| I Am Joe's Website HOME News & Views Bike Week Books Rogue-Like Games Links Abandonware PC Help Good-Bye Green Links |
| BACK TO LINKS PAGE ONE! The organizations listed in this section are all worthy of your support, either by joining them, making a donation or signing up for their various bulletins and taking action when necessary (calling your Congressman or Senator, volunteering,etc). Every little bit helps and if everyone does a little bit, it will add up to a lot. |
| The Links: ## American Red Cross?Every time there is a catastrophe on Earth, earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, wars, terrorist attacks or any other disaster, either from natural or man-made causes, the American Red Cross is among the first to arrive with aid and succor for the victims. Aid is given to any and all who need it, regardless of their religious or political beliefs. Aid is offered without strings attached, the Red Cross does not attempt to force any doctrine or dogma upon those it helps. The terrorist attacks in Manhattan and at the Pentagon brought the Red Cross into a brighter spotlight than usual as it rushed to aid the victims of the attacks. Americans and others around the world have responded with an unprecedented outpouring of support for the Red Cross relief efforts. However, the relief efforts for the attack victims will eventually end and the support for the Red Cross and its worldwide relief efforts will fade away once again. Catastrophes will still keep on occurring around the globe and the Red Cross will still keep on responding. If you should happen to get caught up in some disaster of some kind the Red Cross will be there to help you! The Red Cross will probably also be there to aid any innocent victims who get caught up in our response to the terrorist attacks. If you donate to any relief organizations please consider donating some to the Red Cross. ## American Rivers...Working to protect and restore some of America's greatest treasures...our rivers. ## Boycott-RIAA.com?A website dedicated to fair use and copyright reform. ## Common Dreams?"Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community". ## Counterexploitation?CEXX.org, "The buck stops here". This site could have been placed under my PC links but as the message is as much political as technical I placed it here. If you are not actively working to protect yourself you ARE being taken advantage of and worse yet, by not working actively to protect yourself you are contributing defacto support to those who unethically use means, legal or otherwise, to profit from the innocence and ignorance of others. ## The David Suzuki Foundation..."Defining a vision of society in harmony with the environment; Studying the causes of, and alternatives to environmental threats; Informing the public and decision makers about sustainable solutions; Participating in projects and initiatives that serve as models for an ecologically balanced future." This organization provides a lot of science about the sustainability of our current way of life. It's worth checking out for your own education and interest! ## Ducks Unlimited?Their mission: To fulfill the annual life cycle needs of North American waterfowl by protecting, enhancing, restoring and managing important wetlands and associated uplands. Ducks Unlimited was one of the first organizations to directly tie habitat loss to the decline in numbers of waterfowl. Through their efforts almost 10,000,000 acres of prime waterfowl habitat has been preserved, habitat that is critical for a number of plant and animal species. Click on the link above to find out more about them. ## Earthjustice?"Because the Earth needs a good lawyer"? ## Electronic Frontier Foundation...Dedicated to protecting freedom of expression and the privacy and rights of all users of digital media. Judging by the lack of ethics and greed of the industry and recent court decisions organizations such as this are crucial to the future of the internet and all forms of free digital expression. ## Environmental News Network...Keep yourself informed about current environmental issues by subscribing to their daily newsletter. ## The Grand Canyon Trust...The mission of the Grand Canyon Trust is to protect and restore the canyon country of the Colorado Plateau ? its spectacular landscapes, flowing rivers, clean air, diversity of plants and animals, and areas of beauty and solitude. This organization is dedicated to protecting one of the last great places in the American West. Click on the link to see what they're about. ## Idaho Rivers... ## The Nature Conservancy?works to preserve and protect the habitat and ecosytems necessary for the preservation of biological diversity. They do this by acquiring important tracts of land by purchase, donation, trade or brokering stewardship deals for the land. Many parks, wilderness areas, refuges, etc in this country, even in crowded states like New Jersey, are protected as a result of the Nature Conservancy's efforts. There is probably a tract of protected land near you! Click on the above link to read more about the Nature Conservancy, their past and current projects and join if you can. ## OpenSecrets.org?Learn who's getting and who's giving money to candidates for national office. Is your congressman supported by those whose goals do not necessarily match what is best for his/her constituency (probably!)? ## Overlawyered.com?"Overlawyered.com explores an American legal system that too often turns litigation into a weapon against guilty and innocent alike, erodes individual responsibility, rewards sharp practice, enriches its participants at the public's expense, and resists even modest efforts at reform and accountability." ## Political Science Resources? One of the best references I've found for finding out about political parties and organizations and much, much more. A must visit if you vote, no matter where in the world you live. ## Project Underground? As bad as the assault by corporate interests is on our North American wilderness at least there are some protections in place and even the worst of these companies realize they will get caught and suffer at the very least negative publicity if they are too flagrant in their disregard for environmental laws and local communities. In much of the world however, this is not the case. There are atrocities committed every day and some of them, if not ordered outright by corporate interests, are at least tacitly approved with financial support. Some of the corporations guilty of these atrocities are U.S. corporations. These atrocities range from large scale pollution to forced displacement of tribes and communities to outright murder of dissenters on up to tribal genocide. When major corporate interests move in to exploit an area their money makes sure nothing stands in their way. To paraphrase a current commercial, what these companies say they don't do, they just don't do in the U.S. Project Underground is an organization that seeks to expose these human rights and environmental atrocities and works "to provide informational, technical, legal and scientific support to communities facing oil, gas and mining operations; as well as to campaign in support of communities adversely affected by these industries". I urge everyone to click on the link above and take a look at their site to get an idea of what is happening around the world and more importantly, see what you can do to help. ## The Sierra Club?The most important and influential environmental organization in North America today. In the never ending battle against the destruction of wilderness, the battle for clean air and water, the protection of endangered plants and animals, in local issues or national issues, the Sierra Club has been and hopefully will always be at the forefront in protecting the environment from those who would sacrifice the future for their own short term gain. Their stated mission: "Explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth. Practice and promote the responsible use of the earth's ecosystems and resources. Educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment. Use all lawful means to carry out these objectives." Click on the link above to read about the latest issues facing us and if you can, join the Sierra Club. Unlike pseudo-environmental organizations like PETA your dollars will actually go towards protecting the environment. ## Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance?Another organization with similar aims to those of the Grand Canyon Trust. Our fragile and beautiful Southwestern deserts and canyonlands face threats greater than ever before. Click on their link and get informed! ## Speakout.com?Learn how the political parties and candidates position on the issues match up with your needs. Is your current choice really the best choice for you? Find out here. You can also see how various religions match up with your beliefs and various other things. ## Stop Policeware.org?A site dedicated to preserving and protecting the rights of users of digital media. It is especially focused on fighting the proposed industry-backed Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act (formerly known as the SSSCA), an ugly piece of legislation that could put you in jail if you copy a song from a CD to your computer. ## Thomas-Legislative Information on the Internet...If you want to (and you should want to) keep track of what Congress is up to or you want to track particular pieces of legislation this is the best site. If you dig around you will find a wealth of information on this site. ## TomPaine.Common Sense...A "Public Interest Journal" in the truest sense of the words. This site covers, in the spirit of our founding fathers, news and viewpoints that get glossed over by the mainstream media. There are always a lot of real eye openers! ## Trout Unlimited?Their mission is to "conserve, protect and restore North America?s trout and salmon fisheries and their watersheds". Their efforts have been essential in protecting many of our few remaining high quality rivers, streams and their watershed areas as well as working to restore many that have been damaged by industry and other forms of "progress". Click on the link above to see what they're about. ## Union of Concerned Scientists?"Citizens and scientists for environmental solutions". THIS is "sound science". ## The Wage Slave Journal?A collection of political commentary focusing on issues that effect the majority of Americans. ## Weird Crap...Too many right wing "Christian" organizations are simply political groups that dupe well meaning true believers into parting with their hard earned money to support the message of Christianity but instead end up funding the political agendas and the lifestyles of the leaders, which are usually anything but "Christian" in actuality. This site describes some of these religious "cults", their agendas, the tactics they use and who is in charge. ## The Wilderness Society...Their mission: "Founded in 1935, The Wilderness Society works to protect America's wilderness and to develop a nation-wide network of wild lands through public education, scientific analysis and advocacy. Our goal is to ensure that future generations will enjoy the clean air and water, wildlife, beauty and opportunities for recreation and renewal that pristine forests, rivers, deserts and mountains provide." With our remaining wilderness under constant assault from those who believe that the increased wealth of a few is more important than the future of the majority, organizations such as the Wilderness Society become increasingly important. Click the link above to read about current issues and what you can do to help. Make sure you sign up to receive their "Action Alerts" while there. ## Windows1984.com?"The aim of this website is to draw attention to issues, particularly those related to personal computer use, which threaten to bring us closer to the dystopian nightmare of George Orwell's novel, 1984." Some newer links that deserve to be listed but I haven't yet written up: Privacy International Peacefire Take Back the Media International A.N.S.W.E.R. Truthout World Link TV Free Press Freedom to Tinker Creative Commons If you think a link should be listed here CONTACT ME and let me know its URL and I'll check it out. |
| A Color Key to the Links: ## Digital Rights Links - Organizations working to protect your freedom of digital expression, privacy and consumer rights. ## Environmental Links - Organizations that work to protect the environment and promote awareness and scientific data about the issues affecting our future. And yes, George, this is "sound science". ## Humanitarian Links - Organizations that provide humanitarian aid or support human rights around the world. ## Political Links - Political and religious references, news and commentary. |