The state of Assam, in India, is "updating" its National Citizens Registry, apparently for the first time in almost 70 years, purportedly as a way of attacking their "immigration problem." But they're asking good folks to prove their citizenship, and it just so happens that a lot of Muslim citizens can't -- they've lived there all their lives, but they may be (for example) farmers who never went to school, and thus can't prove their citizenship with school certificates. Remind you of anything? Like, say, the Voter ID madness in this country, where folks have to produce documents they might be too poor or old to have before they can vote? Up to seven million Muslim citizens might get "deleted" from citizenship rolls in Assam, so Avaaz helps you tell the international community to pressure the Assam government into dropping these plans. And not just because they might give our President any more ideas -- "deleting" folks from citizenship rolls is how a lot of genocides start.
Meanwhile, you may have heard that our Administration -- acting virtually alone in the world, as seems to be its preference -- almost scuttled a World Health Assembly resolution promoting the health benefits of breastfeeding, not just by trying to water down the resolution, but by threatening the sponsoring nation (Ecuador) with cuts in economic and military support. What prompted this tantrum? Apparently, infant formula-manufacturing corporations in America got in our Administration's ear about the matter. Not that our Administration needed very much convincing, I'm sure -- they stand with bosses in all things, and everyone else be damned. The benefits of breastfeeding over formula are not only obvious, but scientifically-proven, so Moms Rising helps you tell American infant formula-manufacturing corporations to stop trying to scuttle public health efforts. Sadly, I expect they'll be more responsive to popular pressure than our Administration.
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