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We stopped traffic in Geneva on May 27th as we descended on the World Health Organization (WHO) with a herd of cardboard pigs to deliver our petition! The 225 cardboard pigs represented the 225,000 Avaaz members that had signed the petition.

We certainly got our message across -- our campaign delivery went out around the world on ABC news, EFE TV, the Wall Street Journal, France 24, Kuwait News Agency, and Intellasia - as well as many other major news outlets.

When we handed over our petition, it became apparent how important our campaigning was and how valid our concerns were. Initially, the World Health Organization's Food Safety and Zoonoses director, Dr. Jørgen Schlundt, told us that the WHO and the FAO had not found a definitive link between the H1N1 virus and a factory farm and that the source was still under investigation. But he then admitted:
1) scientists have seen more disease breeding and mutating between animals and humans with the massive increase in industrial meat production;
2) he agreed that certain company's farming practices (Smithfields in this case) were dangerous;
3) he warned that new operations propagating in developing countries could make 'mistakes' in food safety that could be seriously risky to human health; and most importantly
4) he indicated that the political processes that determine the research and rules on factory farm biosafety are dominated by the industrial meat lobby. He said strong global regulations were essential, but, to date, unless there is a huge scare like BSE and people die, scientists are unable to push through the laws needed to prevent animal borne pandemics.

The message was clear - our public campaigning for investigation and regulation of factory farms is vital to ensure our food safety and counter the powerful meat industry. Our action showed the WHO that the world does not want to wait for another disaster - we want funding for scientists to investigate factory farms and we want preventive measures put in place that ensure public heath standards.

Click below to see the interview with Avaaz campaign director Alice Jay on Efe:

Dear friends,

During the Summit of the Americas, Avaaz sailed into the harbour at Port of Spain, Trinidad and delivered a message to President Obama to lift the Cuban embargo. The call came from more than 50,000 Avaaz members from the Americas.

Despite tight security, Avaaz Campaigner Paula Brufman and Trinidadian Avaaz members sailed by the site where the regional Presidents were meeting and hoisted a 'End the Cuba Embargo' banner up the mast. Public protest was closed down on the island, but an extraoridnary group of Trinidadian members and volunteers made this peaceful action happen with the consent of the coast guard. Great work!

The delivery of our message was quickly picked up by key news agencies and was reported around Latin America. See below for a video of the sailboat delivery and click here to see the media coverage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZPVMmOH6MY

At the Americas Summit President Obama announced a shift in US policy on Cuba and since then small steps toward dialogue have been taken. It is exciting to be a part of this vital change in regional policy. We will continue to campaign for constructive engagement and for the US to end the almost 50 year failed policy.

This week, Avaaz has been running an advertisement on Washington DC television spoofing ExxonMobil's hypnotically disingenuous ad campaign—you know, the ones where friendly, nerdy people tell you how their work at ExxonMobil will help the environment.

The message of our ad was simple: while ExxonMobil and other fossil fuel companies now talk a good game on climate change, they're still lobbying full-force to prevent a strong global climate treaty. The kind of treaty Obama can help create—if the rest of us give him the political support to do it.

Well, yesterday, ExxonMobil responded to the ad. Apparently, they were mystified.

"They seem to be critical of our desire to communicate our positions on climate change, which we don't understand," said Exxon spokesman Alan Jeffers.

Mr. Jeffers, sorry for confusing you! Perhaps we could be more clear. We have no problem with ExxonMobil's "desire to communicate." It's ExxonMobil's positions on climate change that we're critical of... and the fact that the communications in question don't actually communicate them.

In fact, if ExxonMobil is really eager to communicate their positions on climate change, then they should be welcoming our ad! Take a look:

The truth is, Exxon spent at least $29 million on lobbying in the US last year alone—and is on track to spend even more on a lobbying and advertising blitz this year. While ExxonMobil might not be funding climate denialists to distort science any longer (it lost that battle), it hasn't switched sides in the climate wars. Now, they're just wearing the other side's uniforms. ExxonMobil's strategy is to divert the growing momentum for effective global and national policies by greenwashing itself—and lobbying hard behind the scenes.

Most of their ads showcase research projects or promote the virtues of personal energy efficiency. Unmentioned by the $400-billion-plus company is the fact that their entire business model relies on continually increasing the burning of carbon-based fuels. Watching the ads, a conscientious consumer could conclude that ExxonMobil is to clean energy what the Gates Foundation is to global health. The more appropriate analogy would be Phillip Morris.

(Sometimes the ads are misleading—not just in their underlying message—but also in their particulars: Last year, Britain's Advertising Standards Authority banned an ExxonMobil ad for claiming, falsely, that liquefied natural gas was "one of the world's cleanest fuels.")

ExxonMobil's feel-good ads showcasing hydrogen fuel cells, lithium-ion batteries, and tire technology aren't about "communicating their positions on climate change." They're about calming down a public that has become rightly infuriated by fossil-fuel industry obstructionism of real climate action. And they're about distracting attention from ExxonMobil's own lobbying against the cap-and-trade legislation and binding global treaty that the world urgently needs.

We suspect that, in fact, Mr. Jeffers understands this all too well.

Dear friends,

Tibetans fighting the Chinese government's blackout are cut off from the rest of the world. Donate now, and help Tibetans beat the black-out.

• For $90 we can fund transmission of an entire hour of the Voices of Tibet radio network, which provides unbiased news across the Tibetan plateau
• $25 each from just 100 of us will support a new technology program that allows Tibetans to avoid censorship and safely communicate their plight with the world and each other
• For $100 from 100 of us, we can help upgrade a radio transmitter just over the border in India, so that it can broadcast deeper into Tibet and China for one month.

Today, Coldy 3000 took one step closer towards existence.

In just 4 days, over 123,000 Avaaz members from around the world answered Coldy's call and signed a petition urging the European Union to adopt strong efficiency standards for energy-using products. Today, Avaaz Campaign Director, Luis Morago, along with partners from Friends of the Earth Europe, Natuur en Milieu and some penguins delivered the petition straight to European decision makers -- specifically the Head of Unit of Transparency and Relations with Stakeholders, Gerard Legris, on behalf of President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso. The delivery was a great success with plenty of interest from the press and many bystanders stayed, charmed by the penguins' music and dance. In the coming days, we will also be delivering the petition to high representatives of the Czech Presidency of the EU in Brussels.

But above all else, we're having an impact! Sources tell us that the debate is getting hotter and much more political, thanks largely to increased pressure from campaigning organisations. Stay tuned to the Avaaz blog for more info!

Here is a video of today's event, and check out the photos beneath!

Dear friends,

This week, European regulators will start setting new efficiency standards for fridges, TVs, and other products. Strong rules could massively cut Europe's climate pollution, but industrial lobbyists are pushing to weaken the proposals.

We've received an unusual message: a video sent back in time from the future ... by a talking fridge named "Coldy." Click the picture to watch the video and take action now:

The night before the US Senate hearing, 60,000 Avaaz members had signed the petition in support of a Commission of Inquiry into Bush's War on Terror - all within 48hours of the petition being launched. By the next morning, the number had jumped an extra 40,000.

When 100,000 names from over 180 countries were officially tabled at the Senate hearing, the international message was clear: find out the truth about the War on Terror, and don't let it happen again. Here are some pictures from the day:

A real Commission of Inquiry would provide a powerful stop signal to further human rights abuses being committed by the US Administration. It would suggest a new era in human rights and a shift in how the US government intends to deal with conflict and terrorism.

Witnesses at the hearing in favour of the Commission made it clear that the best way to respond to terrorism is with justice, due process and human rights. Descending to torture, water-boarding, abductions and wire-tapping only fuels extremism.

As Avaaz Executive Director, Ricken Patel, said "Bush's war on terror tactics are both immoral and incompetent. They violate our fundamental values and stoke the anger and hatred that feed terrorism. Torture and disappearances are more of a gift than a threat to Al Qaeda."

The establishment of a Commission of Inquiry should not be about vengeance or a political witch-hunt. A thorough and honest investigation should be established to ensure accountability and an end to impunity for those who have committed wrongdoings -- created as a preventative measure to limit the possibility of recurrence.

Any Commission must be independent, bi-partisan, and able to investigate all the way up the chain of command. It should have the power to refer for prosecution, but not be a substitute for prosecution. It should be able to follow evidence where it may lead, without fear or favour. Ultimately, it should recommend legislative or policy changes that need to be implemented.

We need to move beyond the language of the War on Terror and start talking about a security framework centred on human rights. But there is still a long way to go. Bagram, the US prison in Afghanistan, contains hundreds of prisoners. The Obama Administration recently restated Bush's line that those detained there should not have the legal right to challenge their detention. Similarly, the state secrets privilege is still being used in cases before the US courts.

An end to the war on terror requires a movement, lawyers, policy makers and politicians. The global outcry, evidenced by the Avaaz petition, shows that to repair relations and restore respect for human rights, the truth must first be uncovered and wrongdoing publicly acknowledged.

Leahy and the Judiciary Committee will need all the support it can get, to get this Commission over the line.

Dear friends,

Let's find out the truth! Sign the petition for an independent investigation into Bush’s War on Terror. Sign the petition here

Dear friends,

Dear friends,