective action together to deal with the problem or an injustice that we want to deal with, and I believe that this makes this a unique age in human history, and it is the start of what I would call the creation of a truly global society.

Economist Paul Romer unveiling his bold plan for helping failed states by creating "charter cities," special zones governed by partner nations.

But there is another class of ideas. The rules that govern how we interact with each other. Rules like let's have a tax system that supports a research university that gives away certain kinds of knowledge for free. Let's have a system where we have ownership of land that is registered in a government office, that people can pledge as collateral. If we can keep innovating on our space of rules, and particularly innovate in the sense of coming up with rules for changing rules, so we don't get stuck with bad rules, then we can keep moving progress forward and truly make the world a better place, so that people like Nelson and his friends don't have to study any longer under the streetlights. Thank you.

A remarkable water filter from inventor Michael Pritchard that turns revoltingly filthy sludge into clear drinking water in seconds (our own Chris Anderson braves a sip to prove it).

I talked a lot in the past about statistics, and the provision of safe drinking water for all. But they just don't seem to get through. And I think I've worked out why. It's because, using current thinking, the scale of the problem just seems too huge to contemplate solving. So we just switch off. Us, governments, and aid agencies. Well, today, I'd like to show you that through thinking differently, the problem has been solved. By the way, since I've been speaking, another 13,000 people around the world are suffering now with diarrhea. And four children have just died.

Senator Barbara Boxer Speaks Up for the Millennium Development Goals

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I wanted to do a positive "things can and are getting better" article and have decided to post the email that I received from Senator Barbara Boxer. The letter is in its original form with some links added. Following the links does dampen the positive spin of the email somewhat, but it is good to know that my representatives have their heart in the right place. There are still plenty of negative and hard-road-to-travel posts waiting in my drafts, but for now at least we have an administration that is headed in the right direction.

Dear Mr. Dowling:

Thank you for contacting me to share your views regarding America's commitment to providing international humanitarian assistance.

Like you, I believe that the United States must take a leading role in alleviating poverty and creating initiatives to help improve living conditions for the less-fortunate throughout the world. Our financial commitment to fighting global poverty and disease not only demonstrates our dedication to easing human suffering but also shares our humanitarian values with the world.

I am pleased to report that the Senate has voted to fully fund President Obama's request for the Fiscal Year 2010 International Affairs Budget. S.Con.Res.13 includes $51.7 billion in funding, a significant and necessary increase over FY2009 funding levels. Please know that I will work to maintain this level of funding as the appropriations process continues.

In addition, I strongly support the Obama Administration's goal of doubling foreign assistance by 2012. To that end, I am very pleased with the Administration's request to double funding for agricultural development programs in developing countries, making these programs more efficient and alleviating food shortages around the world. This effort closely mirrors the Global Food Security Act (S.384), which I also support.

Throughout my tenure in Congress, I have been a strong supporter of humanitarian assistance to people in need around the world. That is why I strongly support international efforts to fight HIV/AIDS and advance the Millennium Development Goals - a series of objectives endorsed by all 191 member states of the United Nations that range from halving extreme poverty to providing universal primary education by 2015. I also strongly support efforts to fully fund The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, a critical component of the United States fight against global poverty and disease.

Again, thank you for contacting me. Please know that I will continue to support humanitarian and financial assistance to people in need around the world.

Barbara Boxer
United States Senator

Aung San Suu Kyi Support gets thanks but not results

Sphere: Related Content I have written both on the seemingly vast potential of Web 2.0 to help us in our efforts in bettering the world and my own status as a slacktivist, recognizing that while this blog hopefully has some minimal impact it is certainly not at the level of resources and programs featured in this blog.

There is one cause, unfortunately, for which the promise of the web has not been realized and that slacktivist efforts and those far more in earnest have fallen short. That is the effort calling for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi. It was through my first blog My Pathways to New Paradigms that I started learning more about Burma (now Myanmar under the current oppressive regime). This blog has also posted on the topic.

It continues to be an inspiring, but tragic story. It provided in part the inspiration to create this blog, and more importantly to see the world from a different perspective.

Avaaz asks help Free Aung San Suu Kyi

It is not the first time we have been called to help out, and I do not mean in anyway that we should not, but past actions have fallen short by a large margin. This even with the fact that the United Nations has condemned the actions of the government as illegal and activist organizations around the globe spoke up in protest. I understand the geo-political reasons for this, but that understanding is pointless here.

Avaaz was responsible for one such action. Back in March when I wrote the post they were at 143,838 participants supporting the Burmese. Now they are at 406,865. Their goal, because of the importance of the number 8 in Asian societies, is 888,888. Now I am not blaming Avaaz or anybody else or even myself. There doesn't seem to be any action that one could take to change this situation except keep pushing our leaders to push their leaders. Just realizing that there is no magic solution even on the Web.

Despite my current pessimism, I am providing this link so that more voices can be add to the call for freedom for Aung San Suu Kyi. http://bit.ly/16gzG9. This particular action is being put forward by Amnesty International USA.

Myanmar's military junta extended Nobel Peace laureate and pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's imprisonment by 18 months today after finding her guilty of violating the terms of her house arrest.

Critics of Myanmar's military regime condemned the outcome of the 3-month sham trial, calling it a pretext to keep Suu Kyi out of the running during next year's presidential elections.

The junta commuted Suu Kyi's sentence from three years hard labor in prison to an 18-month extension to her house arrest in the hopes that the international community will view the reduced sentence as an act of leniency.

But Suu Kyi should have never been imprisoned in the first place.

Suu Kyi's deplorable imprisonment has been denounced by everyone from heads of state worldwide to nine of Suu Kyi's fellow Nobel laureates. Join the court of world opinion in condemning Daw Ang San Suu Kyi's sham trial. Tell the leader of Myanmar's military junta that Suu Kyi shouldn't serve another minute of her sentence.

We know that the odds of success may seem stacked against us any time we appeal to authoritarian rulers. But the recent release of two U.S. journalists from North Korea is proof that even totalitarian regimes cave to relentless international pressure.

The fact that Myanmar's government reduced Suu Kyi's sentence is also a sign that the military regime is susceptible to the world community's criticisms.

We've proven time after time that even military dictatorships and other repressive regimes are no match for Amnesty's millions-strong global movement. Just last year, Ma Khin Khin Leh, another prisoner of conscience in Myanmar, obtained her release after Amnesty activists sent tens of thousands of letters to Myanmar's leaders on her behalf.

Join us today in calling for Daw Ang San Suu Kyi's immediate release. Go to: http://bit.ly/16gzG9

Help put aid workers on the front lines

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Recently got an e-mail about the Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act of 2009 that I am passing along from

Dear Reader, In too many countries, the face of American anti-poverty efforts is wearing a uniform and carrying a gun. Our nation's military does important work – but on the front lines of the global fight against hunger and poverty, it's aid workers, not soldiers, who should be leading the charge. The US House has already started moving on legislation that would shift the dynamic and revitalize our nation's foreign aid agency, USAID. Now it's time for the Senate to act – will you help? Tell your senators to co-sponsor the Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act of 2009. For many vulnerable communities – where civil wars, militia violence, and rebel groups have for so long been causes of homelessness and poverty – the last thing anyone wants to see is more soldiers. And the American military agrees. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has even said that while American soldiers "have done an admirable job, it's no replacement for the real thing – civilian involvement and expertise." Brian, it's time to give aid workers a chance to do their jobs. It's time to give our development experts the tools they need to help citizens in developing countries lift themselves out of poverty. Tell your senators to revitalize our foreign aid system and put aid workers – not soldiers – on the front lines of global poverty. Sincerely, Raymond C. Offenheiser Oxfam America Advocacy Fund

This type of effort is essential in meeting the challenge of the Millennium Development Goals regardless of what our governments do. Even more important because of what they are not doing, especially in America which still has not fulfilled its Millennium Promise.