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Petition Tag - mother

1. Help Get Brennan Home

Brennan is 8 years old. Her mother has been trying to gain custody back for her daughter against Brennan's father whom Brennan doesn't want to be around.

Her mother, Kim, has been going through extreme difficulties with getting her daughter back, fighting cancer, and every day battles.

Please help by signing this petition to help show support for this beautiful family.

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2. EU asylum for Anastasia Grishay

Anastasia Grishay is a very kind person and a very good mother.

She loves her kids and places them above all.

She is being persecuted in her home country Ukraine, for starring in porn.

As a fact Anastasia needed money so badly after she has been left alone with kid, that she was ready to do anything to feed her family.

Getting into the porn business was not an easy decision at all. And sometimes, more often these days, people have to face the struggle to protect their families from poverty.

A beautiful soul makes a beautiful person; and Anastasia is very beautiful indeed.

Please, your support can save her family.

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3. Give Nathan Duszynski a job for his family

Today is a sad day for the city of Holland, Michigan, particularly for one resident who was trying to help out his family survive. That family-dedicated resident is none other than 13-year-old Nathan Duszynski.

The reason why this petition was made for him is because he and his family are in a shelter after being denied from selling hot dogs from a mobile stand. You see, Nathan was trying to help his family to survive in Holland, Michigan because his mother and father are disabled. He signed up for his own food cart to earn some money. But the moment he started to sell at a local sporting goods store, City Hall shut it down. Now they have two different homes to cope with the parents' different disabilities.

The point is they shut him down because he was not connected to any business, but it was still unfair for him and his family. So, this petition is a rallying cry for signers, not just from Holland, Michigan, but from the entire United States and the world as a whole, to support him in on of these ways:

a) Convince at least one of the brick and mortar businesses to train him for a job within their premises.

b) Start a Kickstarter fundraiser for Nathan Duszynski to help him train to be a businessman and run a great business.

c) Convince City Hall to let him sell his hot dogs in a store and even hire others in hot dogs carts to spread the goods.

If everyone helps out Nathan to earn money legally, we will be a better world of people for all to see.

You can see the story at:
http://news.yahoo.com/teenager-not-allowed-sell-hot-dogs-now-homeless-180604654.html
Or:
http://dailycaller.com/2012/08/10/teenager-not-allowed-to-sell-hot-dogs-now-homeless/

For Kickstarter, go to
www.kickstarter.com

Thank you for supporting Nathan Duszynski!

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4. Free Young Chinese Girl's Mother from Prison

Please help Chinese girl, Cheng Li Ellison, free her mother from prison in China. Her mother is a Falun Gong practitioner; and the only crime she committed was distributing pamphlets about the practice of Falun Gong.

She was put in prison without trial or sentence, and no one is able to contact her. Cheng's father too afraid of the power of the government, so is unwilling to help - even the person is his own wife.

Cheng is now married to an Australian citizen and planned to bring out her parents to Australia with her; however now, that dream seems very far away.

Please help her bring her dreams closer to reality.

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5. Stop Parental Alienation

The Honorable Justice Gomery of Canada stated: "Hatred is not an emotion that comes naturally to a child. It has to be taught. A parent who would teach a child to hate the other parent represents a grave and persistent danger to the mental and emotional health of that child."

Resources About (PA):
Baker, A.J.L.(2007). Adult children of parental alienation syndrome: Breaking the ties that bind. NY:W.W.Norton.

Clawar, S.S. & Rivlan, B. (1991). Children held Hostage: Dealing with programmed and brainwashed children. Chicago, IL: American Bar Association

Darnall, D. (1998). Divorce Casualties: Protecting your children from parental alienation. Lanham, MI: Taylor Trade.

Rand, D., Rand, R., & Kopetski, L.(2005). The Spectrum of Parental Alienation Syndrome Part III: The Kopetski Follow-up Study. American Journal of Forensic Psychology, 23(1), 15-43.

Warshak, R. (2001). Divorce Poison: Protecting the Parent-Child bond from a vindictive ex. NY:HarperCollins.

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6. Reduction of Prison Sentence for Robert Graham

In 1981, Robert Graham was convicted of a murder crime in his hometown of Lake Providence, La. He was given a life sentence and is still serving time in the Angola State Prison System in the state of Louisiana. The evidence was shabby, but Robert was arrested and convicted, because he and the victim were in a previous altercation the night of the victim's death, at a local night club.

In addition, Robert pleaded guilty, because he believed that he might have stabbed the victim during the public altercation in the night club. He presented the weapon to the police.

Law enforcement accepted his word and therefore no investigation was done. Robert Graham's mother is requesting his release for time served or a transfer to a minimum security facility, closer to home. His mother is a senior citizen and no longer able to travel to visit him in his present location.

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7. Reform the 1975 Family Law Act

Family Law Act 1975 to be corrected. New Family Law Act to have the following Terms included:

* In Australia, Federal Magistrates are to do a check on both parents with DOCS and Police, at the beginnning of the Court proceedings, to see if any records are held on either parent before issuing a Court Order for either parent to have Custody of the child.

* Domestic Violence Father not ever to be given Custody of a baby by submitting a lying Affidavit without any evidence. Especially the day after being threatened by Police with an AVO being taken out on him.

* Mother of baby always to be Subpoenad to Court.

* Both sides of a story are to be heard. Especially considering the Mother has evidence to back up everything she is saying.

* Baby not to be removed from Mother unless there is a decent enough reason to do so when both sides of the story have been heard.

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8. Force Nintendo to Release the Whole Mother Series on DSi in North America

EarthBound, known in Japan as Mother, is a role-playing game series created by Shigesato Itoi for Nintendo. The series started in 1989 with the Japan only release of Mother (known unofficially in the US as Earthbound Zero) for the Famicom, and was then followed up by a sequel, released in the U.S. as EarthBound for the Super NES in 1995, and followed up again much later with the Japan only release of Mother 3 for the Game Boy Advance in 2006.

Games

Mother
--------->
Mother tells the story of a young boy who has to journey around the world to save the planet from an evil race of mind-controlling aliens. Along the way he is joined by several friends, and meets many unusual characters and visits strange settings before ultimately confronting the leader of the aliens. The game was a smash hit in Japan, and gamers appreciated its unorthodox and refreshing take on the often formulaic RPG genre.

Nintendo of America translated and planned to release the first Mother game in the United States under the title Earth Bound. Although the game's localization and translation was finished a year earlier, the game was ultimately deemed unprofitable for a Fall 1991 US release, and the planned release was canceled after the game had already been translated and all packaging and advertising was ready.

It was confirmed by former Nintendo employee Phil Sandhop, that Nintendo chose not to release Earth Bound in the U.S. because the Super Nintendo was to be released at the same time originally planned in the country and it thought that insufficient customers would notice a new NES game in favor of the new Super NES console and its games. Furthermore, the cost of releasing the game with the extensive manual and hint book planned would have not been economical without significant sales.

All of Sandhop's changes in Mother appear in the Game Boy Advance Mother 1+2, such as the B Button run command. These features were original ideas of improvement in Mother by Sandhop or the development team. The reason for these changes appearing according to Sandhop, is that "with games produced by NCL, the development teams continued to work and tweak their projects that they knew would be localized and produced in other territories. Often they would address their own desires that were not completed due to time constraints or not completed to their satisfaction and also address issues raised by Japanese consumers as that release hits the street." Eventually, a copy of the unreleased NES Earth Bound cartridge was auctioned and the game code was extracted from it and circulated for download on the Internet. To avoid confusion, the game was dubbed EarthBound Zero by fan translation group Neo Demiforce, as Nintendo had since released the SNES sequel to Mother in the United States under the title EarthBound. This copy was shipped over to a relative of one of the members in Neo Demiforce. Soon after, fans of the series and other video game enthusiasts, at first, debated as to the origin of the original development cartridge. It was believed by some to be a forgery, simply an english fan translation with a few changes that was dumped onto a cartridge. But since all of the modifications made to the original in Earth Bound later appeared in Mother 1+2, this theory has effectively disproved.


EarthBound
--------------->
Ness's mother telling him to be careful.EarthBound (known as Mother 2 in Japan) is a distant sequel to the original Mother (sometimes referred to as EarthBound Zero), with many characters, themes, and tunes borrowed from its predecessor. The game also includes many subtle pop-culture references: the fight against the neighborhood gangster backdropped by Chuck Berry's "Johnny B Goode" is one of several. Many of the characters and settings are very similar, but the only explicitly returning character is Giygas, who swears revenge at the end of the first game (evidenced by EarthBound's Japanese subtitle: Gyiyg Strikes Back!).

Though Mother never saw the American marketplace, its sequel for the Super Famicom/SNES, EarthBound, did, and stars a young psychic boy by the name of Ness. The series was commercially successful in Japan, while it was not commercially successful in the United States.

In May 2008, EarthBound was added to the ESRB database, listed with an E rating for the Wii platform; however, no official announcement has been made regarding its release.


Mother 3
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Lucas and Boney walking around town.Mother 3 is the third long-awaited (and according to Shigesato Itoi) final game in the EarthBound series. Beforehand, the game was in development for Nintendo 64 and the main character was Flint, but the project was cancelled due to the release date being near the end of the system's life span (and possibly with issues with the 3D engine and other production problems) The project picked up again for the Game Boy Advance (which was announced on a commercial for Mother 1 + 2). The game was finally released on April 20, 2006, and retained the traditional EarthBound artstyle and the general story and characters that were introduced in the cancelled N64 version. Unlike the first two games, the story focuses on a boy named Lucas and his family on Nowhere Island. Their home is invaded and the peace is disrupted by the mysterious "Pig Mask Army" who dramatically changes Nowhere Island by introducing technology and infrastructure and performing bizarre experiments on the flora and fauna in their takeover. The game chronicles the trials and tribulations of Lucas and his family and friends as they fight against the Pig Mask Army threat.

The game is only available in Japan, but on October 17 2008, a fan translation patch was released on the Internet.


Mother 1 + 2
---------------->
Mother 1 + 2 (MOTHER 1+2, Mazā Wan Tsū?) is a port release of Mother and EarthBound of the EarthBound series for the Game Boy Advance. Released on June 20, 2003, by Nintendo, a bonus cell-phone strap of Mr. Saturn was included for pre-ordered packages of the game. Though the strap was originally intended only for those who had pre-ordered the game, its popularity caused it to be sold briefly on amazon.co.jp.

Though the concept of Mother 1 + 2 was to compile two separate games into one easily accessible package, promotion focused entirely on EarthBound, much to the dismay of long-time fans, who argued that the promotional strategy was reducing the importance of the first game. EarthBound figurines were made available through the sale of Coca-Cola products. Though the port was only released in Japan, the version of Mother in Mother 1 + 2 is actually a Japanese translations of the planned English version of Mother. However, the version of EarthBound in Mother 1 + 2 remains the same as the original Japanese release. The name of the company that directed the port and translation was never announced by Nintendo.

The game's score, Mother 1 + 2 Original Soundtrack, was also released. The pieces included are different arrangements of the originals. However, its release lead to renewed calls for a re-release of the Mother soundtrack, and a "remastered version" of the Mother soundtrack was released by Sony in February 2004.

Mother 1 + 2 was given a totalscore of 35 out of 40 by a panel of four reviewers for Famitsu. Although the compilation was not released in North America, Nintendo Power magazine listed Mother 1 + 2 as the most-wanted import game in a 2005 issue.

By the end of 2003, Mother 1 + 2 had sold over 278,000 copies.

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9. Release Brandi Hale, Mother of 4 from jail

Brandi, mother of four was incarcerated on a probation violation over 130 days ago on a 180 day sentence. However, her child support payments were instated almost 3 months ago as well as her visitation schedule. Even though the Judge said she has done enough time and should be released... this release was never carried out. She has more than learned her lesson and her 4 children need her. She deserves this chance to begin and repair the damage done.

This is the first time she has ever spent time in jail and even the Judge stated that she had been there long enough and to "time-serve" her and let her go home. Her children have forgiven her and need their Mom as much as she needs them. Their ages are...14, 10, 8 and 3. Please help us get her home.

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10. Save Western Ghats

4 Dams
16 Weirs
21 Kms Mammoth Tunnel
Over 200 Acres of Concrete Structure….are set to cut the throat of Western Ghats.
Over 18 villages will be submerged; over 800 hectares of forest will be destroyed

Destruction of the Western Ghats will not only cause decimation of biodiversity but also accelerate the impact of global warming.

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11. Support fathers' rights

For years now My husband has been fighting to see his son. His name was not put on the birth certificate as the father but yet he is still responsible to pay child support, and yet he is not allowed to see him. He has a court order to see him but the mother doesn't allow it. Yet she still wants the money.

The child does not know my husband is his father, he does not call him dad, nor does he want to come here. He calls another man dad. I believe that in a case like this why should we have to pay for a child we have nothing to do with?

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12. Child Support Organizations should not discriminate against Paying Non-custodial Fathers

http://www.eagleforum.org/column/2005/jan05/05-01-12.html

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13. Stop The Mass Murder And Rape In The Democratic Republic Of The Congo

This petition was a collaboration of the following organizations:
CSUN, African Students Organization.
Friends of the Congo
&
Mothers for Africa
Altadena California

To:
President Barack Obama
Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton
Office of Budget and Management
Peter Orszag, Director
Rob Nabors , Deputy Director
Deputy Director for Management
Jeffrey Liebman, Executive Associate Director
Department of the Treasury
Office of International Affairs
United States Congressional Representatives

Since 1998 there have been over two million orphaned children, over seven hundred thousand women and children rape survivors and almost six million murdered from war related conflict and according to the latest estimates fifteen hundred people die each day making this one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.

Foreign companies are profiting from unregulated mining and selling of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) vast mineral deposits such as diamonds, gold, copper, cobalt and coltan. Congo holds 80 percent of the world’s reserves of coltan, a heat-resistant mineral ore widely used in cellular phones, laptop computers, video games, jet engines, rockets, cutting tools, camera lenses, x-ray film, ink jet printers, hearing aids and many other electronic devises. The DRC is the richest country in the world with the poorest people. Foreign multi-national corporations have benefited tremendously from the exploitation of coltan in the DRC. The coltan mined by rebels and neighboring countries ( Rwanda, Uganda & Burundi ) is sold to these foreign corporations.

This exploitation of the DRC has fueled human trafficking, rape, death and forced labor of innocent people on their own land. The rape of these women is brutal; rape victims range from one to eighty years of age. The rebel solders (rapist) insert foreign objects inside the women such as knives, staffs, and rocks. Sometimes the women are even shot inside their vaginas causing them to seek reconstructive surgery. Pregnant women are usually disemboweled and venereal diseases are rampant and sometimes boys and men are raped if not killed. Some women walk over twenty miles or up to three months just to get to a clinic and when they arrive the clinics often do not have pain pills or even a band aid and the women have to wait days or months to receive treatment.

The United States has given millions of dollars to the Rwandan and Ugandan armies in military training and arms. The United Nations reported that the following companies serve as the engine of the conflict in the DRC.” Cabot Corporation, Boston, MA; OM Group, Cleveland, Ohio; AVX, Myrtle Beach, SC; Eagle Wings Resources International, Ohio; Kemet Electronics Corporation, Greenville, SC; and Vishay Sprague, Malvern, PA. The coltan is then processed and sold to companies such as Nokia, Motorola, Compaq, Alcatel, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Lucent, Ericsson and Sony for use in a wide assortment of everyday electronic products.
We the undersigned hereof state our demand that:

• The United States ceases the allocation of military aid in any form, including the distribution of armaments and military training to both countries of Rwanda and Uganda.

• Adopt policies toward Rwanda that promote security, freedom, and democracy in the Great Lakes Region particularly in both the Congo and Rwanda.

• Urge the Rwandan government to implement an inter-Rwandan dialogue and a democratic process that provides political space for opposition parties.

• Support the Extractive Industries Transparency Disclosure Act (H.R. 6066 and S. 3389) to promote policies and corporate responsibility in the fight against corruption and poverty.

• Support the International Violence against Women Act (IVAWA) (S.2279, HR.5927) which would consistently incorporate solutions for reducing violence against women into U.S. foreign assistance programs.

• Put pressure on the documented atrocities by the United Nations, United States based companies to stop buying conflict coltan and to make it a requirement to label there source of coltan.

• The United States of America became a member of the Kimberley Process, government industry and civil society initiative to stem the flow of conflict diamonds through the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS).

We all cannot afford blood diamonds, but we all have access to coltan. Please let’s make a collective effort to stop these atrocities.

Thank you. www.MothersforAfrica.org

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14. Demanding change in our education system

I am writing as a concerned parent of a student who is to be attending kindergarten in the year 09/10. I currently live in Clintondale which is Porter township. I was supposed to register my daughter for kindergarten this year and I am struggling with the fact that the KCSD is purely being run by power and money. Here is my story: My daughters designated school is Robb elementary. Now I am sure all of you who don't know about the "policies" are wondering why Robb when this family lives in Clintondale. Yes, I thought the same thing. So I called to get answers. And like we all know nobody ever has any. I do not want my daughter to go to Robb for the fact that it is so big. It has three kindergarten classes and Lamar Township only has 12 students in their kindergarten. This is pure ludicrous. Not only that but the fact I am going to pass three yes that's right three other elementary schools before I get to Robb. So many students are falling between the cracks of the education system and the district is allowing this to happen. I want my daughter to go to a school where to is going to get the attention that every student deserves. Next year so far there is only 25 students going to Mill Hall elementary in the kindergarten class.

Now also attending Lamar Township is a little girl who her designated school was Robb but she is being allowed to go to Lamar for the simple fact that her mother went to a board meeting and said I live in Porter Township and if my daughter goes to Robb then she will make friends in Lock Haven and I will have to drive her to Lock Haven to play with her friends. So they passed it and allowed her to go to Lamar Township.... and you call this justification. Absolutely not....I want to send my daughter to a school where I know she is going to get the education she deserves and we are going to put social power over that. Where does it end??

That's my question to you? When are we as citizens going to stand up and say ya know this mother has a point. There was a study done by a group of people who were concerned about the education system over the entire country. Whether your going to the suburbs of San Fransisco or a small town like Mill Hall/ Lock Haven results all came out pretty much the same and the results will blow you socks right off.

It was a study on students who have dropped out of school and we currently have about 30% of students dropping out and 45% of those students said that they dropped out in high school because during their elementary education years they were simply not prepared to handle the knowledge at the high school level. WHAT?!?!? That is what is going on here folks. That is what is going on. When I called the attendance office, transportation office, and the superintendents office and said all I am asking is for justification for my child going to a school that is in Lock Haven when I have an elementary school 2 miles from my house they all said the same thing....that is what the board passed. Blows me away. So in closing here is what my conclusion is.

My daughters education will be determined my a handful of people who all have political power and a better social status than John Doe down the street. Is that really justification? And at the end of the day who are we??? It is a question that we as citizens need to really think about. This is a serious situation and I am sure I am not the only mother or parent for that matter who has the same concerns. Let's come together as a community and make our education system what it needs to be. Or we will just be another statistic?

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15. Emergency Request for a Child in Need

We, The Undersigned, wish to note a child’s right for parental presence during critical care. We kindly request an emergency release of federal inmate, Brandon Bauknecht from the Sandstone, Minnesota facility.

Two year old, Hayden Bauknecht excitedly attended a birthday party at the local aquatic center on March 15, 2009. Many heard his laughter and saw his innocent care-free life as he played. His childlike faith assured him that he would always remain safe. Yet, faith failed the naive child. The party came to a devastating halt when the toddler’s playful body was found motionless in the pool. Breathless and silent, he was transported to the pediatric intensive care unit in Marshfield, where he remains in critical condition.

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16. Use Mother tongue Primary Education

Pupils are being taught outright in a foreign tongue (English). Students in secondary level are forbidden - being fined if they speak in their mother tongue (Iluko in Northern Luzon, Philippines) and even in Filipino - our national language! in Metro-Manila colleges & universities.) Competencies in mother tongue should be encouraged - must be legislated.

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17. Equal rights for Biological and Non Biological Parents

Currently, at least in Florida, non biological parents have no rights to their children.

In today's day and age we cannot still hold the preconception of the conventional definition of a parent. That definition being that the title of father or mother is assigned solely by the contributors of the child's genes.

There are many situations today when a male will impregnate a girl and then disappear. This girl then goes on with her life and hopefully keeps and has the child. There are also many situations where that mother will meet someone during pregnancy or shortly after that not only becomes a mate and a support for her but bonds and because the parent for that child.

In many of these situations the mother and her suitor might decide that he would be the child's dad and place him on the child's birth certificate and he would in every way raise that child.

Of course in such - the father bonds to that child. What I'm seeking to change is that mans rights if something were to happen that he is separated from the child's mother. He is as much, if not more, of a father than the biological father and in some cases the biological mother and that child sees him as his daddy. In the current system the man has no choice but to have his child, that he has raised, supported and most importantly has loved from before day one, completely taken out of his life and he is powerless to stop it. This must change.

The Dad who has spent his time, finances and most importantly his heart with that child should not have the child removed from him completely any more than the biological parent should. In as much the child loses in this system as well because that child has spent his life recognizes this person as his daddy - all to have him taken away.

I myself was raised by my uncle and Aunt because my biological parents were unfit at the time due to alcohol and drug habits. My DNA contributors are my biological mother and father, however, my aunt and uncle are my Mom and Dad.

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18. Work for the younger generation

I moved from baltimore city to baltimore county and i kept trying to get a job but my age got in the way every time.

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19. Open Your Eyes Stop Whaling Let's Do It Together

These animals are being brutally and unnecessarily slaughtered and who are we to say to they have less of a right to exist than we do.

The more I see us acting and playing God on this Planet, the more I accept the fact that the world doesn't need us at all.

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20. Tell the truth about sex and lost babies

Many people have lost babies and never talk about it because of the fear and upset.

Some old people are only able to talk about the baby as they are dying.

Some young people are longing to talk about their experience but people can't hear it and change the subject. Slowly people give up trying to be heard.

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21. Rights of parents to be notified of killed in action deaths

My son was k.i.a. on July 22, 07. His father was notified but I wasn't, his paperwork didn't even have me on it.

Due to a major indifference and a nasty divorce with his father his stepmother was identified herself as his natural mother so all his documents had her name on them. So as far as anyone knew she was his mother.

After 2 wks. of paperwork and providing his birth cert. and other records they have since been changed. But as I see it unless a child is adopted the paperwork should have space for both parents and room for step if the case calls for it.

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22. Please don't call our mother country "sexier"

On 15th August 2007' Times of India Headline on front page - "60 & Getting Sexier"- Gandhiji, Subhash Chandra bose, Chandrashekhar Azad, Tatya tope, Lal Bahadur, Zhansi ki rani,Bhagat singh and many more gave their life for the mother country India, a country supposedly known as sexy India today according to TIMES Newspaper.

Most Indians know India as Bharat mata. Now, if a woman is passed on a comment it's known as abuse and the culprit is punishable according to Indian penal code.

In this case I believe the Times of India is punishable and also for hurting the feelings of Indians who respect mother India and don't feel anything is "sexy" or "sexier" about it.

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23. Don't let Jamie Bulger's killers live in Australia!

Do you remember February 1993 when a young boy of 3 was taken from a Liverpool shopping centre by two 10-year-old boys?

Jamie Bulger walked away from his mother for only a second, Jon Venables took his hand and led him out of the mall with his friend Robert Thompson. They took Jamie on a walk for over 2 and a half miles, along the way stopping every now and again to torture the poor little boy who was crying constantly for his mummy.

Finally they stopped at a railway track where they brutally kicked him, threw stones at him, rubbed paint in his eyes, pushed batteries up his anus and cut his fingers off with scissors.

Other mutilations were inflicted but not reported in the press. What these two boys did was so horrendous that Jamie’s mother was forbidden to identify his body.

They then left his beaten small body on railway tracks so a train could run him over to hide the mess they had created. These two boys, even being boys, understood what they did was wrong, hence trying to make it look like an accident. This week Lady Justice Butler-Sloss has awarded the two boys anonymity for the rest of their lives when they leave custody with new identities.

They will also leave custody early only serving just over half of their sentence. They are being relocated to Australia to live out the rest of their lives. They disgustingly and violently took Jamie’s life away and in return they each get a new life!Please .. If you feel as strongly as we do, that this is a grave miscarriage of justice ..

Sign my petition so that these killers don’t get another chance to do it again.

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24. Licensing to Prevent Parental Incompetence

Attention:

I. We all in this room, as free thinking adults, though diverse in age and circumstance, have at least one thing in common: the ability to choose. But as children our choices were made for us. We depended on and trusted our parents to make the right choices and to provide us with the most basic necessities of life, such as food, shelter, security and most of all love and affection. But some children don’t have parents that are capable of making appropriate choices and who don’t provide those basic necessities, and as a result, might live in poverty.

II. Poverty indirectly, and sometimes directly, influences depression, crime, neglect and abuse: emotional, physical and/or sexual.

BODY:

Need:
I. Every day children are born into this world. Unfortunately, these babies don’t choose to be born. Sometimes they are brought into this world by irresponsible parents, drug addicted parents, teen parents and sometimes, mentally incapable parents.

II. Domestic violence: A mother physically expressing frustration on a child, or a child witnessing his father beat his mother; this is all under the domestic violence umbrella. Reported on the California Department of Justice web site (3), there were a total of 48,000 calls related to domestic violence made to 911 in Los Angeles County in 2004.

III. Children in Los Angeles County and all over the United States face a number of unthinkable issues because of incompetent parenting. On the Los Angeles County Department of Children’s & Family Services web site (2) Fact Sheet of 2005, of all child related emergency care, a staggering 28 % were due to child neglect. Second on that list was physical abuse at 19%.

IV. Sometimes children are born unwanted. According to child abandonment facts in California found on ‘Welcome to California’, California’s Official Governmental website (4), as of October 2006, Updated November 7th, 162 newborns were surrendered in California under the “Safe Haven law”. This law allows the parent to legally surrender custody of a child, within three days of birth, without fear of prosecution. Yet another 139 newborns were found alive after illegal abandonment.

V. Abandonment and rejection go hand in hand. According to the DCFS in 2005, 21,248 children were living in out-of-home placement; in other words- Foster care. Some of the lucky ones were living in relative homes. Every year a larger percentage of children are placed in their grandparents because incompetent parenting, in 2005 it was roughly 45%. But how about the unreported cases. I am an example of an unreported case.

VI. According to the Unites States Census Bureau (1) population estimate of 2005, there where 2,732,000 children (-18) living in Los Angels County alone and of those, 484,000 lived below poverty level. (As an example of what was defined as ‘poverty’, a mother and child with a max income of $13,000 was considered impoverished in that 2005 Census.)

VII. According to the Committee for economic Development (5), children are becoming an ever smaller proportion of the American population. They warn that unless preventative ‘investments’ are made in early childhood; our future labor force will be disproportionately poor, uneducated and untrained. This is evident and can be seen on the California Department of Education website (6). It charts 23,760 teens in Los Angeles County to have dropped out of high school.

Satisfaction:

I. The problem exists in that our society believes that children are the property of their biological parents who have full custody until that child is damaged by abuse or neglect. Once a child is ‘damaged‘, that is when the child is protected under child abuse and neglect laws and warrants an intervention by Social Services. Only then will a child be ward of the state and placed in an alternative home or foster care.

II. The problem lies in that we’re are trying to solve and combat massive established problems rather then preventing them. But what kind of ‘Investments’ must be made?
A. Free of abuse and oppression.
B. Access to equal opportunities to develop their life’s potential.
C. Develop affectionate attachments to their parents and other family members.
D. Biological puberty must not be a mark for parental maturity.

III. A large percentage of biological parents are in the best position to represent the interest of their children and provide the best possible for them. But we need to move beyond that and stop viewing our children as property. Parenthood is a privilege, not a right.

IV. We need to hold parents accountable for being competent parents rather then forcing children to bare incompetence until they show signs of damage. Parental licensing will validate parental rights and refocus public policy in supporting competent parenting. Responsibility will fall on a parent to demonstrate competence in parenting rather then the state proving unfitness after damage to a child occurs (this is how it is now). Because the parent will be responsible for the rearing of their children, there will be little government intervention.

Visualization:

I. Parental licensing will not distinguish between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ parenting or attempt to change parenting styles. It will only exclude those obviously unqualified. It is not a birth control measure.

II. Establishing procedures for parental licensing will entail little more administrative structure then those involving, marriage licensing or birth registration. One might make a comparison to obtaining a drivers license.

III. The criteria for obtaining a parental license would be a basic credentialing process that must be obtained by each parent for each child.
a. Parent must be able to be responsible for one’s own life before being able to care for another. The varied age should be about 18 years with completion if a high school education or equivalent .Provisional licenses are available for those under 18.
b. To pledge to care for and nurture the child and refrain from abuse and neglect. If broken, license will be revoked, fine or punishment.
c. Basic knowledge of child rearing.

IV. Parenting licenses will stimulate the development of family life education, and the mass impact would likely discourage premature pregnancy and marriage because it will reinforce the gravity of child rearing responsibilities.

V. There are many ways of prediction parental competence through evaluations as it is with adoption today.

VI. If the state required all parents to become licensed before or upon the birth of a child, child abuse and neglect could be avoided.

VII. What are some objections to licensing?
a. Restrict individual freedoms: child abuse and neglect are not freedoms. We all have the right to be free of cruel and unusual punishment.
b. Tool for racism: Children and neglect/abuse prevention is the issue, not racism. There will be set criteria, rules and regulations to follow. Anyone wanting to discriminate will not be able to.
c. Lessen governmental aid for needy families: according to ‘The Third Branch’, a news letter of the federal courts cost of incarceration per inmate estimates to be about $46,000 annually. Compare that to the $13000 poverty threshold of a mother and child scenario in my intro. If less money were spent on incarnating adults that are so because of abuse and neglect in their childhood, more money will be available for public assistance, well fare and even social security.

Action:

I. Every day children are abuse neglected, abandoned and rejected. This is currently perpetuated by the way our children and family services are set up. We need to make a change in our views about parent hood and steep up to take responsibility for our actions. Laws, ideologies and values must be changed about child rights. They are not property, but our future.

II. We must petition to change our California legislator. California is a trend setter, and all other states will follow if these changes are made. Soon all of California will be in accordance to these new laws.

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25. Petition for the Dismissal of Charges against Derrick Palmer

On August 21, 2006, Derrick Palmer was forced to fire a weapon at his mother's boyfriend to save her, her unborn child, and baby brother's life.

He has been charged as an adult with murder.

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26. Westfield Malls - Please Support Breastfeeding Babies!

July 26, 2006

Fox 8 Morning News (Cleveland) aired a story on July 21, 2006 in which a local nursing mother (who wishes to remain anonymous) was refused permission to nurse her baby before paying for her purchases at the Aeropostale store in Great Northern Mall (which is owned by Westfield).

The mall representative who spoke to the reporter indicated that this kind of situation is why they put in the Family Room.

Westfield Corp. owns four area malls in addition to the malls they own in twelve other states and three other countries (the UK, Australia and New Zealand).

Some of those areas have much stronger protections for families who breastfeed in public than Ohio does, especially New York State (where Westfield owns two malls) - there the right to breastfeed is written into the Civil Rights section of the state laws, with specific penalties if violated.

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27. Keep Anthony Harvey Jr in the U.S.

Update June 24, 2006

Thank you to all that have signed the petition for Anthony Jr. The focus of Anthony's case has been changed.

Through numerous phone calls, letters, meetings, and outright begging, we have a prominent politician aiding in the case.

Unfortunately, Anthony Jr. will leave the country on July 2, 2006, however with this political connection it seems as though Anthony Jr. will not be gone as long as we originally thought. Thanks again.

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June 20, 2006

The goal of this petition is to keep Anthony Harvey Jr. from having to leave the U.S. while his step-mother petitions for him to be here legally.

As an infant Anthony Jr was smuggled to the U.S. by his biological mother, who later abandoned him. He has been here ever since, he is now 18 years old.

For his primary education Anthony graduated from Pope John XXIII in Evanston, IL. More recently, he graduated high school from Loyola Academy in Wilmette,IL. He has been accepted and plans on attending Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin in the fall.

According to the law Anthony Jr has to leave the U.S. and return to his birth country, Jamaica, while his step-mother petitions for him to be here legally.

On the advice of Anthony's immigration lawyer he will have to leave the U. S. voluntarily while his I-130 is being filed through his step-mother.

If Anthony Jr does not leave the US by July 4, 2006 he will be subject to an automatic three year bar from the U.S. Allowing Anthony Jr to remain in the U.S. during the filing of the I-130 will give him the opportunity to continue his education.

If he has to leave the country at this time it will cause a huge setback in his education, since he could possibly be gone for over a year.

Anthony Jr. not returning to the U.S. is not a concern, due to having faith in the system. Also in Anthony's favor is the fact that he has a U.S. citizen step-mother who has been in his life since he was in the second grade.

We believe to send Anthony Jr back to Jamaica would put his life in danger, due to the report from the United Nations regarding Jamaica having one of the highest homicide rates. Also the fact that he has not been in Jamaica since infancy.

While in the U.S. Anthony Jr. has associated himself with peers and other individuals of good character who have been very instrumental in his life.

Again, we implore the Department of Homeland Security to allow Anthony Jr. to stay in the U.S. while his I-130 is being processed.

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28. Promote HIV/AIDS Education and Relief of Poverty in Africa

January 26, 2006

The Mother and Child African Relief Organization (MACARO), a non-profit organization registered in New York (1992) under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue code, is accorded special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) (1997), and is also registered in Freetown, Sierra Leone as an International Non-Governmental Organization.

In addition, the process of registering the organization in Monrovia, Liberia is now in progress.

The organisation wishes to promote HIV/AIDS education and the relief of poverty.

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29. Keeping Mr. Edward Jerome Bell (Cabanlit) In The U.S.

January 21, 2006

Mrs. Angela Bridgett Bell

I write this letter to you today, hoping that somewhere, someone can offer me some help. My husband was born in The Philippine in 1963. When he was 9 months old he was adopted by two U.S. citizens. He was legally adopted, and has been here in the U.S. since 1963. He does not read, write, or speak Tagalog. When he was in his youth, he fell in with a 'bad crowd' and got into doing some things he should not have done.

He didn't know he was adopted not until he was sixteen. He regrets the mistakes he has made, and he's serving time for those mistakes, but he has paid his debt to society. I feel very deep in my heart that he has been rehabilitated and he knows the right path to take.

Now as he is reaching the end of his prison sentence he is going to be deported back to the Philippine if we can't prove he is a U.S. citizen behind he will leave a heartbroken family: three sons, five step-children that he loves as his own, uncles and aunts and cousin, as well as myself a wife that is deeply in love with her husband.

The heartbreak of him going to prison was hard enough, but now to lose him across an ocean for a period exceeding his prison sentence is absolutely devastating! I am watching the man I love, get deported back to a country, where he doesn't know anyone nor does he speak their language. If he is deported, they will be sending him to a foreign country America is all he knows. I have an 11 year old son who has Diabetes that loves him he is waiting for his daddy to come home.

I lost my mother in December of 2004 and my husband lost his adopted mother in May 2005 she was sick over my husband being deported. So many would probably be quick to say "Who cares? He broke the law, and he's getting what he deserves." But how many upstanding, law-abiding citizens have had someone close to them someone that they love, that has messed up somewhere along the way.

A son, a daughter, a brother, or a sister- who maybe broke the law, or got involved with drugs, or some other type of negative behavior? It's really easy not to care until it's someone close to you someone that YOU LOVE! Then it becomes a different story. In writing this letter, I am hoping to find an ear that will listen, and hopefully be able to help.

In addition, I hope to bring forward others who may share my pain, so that we may come together and with the strong voice of unity, perhaps we can bring forth CHANGE! Something must be done to stop what is happening, right here in our own country!

These new laws are not fair or just!! Families are being ripped apart. It is both devastating and heartbreaking. In fact, it's downright shameful. Just the mention of the INS fills me with anger and disgust. This has become a nightmare for all of us. Is their any one in office that cares about being just and keeping the families together?

Every day we are living with an unspeakable pain and fear that we will never see each other again. A happy family is on the verge of destruction, not due to natural disaster, but due to the new immigration law. The United States is a humane society that respects human rights and strong family values.

I do not believe, and cannot believe, that it will allow an inhumane thing such as forcing a wife to be separated from a husband, and the children to be separated from a father to happen. I wish you can help me so my husband can stay in the United States with me and his children.

My husband has been released from Prison October 4, 2005. He has been at the Processing Center waiting to be deported.

Please support this petition. Mrs. Angela Bell angiebell20042005@yahoo.com

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30. Free Schapelle Corby

UPDATE: August 3, 2005.

SCHAPELLE Corby has been dealt another shattering blow, with three Balinese judges shutting down her reopened drugs trial and refusing to grant her Indonesian lawyers more time to find new witnesses.

Corby's defence team must now lodge a new appeal and ask for a time extension from the Bali High Court, to keep alive her hopes of freedom.

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May 27, 2005: Schapelle Corby has received a 20-year jail term after being found guilty of importing marijuana - sparking fury among her family in court.

Judges also fined Corby 100 million rupiah ($A13,875).

Her lawyers immediately said they would appeal and prosecutors are set to follow suit, having sought a life sentence.

Corby had earlier begun weeping and rocking back-and-forth on her chair after learning that the judges have found the charges against her as proven - one step below guilt under Indonesian law - before Chief Judge Linton Sirait announced the verdict.

The 27-year-old looked stunned as the verdict was translated for her, but turned around to urge her family to stop their shouting.

She then hugged lawyer Lily Lupis while members of the gallery voiced their outrage.

"Twenty years?," said Corby, who was standing to hear the verdict from chief judge Linton Sirait.

She immediately turned to distressed mother Roseleigh Rose and appeared to shout: "Mum it's OK".

As the courtroom descended into chaos, Corby then hugged her interpreter and pushed through police to get to her mother and father Michael Corby.

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AdvertisementShe kissed other members of her family and was then led away by police through a crush of media to a waiting vehicle, which rushed her back to Kerobokan prison.

Corby backer, Gold Coast businessman Ron Bakir, said she would appeal.

"This is a massive injustice," he told reporters, crying.

"I'm speechless, I'm speechless I really am, I really don't know what more we could have done.

"We just have to keep fighting - that's all we can do."

Ms Lubis said the appeal process had already begun, but added of her client: "She will not survive."

Corby, 27, faced the death penalty if convicted of importing a narcotic, a maximum of life imprisonment for transiting a drug, and a maximum of 10 years' jail for possession.

Wearing a black silk blouse and pink pants, she had been half-carried into the court by about 10 Indonesian police officers.

The panel of three judges finalised its decision days ago, with one local paper speculating that a 15-year jail term would be announced for the 27-year-old.

Jano Gibson writes: On appeal, the case will go before the High Court, which has 150 days to make a decision.

Both teams can appeal its decision taking the case to the Supreme Court, which will have 170 days to determine whether Ms Corby is innocent or guilty.

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